Chapter 34
Truth be Told
"Pradipa, what happened to you back there?" Kali asked later that night. They sat around a small campfire in a field a short distance from Rocket Town. They could have made it that night, but Cid said that The Sierra was stored there and they had yet to see the airship take to the skies. Pradipa, sitting on his haunches, tore a piece of jerky with his new fangs and swallowed before explaining.
"I really don't know. But I think this is what made me sick," he said softly with his new, deeper voice. Kali nodded and ate slowly.
"Maybe Sachiko will know. She's smart."
"Uyo aer a Zeki Tonberry," Shizuka spoke up. Yuffie glanced up at her in surprise.
"Uyo aer eurs?"
"Eys."
"Shizuka says that he's a Zeki Tonberry."
"A what?" Kali and Pradipa both said together.
"A Zeki Tonberry," Yuffie repeated. "They're a special breed of Tonberry that used to protect the Planet along with the Cetra. Most of them supposedly died out with the Ancients centuries ago, but they say that when the Planet is in trouble, another will be born. Looks like you're it."
"How do you know that?" Reno asked. Yuffie stiffened and took a deep breath.
"Because we do," she finally muttered. Reno glared at her.
"That's not an answer."
"Look, it's between myself and my family, okay?" she snapped. Kali's stomach gave an odd jerk. She had never heard Yuffie raise her voice in anger before. Pradipa gave her a sideways look.
"I know now…" he whispered.
"Know what?" Cid asked. Pradipa kept looking at Yuffie.
"When we met, I saw something about you. You had an aura," he explained. "You're of Cetra descent, aren't you? Shizuka is, too."
"Huh?" Reno sat up. They all stared at Yuffie and Shizuka. Yuffie nodded slowly.
"Everyone on the island is. When the Cetra sacrificed themselves hundreds of years ago, the few survivors fled to our island and established the city of Wutai. Non-Cetra began to wed and bear children with the Cetra. Only a small percentage of our blood is Cetra," Yuffie whispered, glancing at Shizuka. "So many generations have passed, it's amazing that there's any left in us at all."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Rude asked. Yuffie turned to him and Reno.
"When I met you two, you were trying to get Aeris to find the Promised Land. Who's to say the same wouldn't have happened to our entire island?"
"But that can't be right," Kadaj shook his head. "The Anjin Tarepi-s, they're not Cetra, are they?"
"Only two," Yuffie said softly. "Sargon and Shizuka."
"But Shizuka isn't from your town, is she? So did she move or something?" Kali asked.
"No," Shizuka said slowly. She closed her eyes and spoke shakily. "Sargon is… my rathef."
"Your what?" Cid said.
"My… Yuffie, thaw si 'rathef' ni hirte aglagnue?" she asked.
"Father," Yuffie whispered.
"Sargon is my… father," she said in a trembling voice.
"So you're cousins," Reno deduced. Yuffie nodded.
"I decided not to tell you. I thought you might think her a traitor."
"From now on, no more secrets," Kali demanded. "We tell each other the truth, no matter how painful it may be to others."
"Then tell us the truth," Kadaj muttered. "Are you pregnant?"
"I don't know," Kali shrugged. She massaged her stomach slowly. "It's too early to tell if I am or not. I haven't felt sick or different if that's what you mean."
"We'll keep an eye on you then. See if you show any symptoms. One more question. Do you still love Devin?" Kadaj asked. Kali held her breath and thought for a moment.
"Yes," she whispered. "That's why it hurts so much. No matter what he's done to me or will do, I still love him deeply."
"Kali, if you don't think you can do it, one of us will kill him for you," Cid said softly.
"No. Something tells me that I have to do it."
"It's late. We should sleep now," Pradipa whispered. He stretched out on the ground and closed his eyes. The others slowly did the same. "Kali?"
"Yes?" she whispered back and she curled up in her sleeping bag. Pradipa motioned her over with a claw and pulled her close.
"Just because I'm more human than before doesn't mean you can't still curl up with me, does it?"
"Of course not," Kali smiled. She laid her head on his shoulder and got as close to him as possible.
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"Which way to the hospital? I need my hand fixed," Kadaj moaned. They walked through the Rocket Town streets quietly, blinking in the growing sunlight. Cid took Kadaj's arm and led him to the left.
"Yuffie, you know where my house is. The rest of you wait there, I'll call when he's done," Cid said. The two of them were gone a moment later.
"This way," Yuffie pointed to the right. She led them to a slightly rundown house near the other edge of town. She reached up onto the awning and smiled as she pulled a key down. She opened the door and walked into the dusty home. "It's like he couldn't hire a maid to clean once in awhile."
"It's a nice house," Kali whispered. "Just needs some tidying up."
The small group laid their bags in the hall and walked around the house quietly. Kali gasped as she looked out the back door.
"What's that?" she grinned. She pointed at a large machine behind the house. Reno narrowed his brow and stared at it.
"Not sure. Must be one of Cid's projects," he shrugged. Reno yawned. "God I'm tired."
"Why? You were the first one to fall asleep," Yuffie pointed out. Reno shrugged.
"I guess the Mako hasn't completely worn off."
"None of us really slept last night and it's still really early. Let's all take a nap," Pradipa suggested. Everyone quietly agreed and, not wanting to explore the house without permission, laid out their sleeping bags in the living room. Kali curled up in hers, tossed and turned for an hour, and finally sat up, wide-awake. She sighed, got up, and walked into the kitchen to find something to eat.
"Damn, there's nothing here," she muttered when she had searched all the cabinets. They were completely empty. Her stomach released a pained groan as she thought of food. They had no more rations, they had run out of everything except a few pieces of jerky before reaching Nibelheim, and they had yet to buy more.
A whistling reached her ears as she left the room. Looking around, Kali couldn't resist smiling. Reno and Yuffie were waking up together and talking quietly, Shizuka was huddled by the door and watching Yuffie, Pradipa was curled into a ball with his wings wrapped around him and whistling, and Rude was stretched out on the small sofa with his jacket over the back of it. Kali leaned against the doorframe and closed her eyes. Kadaj was probably in surgery right now. She cried silently as she thought of him with no family present to comfort him. She sighed and quietly walked through the room. Without knowing why, her gaze returned to Rude. She smiled and crawled over him, curling up between him and the back of the couch, her head resting on his chest. He opened his eyes and looked at her in surprise.
"What's this?" he asked. Kali laid a hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"I can't sleep, I keep thinking about Kadaj. I just want to be held," she muttered in reply. She was asleep in no time. Rude smiled and pulled his jacket around her arms and wrapped his arm around her. He closed his eyes to sleep, but the sudden silence was too distracting. He looked over to see Reno, Yuffie, Shizuka, and the now awake Pradipa staring at them.
"What?"
"That's so adorable," Reno smirked. "You holding her like that."
"So she needs someone to hold her, so what?"
"I never thought I'd see you cuddling with anybody," Reno said. Rude shrugged and closed his eyes. "Come on, what's going on with you two? Do you love her or something?"
Before Rude could answer, Cid walked through the door with Kadaj in his arms. They all turned to him and smiled.
"That was fast," Yuffie piped up. "Only… what, an hour and a half?"
"We have the best prosthetic surgeons on the Planet. Besides, it wasn't too major surgery. Except…" Cid sighed and laid Kadaj on the other couch. "They had to replace his entire arm."
"What?" Pradipa piped up. He walked over as Cid took Kadaj's coat off. His entire right arm was pitch-black metal. "Why?"
"They couldn't match a hand alone with his nerves, so he wouldn't have been able to use any hand they attached. They amputated the arm and attached this one. He has full use of it, it's like he never lost the arm."
"Does he know they replaced it all?" Rude called from the sofa. Cid shook his head.
"He was already under when they noticed. He hasn't woken up yet."
"Just let him sleep," Yuffie ordered. "We need to go get more rations. Why don't we do that while Rude stays here with Kali and Kadaj?"
"Fine with me," Reno nodded. Pradipa, Cid, and Shizuka agreed and left the house while the two siblings dreamed again.
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"Which way?" Kadaj growled. Valda winced as he twisted her arm farther behind her back.
"To the left and down. She's down there, I promise," she grunted. Kadaj let her go and threw her against the wall.
"Kadaj, look," Kali pointed down the hall. The floor was smattered with drops of blood.
"Shit," Kadaj muttered. His left hand wrapped around Souba as his pitch-black right curled into a fist. He ran down the hall as quickly as he could.
"Kadaj, wait!" Reno yelled. They ran after him, but he was too quick. He reached the end of the corridor long before the rest.
"Sachiko!" he screamed. He panted as he listened for her reply.
"Ah!" came a scream around the corner. He raced along the wall and froze at the sight.
"Give me the Materia!" Zurine yelled. Sachiko shook her head and screamed as the dirk sliced through her arm. It was then that Kadaj noticed the white marble on the staff. Unfortunately, Zurine noticed it, too.
"Sachiko, run!" Kadaj screamed. He drew Souba as Zurine dug her katana deep into Sachiko's stomach and tore the marble from the staff. Zurine turned to find Kadaj approaching her in tears and preparing to slice her.
"You cannot win. You've already lost," she hissed. She blocked the blow quickly and flew off.
"Sachiko," Kadaj gasped. He held her close and sobbed.
"Kadaj… I'm sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry for?"
"You're not just losing me," Sachiko gasped. She laid a hand on her stomach and breathed raggedly. "Our baby is dying, too."
"Oh, no," he shuddered. Sachiko stopped breathing, her blood seeping onto Kadaj's hands. He pulled her even closer to him and cried heavily. "Sachiko…"
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"I don't want to hurt you!" Kali called. Devin closed his eyes.
"I don't want to hurt you either," he whispered. Kali was surprised to see tears staining his face. "But this is something I have to do."
"No, it's not," she shook her head. "You can come with us, help us kill her."
"You don't get it. I was killed not five minutes after I came here. Zurine brought me back, but… she has a special potion I have to drink every night. If I don't drink it, I die again within twenty-four hours. And I have to be reminded that life exists and we can enjoy it."
"What do you mean?"
"The potion gives me my life, but what Zurine does when I drink it is what keeps me from going mad with pain," he muttered. When Kali gave him a sideways look, he sighed. "I've been sleeping with her. I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Kali gasped. She trembled and slowly drew Masamune. "I guess there's only one thing left to do."
"Yeah," Devin nodded. He slowly drew his daggers. "I love you."
"I loved you, too."
Devin ran across the field and tried to cut open her stomach. Kali rolled away and went for his legs. He leapt into the air and came down, his daggers hitting where Kali had been before leaping away. They came at each other, slicing and dodging, for another twenty minutes. Kadaj, Rude, Reno, Yuffie, Shizuka, Cid, and Pradipa were watching fearfully as they tired. Pradipa was the only one to notice a flash of white in the trees above.
"She's going to attack," he muttered. Kadaj looked up and saw nothing.
"Who?"
"Are you finished?" Devin growled at Kali. She spit blood and glared at him.
"No. Not yet," she hissed back. She slowly raised Masamune once more. It was then that Kadaj saw what Pradipa had pointed out.
"KALI, MOVE!" he screamed.
"Ah!" she gasped and Masamune dropped to the ground. She looked down to see a piece of metal sticking out of her stomach. Behind her, Zurine pulled the sword out slowly, turning the blade as she did. Kali screamed in pain and finally fell quiet as the blade came out and she fell motionless to the ground.
"What a fitting end for my niece. Death precisely as the one-winged angel dealt it to the last Cetra," she whispered. She laughed and continued sarcastically, "My brother would be so proud."
"'My niece?' 'My brother?' What are you talking about?" Kadaj screamed angrily, struggling to hold back tears. Zurine smiled at him.
"Oh, you mean the one-winged angel never told you? I suppose he wouldn't. He never knew himself. Leave her body to rot!" she snapped. Devin backed away from Kali's body slowly.
"What?" Kadaj hissed. Zurine only smiled evilly at him.
"Sephiroth… he was my big brother."
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"Ah!" Kali sat straight up on the couch and shook. She jumped when two arms wrapped around her from behind.
"You okay?" Rude whispered into her ear. She nodded and took a few calming breaths. She gently laid her hands on his, resting on her abdomen.
"I'm fine. I just had a bad dream."
"What was it?"
"We were at the Ruins, and Valda was leading us to Sachiko. We came around the corner and Sachiko was kneeling at Zurine's feet. Zurine stuck her katana through Sachiko's stomach, took the white marble from her staff, and flew away. Kadaj was holding Sachiko as she died. She said something about their baby dying with her. Then Kadaj just held her body and cried," Kali whispered. She shuddered and leaned back against Rude as tightly as she could. She pulled his arms closer around her.
"What's wrong? You scared?"
"Yes. In fact I'm utterly frightened," she gasped. She let a few tears drip down her cheeks and he held her. Rude gently wiped them away.
"It was just a dream. We'll rescue her before Zurine gets to her. I promise."
"I hope so," she muttered. She glanced over and saw Kadaj still sleeping. "So I guess everything went well."
"Yeah," Rude smiled. "They ended up replacing his entire arm, but other than that he's good as new."
"Good."
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Kadaj flinched slightly as he slept. A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes and glanced around, his vision blurred. He closed his eyes and groaned, trying to mentally force the anesthesia from his body. He slowly tried to lift his right arm, but it was suddenly heavy. He furrowed his brow and suddenly remembered: he had just had an operation to replace his hand. Kadaj slowly lifted his hand to his face to rub his temples, but winced at the cold metal on his skin. As his vision cleared, he noticed something odd. Not only was his hand heavy as lead, but the rest of his arm seemed to weigh a ton as well. He glanced at his arm and sat up quickly, groaning as blood rushed from his head.
"You okay?" Kali asked. Kadaj trembled as he looked at his metal arm.
"What happened? I thought it was just my hand…"
"They couldn't attach a hand alone. You wouldn't have been able to move it unless they replaced the whole arm," Rude explained.
"Oh…" Kadaj muttered. He flexed his arm a few times and moved it around. After a few minutes, it was as if he'd had it all his life. Then all at once, his dream came flooding back to him.
"Kadaj?" Kali called to him. He leapt off of the couch and went over to their bags. "What are you doing?"
"I need to find something," he replied, pulling out several books from his bag. He looked at the first page of all of them and found what he was looking for in the last book.
"What's that?" Rude asked as he and Kali sat with Kadaj.
"It's our grandfather's old journal. I think… yes, this would be the right time frame…" he muttered. Kadaj flipped through the pages, skimming each one. He finally stopped and read an entire page. The more he read, the wider his eyes grew and the more the book trembled in his hands.
"Kadaj?" Kali whispered gently. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen to this…
What a wonderful day this has been. Sephiroth has been accepted to SOLDIER. Ten years old and a SOLDIER! I knew when we started the Jenova Project that he would be destined for great things. Who knew it would be so soon? But Valentine… He is beginning to enjoy causing trouble. He keeps trying to get Sephiroth alone. He says it's to give him advice for while he's in SOLDIER. Ha. He's trying to tell Sephiroth that I'm his father. I can tell, and Valentine knows it. I only wish I had thought things through before giving him that gauntlet… It's too difficult to remove now even for me. I will have to think on how to deal with this problem…
And better news could not come to me today. Sephiroth's sister arrived early this morning. He, of course, will ne-"
"Whoa! Hold on!" Kali yelled. She stared at him. "Sephiroth's sister?"
"Kali, shush, he isn't finished," Rude muttered, but he was just as stunned as she was. Kadaj turned back to the book and kept reading:
"He, of course will never know that she's his sister. This one… yes, I can become quite attached to her. My daughter is not an experiment like my son is. I have no problems caring about her and loving her. But her mother… it seems she does not want me around. I will figure something out. Until then, I can hope only to care for her and our new daughter… If she suspects anything foul, she and my daughter will disappear. And her name… I really haven't thought of one come to think of it. Shimei… yes… her name is Shimei."
"This is great!" Kali yelled suddenly. She was grinning from ear to ear.
"What?" Kadaj gasped.
"If she's still alive, she can help us! I'm sure she'd love to help her niece and nephew."
"Kali… She was just born when granddad wrote this," Kadaj said softly. "If he had a written description of her as an adult… Kali, we've seen her before."
"Really?" Kali's eyes seemed to have light bulbs behind them.
"The reason I was looking for this… I had a dream. You and Devin had your little fight, then Zurine came down and killed you the same way father killed Aeris. When she had… she said something about niece and nephew."
"Wha…?" Kali began, but the word was barely out of her mouth when realization hit and Rude voiced what she had just thought.
"Zurine took over Shimei's body. Zurine took over your aunt."
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"You're sure it's the same woman?" Yuffie asked when Kadaj and Kali explained. At a nod from Rude she trembled. "But why doesn't she fight back against Zurine?"
"It seems Zurine pushed Shimei's soul out of her body. If she's still there… she's probably too weak," Kali whispered. "We need to get to her as quickly as possible."
"Right. Cid, what was it you wanted to show us?" Kadaj asked. "We need to get to the Temple before Zurine."
"Well then," Cid smiled, "we have all of our supplies. Let's get out back."
The group followed him to the backyard, each of them carrying bags filled with food and their own belongings. Cid led them to the large object Kali had seen earlier. It seemed to be made of the same metal as Kadaj's arm. The body of it was in the shape of a torpedo, except the top was flat starting where the curved end stopped. On the sides were what looked like large fins. As she walked around, she saw that there were propellers on the tips. There was also what appeared to be a large rudder on the back of the machine and on the bottom was a large metal box. On the sides close to the top and the ends were what appeared to be wheels stuck to the outside.
"Beautiful isn't she?" Cid beamed.
"What IS it?" Reno asked. Kali came back around to the front and saw painted in silver the word Sarasanila.
"It's my new airship, the Sarasanila," he announced proudly. "It can go both underwater and in the sky. Fastest airship there is. Been working on it since Cloud bought the Sierra from me. Finished it just after Shera died- er… disappeared. Come on aboard."
The small group eagerly followed Cid as he led them up a short ladder into the ship. At the very front was a large cockpit with thick glass windshields and twenty-one seats, one for the pilot and twenty for passengers. They walked through the rest of the ship to their rooms, all twenty of which were close to the cockpit. Cid led them to the back where the engine was (Kali decided that this was the box on the bottom of the ship) and on the way back pointed to the mess hall, infirmary (both on the right hall), storage, and weapons (these were on the left side). Cid finally brought them back to the cockpit and ordered that they sit down.
"Buckle up everyone," he called, taking a hold of the steering joysticks. "This is going to be a bit bumpy, I've only piloted it once before."
Kali and Kadaj gave each other nervous glances as the engines roared to life and they felt the ship trembling. Kali gripped the arms of her chair and focused her attention on the windshield.
"Oh…" Yuffie groaned, laying a hand on her stomach, "I hate flying…" Kali was slightly amused as Yuffie laid a hand on her mouth and closed her eyes tightly.
Kali watched as the house slowly faded from view as the ship rose into the air. Soon, the entire town fell away and she only saw the grassy plains they had stayed in the previous night, then eventually she saw only the sea, and finally it was nothing but the ever-cloudy sky. Before she could take in the beauty of it, Kali felt herself push back against her seat as Cid propelled the ship forward. After a few minutes, she became used to the speed and was relieved when Cid called back to them.
"Speed's nice and steady, you can get up and walk around if you want. You can go up to the deck too, it's encased in glass. I won't take the dome out until you're used to it," he explained. "Only stairwell in the ship leads up there. It's the one by the engines. We'll be in Wutai by sundown."
Kali leapt out of her seat, ready to go, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for Yuffie, who was sitting tight against her chair with her hands gripping the arms so tightly, her knuckles were white. Her pale green skin and scared, bulging eyes didn't make her look much better. And, standing over the ninja, Kali could have sworn that her hair roots were now grey.
"Kali, let's head up to the deck," Kadaj called to her. As Kali followed, she struggled to resist smiling as Reno tried to coax Yuffie to get up.
"An airship… your surprise had to be a fucking airship, didn't it you smart ass bastard?"
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Kali and Kadaj stood out on the deck, shortly followed by Pradipa, Rude, and Reno, who explained that Yuffie was currently getting sick and Shizuka was calming her down.
"Look at it…" Kali whispered as they sped over the ocean. She pressed her face to the glass and watched the waves below. Looking at the sides, Kali saw that the 'fins' had folded against the sides and the propellers were helping move it forward. Near the top, Kali discovered what the 'wheels' were for. They were more propellers, now extended from the ship and on metal rods that adjusted to help change direction and speed. She heard the engines roaring behind her, and decided that there couldn't be a better ship.
All too soon, Kali saw a mountain looming towards them, and all too soon they were flying over it. She watched the sun setting before her and looked up at a light sigh next to her. Rude glanced down and smiled.
"First ride on an airship?"
"First one I enjoyed," she smiled back, her thoughts turning to her ride with the Anjin Tarepi-s. "Rude, don't forget your promise."
"I won't. I'll tell you before bed. Okay?" he whispered. He gently wrapped an arm around her waist and they looked over the mountains at the sunset. Before the sun had disappeared completely, and definitely before Kali was ready, Cid touched the Sarasanila down just outside of Wutai.
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NM: I'm sorry! I've been unmotivated all summer, and was brain dead on this chapter. I'm so sorry! Anyway… who here thought Yuffie was a Cetra? Anyone? Well I know at least 2 people that know. And Pradipa may not seem to have a large part, but he will. Trust me. And yes, the body Zurine took over IS Sephiroth's half-sister. Replies:
SAYAHIEI: But it's off now! No more cast or pain!
MEDICINER: Yes, he's an anthro. His part to play will become apparent soon. And no, I'm not changing it. And hopefully after the next 3-5 chapters, it will revolve around Cid.
RYU THE YOUKAI: YAY! Cloud death! ((does a jig))
VAMPYREVINNIE: I am SO sorry to hear about your accident. I hope everything is going well and you're back on your feet (if not already then soon!), and I hope you got my email that I sent after receiving your review. And I'm sorry to say this, but yes they will burn down the reactor and kill Cloud. But it will be later, so he'll be around a while. Again, best wishes and I hope you have a speedy recovery. ((hug))
ANGELVANESSA: Ok… I understand all of these 'bugs' you have. Allow me to explain. First off is Kali. Yes, she does have a little bit of a whiney attitude. But she is 15, and I unfortunately know some kids who are whiney. Plus she's on a new world, and therefore a bit scared and confused. Also, this IS supposed to be somewhat Mary-Sue-ish, as Sephiroth did fall in love after his 'good soul' returned to his body (as was explained in the chapter 'Lifestream'). And I personally don't believe that a story should be judged as 'Mary-Sue' unless it's the character from the game, movie, etc, not by any OCs. But, that is my opinion. Second, I'm trying to give this an anime-ish feel as best I can, as I would like to turn it into a comic or flash cartoon someday (none of it for profit of course, just for fun) and I tend to picture the scenes as anime scenes. Now, in anime club, we learned some Japanese that included vocab for intros. One thing the kid teaching us explained was that in many animes/mangas (and in Japan itself, I believe), characters that enter into schools as new students or whatever often tell quite a bit about themselves, pretty much their life story. Plus, I'm too lazy to find another way to put the pasts in elsewhere. That's my own fault. As for them talking to Cloud Strife last chapter, that was the REAL Cloud, not a clone. The REAL Cloud wants to see the world protected, even if the daughter of his greatest enemy must do it. So long as they are saving the Planet and not hurting it in anyway, he's on their side. As for Devin raping Kali, I believe I explained in the fic why. Devin's weakness is that he fears death so much, that he would rather lose his lover than die. Zurine uses that to her advantage, and so she threatens to kill him if he doesn't do what she wants. She also tricked him into trying to kill her in case she was pregnant so she wouldn't have to go through pain of childbirth. However, he couldn't resist having her one last time, so on his last chance to save his own life he raped her. Had she been more awake and alert and unharmed, he still would have had sex with her, but not rape. Anyway, I hope that clears some things up. If not, I appreciate that you did not flame the story, that you explained what you disliked in a civil manner, and are still enjoying this despite your 'bugs.'
NM: I'll update sooner this time (I've had the next chapter planned for quite a while), and thanks for being patient!
REVIEW!
Signed,
Master of the Physical and Mystical,
NINJA MAGE
