Chapter 27

Gambling With Lives Part 3

"I do want to be there. We're leaving here tonight, so we'll be back in a few days," Rude muttered. "Goodbye."

"See you soon," Yuffie called. She hung up a moment later as Kali slowly opened her eyes.

"Good morning," Cid smiled. Kali blinked and, forgetting who she was next to, screamed and sat up straight. Pradipa leapt up and stared at her.

"Kali, it's okay, it's just us," Kadaj assured her. He held her as she cried embarrassedly.

"I'm sorry. I just remembered Devin raping me. I was unable to think about anything else and I thought he was still…"

"I know. It's okay. We're here for you. He didn't come back."

"I should never have let him take me the other night," she muttered. Kadaj pushed her up.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Kali closed her eyes and shuddered. "Kali, did you willingly have sex with him?"

"The night before last, yes," she muttered. Kadaj lowered his eyes and the others looked away. Only Rude kept his eyes on her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded slowly. "Did you like it?"

"Rude!" Kadaj snapped. "I don't think that's a question we should be asking."

"Sorry," he shrugged. "I'm used to talking to Reno about this stuff."

"I did like it," Kali whispered with a smile, resulting in surprised stares from the others. "I loved it. I just wish that the second time, he hadn't been raping me."

"You feel up to the next task?" Reeve asked. Kali nodded.

"Let me get a shower and some food."

"You're sure you feel up to it?" Kadaj asked as he squeezed her shoulders. Kali began to nod weakly, but stopped.

"On second thought, let me get a few more hours of sleep," she said quietly with a yawn.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" he asked. Kali nodded and they lied back down. A moment later, Kadaj was yelling and leaping off the bed. He limped across the room, tears in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Cid called.

"Fucking cramp in my leg," Kadaj moaned. He tried to stop walking, but they watched as his leg went stiff almost immediately. Kali motioned him over.

"Here," she said gently. She knelt next to his leg and began massaging it. "When it feels like it's gone, start walking around the room, okay?"

Kadaj nodded, his face contorted in pain. He pulled his leg away a moment later and limped around the room again. After a few moments, he stood still and waited. His leg stayed where it should have.

"Thanks. Where'd you learn that?" Kadaj asked. Kali's face clouded.

"Devin showed me. Sometimes, I wake up with one in the middle of the night. I would call him and he would do that," she whispered. She yawned loudly. "I think you should go walk around a little while. I'll be fine," she assured him. She curled back up under the blankets.

"I really think one of us should be here just in case Devin comes back," Kadaj argued. Before any more words were spoken, Rude was stretching out next to Kali and placing his glasses on the nightstand.

"I'll stick around. I don't mind," he said softly. Kali glanced up at him as he put his arm around her and closed his eyes. "I need the sleep."

"Okay then. See you two later. We'll either be in the bar or Wonder Square," Reeve called as they left. Rude looked at Kali and the small Tonberry that was curling up between them.

"That wasn't fair."

"What?" Kali muttered as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"What he did to you last night. It wasn't fair to you," Rude said quietly.

"What about the Turks? Didn't you do stuff like that?"

"No. Sure, we lied, kidnapped, stole, cheated, and murdered, but none of us ever raped anyone," he replied. "Kali?"

"Hmm…" she sighed. Kali wrapped up tighter and snuggled up as close as she could. Rude turned slightly red, but he gently squeezed and held her suddenly sleeping form against his side.

"You're so much nicer than Tifa," he muttered. He smiled and fell asleep.

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Kali sat on a bench outside of the Battle Arena, tying her boots. Reeve was speaking with the woman behind the desk while the others walked towards the observation room. Rude approached her as Reeve signed the registration form.

"Kali? Sorry about what I said."

"Huh? When?" she asked as she looked up.

"When you woke up and I asked whether you liked it…" he began. "I shouldn't have asked that."

"No problem," Kali smiled at him. As Reeve motioned to her, she stood and walked towards the stairs.

"Take care of yourself in there," Rude ordered. She nodded and waved her hand as she walked up the short flight of steps. "Kali, wait!"

"What is it?" she called as she turned. Rude came up to her and handed her a small, pink ribbon.

"Tie it in your hair. It will protect you from any status ailments. You know, poison, toad, mini, that sort of stuff."

"Hey, Rude?" she began. He stared into her eyes and her words stuck.

"What is it?" he said when she was silent.

"Thanks," Kali grinned. She hugged him and watched as he joined the rest of the group. What did he mean by saying I'm nicer than Tifa? Kali wondered as she tied her hair up.

"You ready?" Reeve asked. Kali nodded and drew her sword.

"And willing."

"Then go on ahead. We'll be watching," he assured her. "Good luck."

Kali walked in to find herself on a wooden platform with a large circle in the middle. Around the circle, it said 'The Brave Do Not Fear The Grave.' She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked forward.

"Will she be okay?" Pradipa asked. Kadaj nodded, but deep down he wasn't so sure. Meanwhile, Kali opened her eyes and readied herself. Out of nowhere, three small stalks of some sort of plant popped up.

"Ha!" Cid smiled. "Razor Weeds. She'll have no problem with this match."

Kali stared at them in disbelief. After a moment, she ran up and cut through all three of them like butter. They all faded in a red cloud. She jumped as a voice sounded through the room.

"Excellent! All three Razor Weeds successfully defeated. Now, watch the spinning wheel," it ordered, "and yell when you want it to stop."

"Um…" Kali watched as a large wheel popped out of the wall and began spinning incredibly fast. She held her breath for a moment. "Now!"

"Oh, shit," Reeve muttered. It landed on a picture of a frog. Kali looked at it sideways as two more monsters popped up. They looked like giant insects. They had long bodies, pincers, and several legs, four of which were on the ground. They twitched their antennae excitedly.

"Ah!" Kali yelled. A cloud formed around her. Her friends held their breath, but released it when the cloud faded. Kali was still there, and no frog was in sight.

"Huh? Why didn't she change?" Kadaj wondered aloud. He looked up at Rude's slight chuckle.

"You aren't very observant today," he smiled. Kadaj looked again and saw the ribbon tied in her hair. He sighed and leaned back.

"Thanks Rude."

Kali held her hands over her head as one of the monsters shot a cloud of green over her. The poison had no effect. The other Kelzmelzer leapt over and slashed at her. She managed to bring her blade up and block it. She ran up to him and sliced his head off, killing it in moments. The other, now nervous, began to tremble. Kali smiled as she leapt up and jammed the sword into his back.

"She looks like father when she does that…" Kadaj muttered. He watched as Kali made the wheel stop on the number thirty.

"Shit, times thirty damage," Cid griped. He and the others flinched as Kali grabbed her chest and fell to her knees. Several cuts opened up on her body and they watched blood start to drip from the wounds Devin had caused. Kali looked up as three black frogs and a woman in a bathing suit popped up.

One frog bravely stepped forth and punched her, but she didn't change like he wanted. The other two frogs began croaking, but once again she refused to change. She sliced through all three of them within one minute and stared at the woman. As she did, the woman blew a kiss and a large, pink heart spun around Kali. She stared at Kali as sweat broke out on her brow. Kali shook with weakness as she reached into her coat. She pulled out a small bottle of potion and drank it quickly. She shuddered violently, but her wounds healed. As they did, she lifted her sword and slashed through the woman. She smiled to herself as the next wheel sprung and spun from the wall.

"Three down, five to go," she muttered. She yelled for the wheel to stop. Once more, it stopped on the toad. In front of her, a red lizard that stood on two legs leapt out and stared at her.

"Vlakorados," Kadaj gasped. "Those take forever to beat."

"She'll be fine. As long as she still has some potions, she'll get through," Cid said, laying a reassuring hand on Kadaj's shoulder. The young man glanced down at the Tonberry in his arms. Pradipa had begun shaking.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" the creature looked up at him and stopped trembling. "I'm fine. I'm just worried about Kali."

"You're sure? You look sweaty," Rude pointed out. Pradipa leapt off of Kadaj's lap and walked away.

"I'm going to go lay down in her room. Tell me how it turns out," he called. He was running on all fours a moment later.

"Hey," Cid smiled as he turned back to the fight, "she's actually doing pretty well."

Indeed, Kali was holding her own against the red reptile. He charged her, but she rolled away easily and made a cut in his side. He came back at her, but she jabbed her sword deep into his chest as he passed. He faded away as Kali pulled the sword back out and returned to her place on the platform. She listened as the voice once more announced her win, but furrowed her brow as it said to make the wheel stop. The voice was normal at first, but then became slower and more ragged.

"What the hell?" Kadaj muttered as he stood. They watched as the lights flickered and finally went out. Behind the glass was the thudding of footsteps. A moment later, Kadaj and the others flinched at the sound of Kali's scream. "Kali!"

"What happened?" Reeve called to the people in the control room. There was no reply. They only heard a loud laugh.

"She's dead, and there's nothing you can do," the voice chuckled. Kadaj trembled angrily.

"No! Zurine, you bitch!" he screamed as he recognized the voice. He ran forward and ran his hand over the window. "Everyone out of the way of the window."

"What are you doing?" Reeve yelled.

"I'm going to break through."

"Wait, let us help!" Cid called. He and Rude stood next to him, took a deep breath, and the three of them ran at the glass. They winced as shards pierced their skin and the shattering hurt their ears. Cid reached into his pocket and pulled out a flashlight. He waved the beam and it landed on Kali, who crouched in the corner.

"Are you okay?" Kadaj called. Kali nodded, but suddenly flew at him, sword drawn. She flew past and slashed at something behind them. The man she had hit groaned as the two daggers in his hands dropped.

"Devin, leave us alone!" she yelled. Tears streamed down her face as he glared at her from under his hood. She couldn't see it, but he was shedding tears as well.

"My orders are to kill you. I'm sorry," he whispered. He came at her and made to cut, but she leapt away and ran with her friends to the door. They dashed out and ran into Reeve.

"Go!" he called. "I'll hold them off!"

"Reeve, get out of here! This isn't your fight!" Rude snapped. Reeve shook his head.

"It is now. Rude, I'm sorry, but I lied to you. I don't know anything else about Valda or the Hitomi. This is the least I can do to make amends. Now get out of here. I'll try to get out and see you later."

"Goodbye Reeve," Rude nodded. They all waved as they ran off to get their bags. Kali couldn't help shedding a few tears when she listened to the scream behind them.

"What do we do now?" Kali cried as they ran to get their things from the rooms. Kadaj shrugged.

"We run. That's all we can do now," he replied as they reached the hotel. They picked up their things and Pradipa and sprinted for the lift. To their surprise, they arrived with no other trouble. The group locked themselves into the wagon and sat close together while it moved down the cable towards Corel.

"Are you okay?" Rude asked Kali as she shook. She nodded, but rubbed her back at the same time.

"Yes, but I think one of my wounds may have opened again. My back feels wet."

"Let me see," Cid ordered. She pulled her jacket off and let him check her back. "No, you're just sweating. No problem."

"Kali? What happened?" Pradipa asked. Kali quietly explained what happened as they slowly slid down the cable. She gave him a sideways look when she finished.

"What about you? Why did you leave?"

"I felt sick. I still do," the Tonberry muttered. He curled up in the corner of the seats and promptly fell asleep. Kali stared at the floor.

"You look nice like that," Cid said. Kali glanced at him.

"What?"

"Your hair tied back."

"I would rather black or grey, but it keeps my hair out of my eyes. Thank you, Rude," she smiled. He flashed a grin at her before glancing back out the window. Kali noticed the smile fade as he stiffened. "What's wrong?"

"Kali, get down and stay down," he ordered. He pulled his gun from his coat. "Zurine's coming."

"Here," Cid said as he pulled her to the floor. Rude and Kadaj stood ready while Cid held Kali protectively against his chest. She came within range of the gun, Rude aimed, and…

"She's gone," Kadaj muttered. He furrowed his brow. "She flew into the clouds and now she's gone."

"This has to be a- AH!" Cid yelled. He had been leaning against the door with Kali, but now the lift stopped dead and it flew open, spilling the two of them into the atmosphere.

"Kali!" Kadaj screamed. Rude grabbed his coat to keep Kadaj from leaping out with them.

"We'll call and tell a rescue squad that we need help. There's nothing else we can do from here," he said gently as Kadaj started crying.

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Kali closed her eyes as she and Cid fell out of the wagon. She felt Cid's arms loosen and finally let her go completely. Nanashi began speaking.

".mro fe ur tym fot rapek atemt eld nari ahru oyfo tu onob bireh tekaT .em ite nosih temts urtt suJ !uoyev asna cI esa elp ilaK"

You'd better save us, Kali thought. She slowly opened her eyes as the wind slapped her face. Glancing down, she saw Cid falling several yards below her, the distance growing greater each second. He had his eyes shut tightly. She glanced back at the stationary lift to see that a small jet was approaching to rescue Kadaj, Rude, and Pradipa. She lifted her arms to her head and tore the ribbon from her hair. It floated down through the air.

".ezi golo paI .ti bat ruh yam sihT"

Indeed, Kali screeched as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder blades. Tears flowed down her cheeks. The pain lasted for ten seconds before it gave way to a dull throb. Kali suddenly felt herself slow down as she fell. Nanashi made her turn so her feet were pointed towards the ground before giving Kali complete control again. She suddenly felt something move behind her. Reaching back, she gave a yelp of surprise as she felt two wings, one of which was leather and the other feathered. She made herself flap them and she rose a few feet before falling again. Kali smiled and turned on her side. The wings caught the air and brought her higher. She soared for a moment before remembering about Cid.

Kali turned her head towards her friend and folded her wings back. She dove swiftly towards the ground and held her arms at her sides. She had to squint for the wind in her eyes, but she managed to reach Cid within seconds. She grabbed him under the arms and began flying up again. As Kali flapped her wings quickly, Cid opened his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. He stared at the wings. Kali held him closer.

"I'll explain when we're on the ground. Just hold on. Don't let go. I won't let you fall," she said gently.

Kali began to slowly descend. Cid was shaking against her the entire time. He obviously hadn't forgotten that Zurine could fly, too. Kali gently landed and they sat on the ground for a few moments. Their eyes were closed and they were clutching each other tightly when the jet carrying the others landed nearby. Kadaj ran up, but stopped when Kali stood slowly and turned to face them. The three of them and Pradipa stared at her while she rubbed her arms nervously. She couldn't see them, but they were the exact same as her tattoos. Kadaj slowly walked around her and noticed that they were her tattoos. He laid a hand on her shoulder. As he did, Kali began crying. He held her gently while she sobbed.

"I let her do this to me," Kali gasped. "I don't know if it can be reversed."

"It's okay. You saved Cid and yourself. That's all that matters," Rude said quietly. He squeezed her shoulder. As he did, her wings shrank until they were painted once again onto her skin. She pushed away from Kadaj slowly and reached behind her to find them gone.

"I didn't know I could do that," she whispered. Kali shook her head and stared at them. "I guess we'll head back to Junon now."

"Well-" Cid began, but he was interrupted by the beeping of Rude's phone. Rude pulled it out and put it to his ear.

"Hello?" he said. He moved the phone a few inches away and they could faintly hear Yuffie crying hysterically. "Calm down! What's going on?" he yelled. Kali felt her stomach knot when Rude froze where he was and looked to the ground. His free hand was clenched into a fist. "We'll be there very soon."

"Rude?" Kali whispered as he hung up. He trembled and fell to his knees.

"He can't," he muttered shakily through gritted teeth. He slammed his fist angrily into the ground as Kali knelt next to him.

"What's happened to Reno?"

"He's too far gone to be saved," Rude muttered, struggling to stop his tears from flowing. "Alim said he's going to die shortly, three days if he's lucky."

"We need to get there," Cid said quietly after they had taken a moment to let the news sink in.

"I'm so sorry," Kali muttered. She gently wrapped her arms around Rude and cried, her face against his shoulder. His trembling shoulders a moment later told her that he was doing the same.

NINJAMAGEGAMAJNIN

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Rude griped. They were sitting in a jet that was speeding across the ocean, but the pilot had told them that it would take just over one day to reach the other coast. He shrugged as Rude complained.

"It can, but we run the risk of overheating the engines. We could all blow up," he explained. Rude groaned and sat back. Kali sat on the edge of her seat behind him and massaged his shoulders.

"We'll get there. He won't die. Not yet," she said soothingly. Rude sighed.

"I hope you're right."

"I think he likes her," Cid muttered in a singsong voice to Kadaj. They watched as Rude slowly fell asleep while Kali rubbed his back.

"Rude's only a few years younger than you are. Even if he was interested, I don't think he'd let it show in front of anyone else," Kadaj muttered in reply. He smirked. "I don't want to have to give him the same speech I gave to…" he trailed off and the smiled faded. Cid laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry none of us believed you. Maybe if we had, he wouldn't have…" Cid trailed off as Kadaj shook his head.

"What's done is done. We can't change the past. To be honest, I feel safer having Rude love her than Devin. At least I can trust him not to hurt her," Kadaj whispered. He watched as his sister finally sat back and fell into a deep sleep. "I only wish she was older or he was younger. They do look pretty good together.

"How about you, Cid? Have you got anyone?"

"Not for about seven years," he said softly. "Shera was out on the sea one day. She was going to go to see some friends in Gongaga. Two nights after she left, there was a thunderstorm. I talked to her friend the day she should have arrived. She never got there."

"Shera?" Kadaj repeated. "Do you mean dirty blonde hair and glasses Shera that kept you from going into space before the Meteor incident?" he asked, amazingly in one breath. Cid nodded slowly.

"Yes."

"Did they ever find a body?"

"No," Cid said quietly. He closed his eyes to hold back tears. "They only found a few pieces of the boat she was on. Why?"

"Cid…" Kadaj muttered. He stared at the man. "I have some information that you should know."

"What?" he asked, turning to face him. Kadaj hesitated. "Tell me. What do you know?"

"Shortly before Kali came, I was out in Mideel. I overheard a woman speaking into a radio. She was trying to contact a man named Cid Highwind. She looked exactly like Shera."

"You're sure?" Cid said, suddenly sitting straight up. Kadaj nodded.

"I don't know for sure if it's her, but you never know…"

"Maybe we'll head out there if there's time."

"For your sake, I hope it is her. If not, I apologize for getting our hopes up," Kadaj whispered. Cid nodded.

"Let's just get some sleep," he replied, glancing out at the starry night. Kadaj sighed as his friend fell asleep, leaving him to be the only one awake besides the pilot. He glanced over at Kali as a whistling noise reached his ears. Pradipa was snoring. As Kadaj watched, the Tonberry sat up and took the classic Tonberry attack stance. When he realized that he was awake, Pradipa leaned against the seat and coughed.

"Are you okay?" Kadaj asked. The creature jumped in surprise and stared at him.

"I'm sick. I don't know what's wrong. I've been having these nightmares and I've been coughing and sweating and shaking. My nose feels stopped up."

"I never knew Tonberrys get sick."

"We don't," Pradipa replied solemnly. "That's why I'm so scared."

"Come here," Kadaj commanded. He wrapped up in his seat with the beast. "Can you hold out until we get to Alim? He might help."

"I think so. What if he doesn't help?"

"Then we'll try Sachiko. We'll get you better, Pradipa. I promise," he said softly. The two of them were asleep in a few moments.

NINJAMAGEGAMAJNININJAMAGEGAMAJNININJAMAGEGAMAJNININJAMAGEGAMAJNIN

NM: Worst. Chapter. Yet. Oh, well. Okay, I REALLY don't like this chapter, but it moves the story along, so I don't really care. Be as brutal as you wish, and don't be surprised if you notice that this comes off and is rewritten. Anyway, on to reviews:

Vampyrevinnie: Yep, Devin's one evil son of a gun. But, hey, dramatics are essential to good stories. As for the pregnant cousin thing, I just found out about 2 months ago that my cousin's going to have a baby, too (but she's not in college). And I'm glad I could help start up your story.

Mediciner: Yeah, I've noticed many similarities between this and KHFD. Speaking of which, I'm probably not going to finish it. I'm sorry! My mind is just so focused on FF7 lately, what with AC, DOC, and Crisis Core coming out. I might finish KHFD after KH2 comes out and I become obsessed with that again. And psst… Kail is the one inserting music. I'm such a tattler…

Sayahiei: Glad I could fill you in, and yes, Devin will die. It'll be awhile, but he will. And I hope your bruises heal quickly!

NM: Okay, everyone is asking whether Kali is pregnant. As of this moment, she is NOT pregnant. This might change later, but if it does, she will lose the child (you'll have to wait to see why). She was going to be when I first planned this section, but then I realized, as Mediciner pointed out, that this will sound too much like my KH fic (the hero gave birth to twins), so i decided to scratch that idea. More recently, I thought that I would go ahead and make her pregnant, but then decided against it again since it will conflict with a future event. However, I may have found a way around it, so her pregnant/not pregnant status might change (though the chances are slim). You'll just have to wait and see.

Kadaj: Do you really think it's wise to tell people about that? I mean, it kind of gives away what will happen if you tell them what you're planning.

NM: I'm going to ignore that… Oh,I need all of your advice. I need to change the genre from 'horror' to something else (I don'tfeel that thi is scary enough for horror). I need each of you to suggest another genre from the list. WhicheverI get more for and actually agree with will be the new genre. If it'sa tie,I'lluse whichever oneI feel is best. Oh, andI have an idea of how to thank ya'll for the reviews (up to 96!). For everyone who reviews thischapter (positive or negative)and has given at least one review previously,I will let you know what it is through email or IM, whichever you prefer, and if youdon't want me to email/IM you, say so in your review(so send those reviews in!).Anyway, I'm hoping the next chapter will be a bit more action packed, including an appearance by Sephiroth, Vincent, possibly Cloud, Aeris, and Rufus, as well as the ghost of Reno from chapter 20. As for this chapter… Will Reno die? Will Rude try to get closer to Kali? What the hell is wrong with Pradipa? Where have Tifa and Marlene been? What has the Hitomi been up to? Is what Kadaj said about Shera true? And will Ninja Mage ever make up her mind whether Kali's pregnant or not? The answers to these questions (well, at least three of them) in the next chapter of Angel's Child.

Signed,

Master of the Physical and Mystical,

NINJA MAGE