Koinu: OMG! -bows- Forgive me, forgive me! It has been so so long since my last update. My betta (who we shall call Nii-san for now) was helping me with this, and then it disappeared! -gasp- No! Luckily, we got it back, and here it is. You must all thank my wonderful nii-san for helping me with this!

Eclipse of Memories

Chapter Six

She smirked as she stepped through the doors of the church. She had trailed Tifa, just as he had told her too. He had known that Cloud and his friends wouldn't be expecting an attack so soon.

"Well, well, well…" Liz's voice was borderline sadistic as she spoke. She held back the need to laugh as Tifa spun around to face her. The woman was alone, having left the children at the bar.

"Liz." Tifa said slowly, as if it pained her to say the name. "What are you doing here?"

Liz did laugh this time, and she didn't hold anything back. "I'm here to keep you busy." She said merrily, as if she had said something more along the lines of "bring you lunch".

Tifa clenched her fists, but glanced behind her, at the pool of healing water. She could use that to her advantage.

Liz laughed again. "What… Afraid to fight me?" She cooed. "Come on, I thought you were better than that. Guess not." She mocked.

Tifa growled, taking a fighting stance. She didn't want to fight, but she seemed to have no choice.

Liz was upon her in seconds.

Tifa was startled at the speed the remnant had, but still managed to get her guard up in time. The blow actually moved her a few inches, her shoes leaving skids in the damp earth.

"Very good," Liz said in a mocking tone, "but how long can you keep it up?" With that she attacked again. Tifa wasn't exactly trying to defend herself; she was actually looking for an opening. Wait for it… Wait for it…There! Just and the female remnant was about to strike, Tifa saw her chance and drew her arm back, her fist clenching tightly. Pouring chi into the blow she swung at Liz's unprotected side.

The punch knocked Liz to the side and created an opening, through which the dark haired woman could run. But she hadn't gotten very far when the other woman grabbed her arm and flung her overhead.

"Can't get away from me that easy!" Liz said though clenched teeth, her pupils contracted into angry slits.

Tifa caught herself and landed. Maybe an all out offense would be better. She got into her fighting stance and then began launching her own swift attacks.

The two of them were in the desert again, looking for any signs of either Liz or the general she was accompanying. Kadaj healed extraordinarily quickly, and all he had to show for his encounter with Sephiroth yesterday was a thin, red line across his neck. Cloud was still slightly shaken from the event, and he was running mainly on adrenaline and anger. Both of them were.

They hadn't seen it coming, but they still reacted quickly. One moment he hadn't been there, the next, he was. The blonde and the silver haired adolescent both leapt away, missing the Masamune by inches as it swung at them.

Kadaj growled, but hung back as Sephiroth laughed at them. This was Cloud's fight, not his.

"You bastard! How could you--?" It was impossible after all that.

Liz was quick, but Tifa soon found out that she wasn't as quick as Loz, or as strong. But the girl was clever, and her movements fluid and precise. She seemed to have a counter attack for every attack Tifa had, and a counter counter for every one of Tifa's counter attacks.

Tifa threw a punch, but Liz caught her fist in one hand. The woman's eyes widened as the remnant smirked. This was new.

Liz twisted Tifa's arm, pulling the woman towards her as she drew one of her sai. She pressed the sharp blade against Tifa's neck.

"It's been fun." Liz said sadistically, her eyes flashing as she pressed harder.

A sudden shot rang from out of nowhere, interrupting the battle with the echoing bang. After the sound faded, there was a moment of complete silence. The silence didn't last for long.

"What's wrong Cloud?" Sephiroth mocked. "Are you in pain?"

Cloud clutched his hand over a wound in his side. He gasped for air as he glared at his opponent. Sephiroth was unscathed.

Kadaj growled and drew Souba. He couldn't just stand here anymore, doing nothing.

The way Sephiroth stood there smirking, his power, his confidence… The way he left Kadaj to die in his place… They all made Kadaj's blood boil with rage. He yelled angrily and rushed at the man that he was a remnant of. The man he had sought to become.

Sephiroth spun around, and slashed at Kadaj, mild surprise showing on his features. The Masamune made a clean slice down the remnant's arm, but Kadaj didn't feel the pain, he was actually grinning; amazed and pleased at what an opening the general's attack had given him.

There was a pause and everything went silent. Sephiroth's surprise went from mild, to full blown and angered. Even Cloud couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Souba had pierced Sephiroth's chest and a good foot of it could be seen sticking out of the man's back.

Sephiroth growled. "Why you…" He coughed. There was blood in his mouth.

Kadaj made a sound of disgust and twisted his sword. His eyes burned with rage. He made an angry, animalistic sound as he brought up his free hand. His arm was glowing with materia. "I'm ending it now. We aren't your puppets to play with anymore!" he shouted then cast the magic he had readied.

There was an explosion, a flurry of black feathers, and then the Nightmare was no more.

Yazoo had known something was up far before Loz had any idea. Of course, Yazoo was the more sensitive of the two. Tifa had left them with the children shortly after Cloud and Kadaj had left. So much for sticking together.

"I'll go to Kadaj and Cloud; you go to the church and find Tifa." The younger of the brothers had said quickly, though his voice was as smooth and calm as ever. He was gone soon after; having left with the liquid grace that only Kadaj had been able to mimic, though not well.

But Loz wasn't one to disappoint his brothers, so off he went to find Tifa. It wasn't until he was halfway there that the sense of dread and knowing that Yazoo had felt so long ago descended upon the eldest of the three.

Loz sprinted the rest of the way there, hoping, praying even, that he wouldn't find something terrible.

Liz was on the ground, writhing in pain and clutching at her leg with both hands, trying to pull out the bullet and stop the bleeding all at once. She had dropped her sai, and Vincent had moved quickly, taking from her the other sai that was still in its sheath. But the remnant hadn't seemed to notice.

She was screaming and yowling and cursing in rage and pain. Mostly pain. "You son of a bitch! I'll kill you for that!" The promise was empty, though. She couldn't even stand right now.

Tifa now stood beside Vincent, breathing heavily. "Thanks…" She managed slowly. They both had their backs to the healing water, whether by conscious decision or not, but were behind Liz.

Vincent nodded in response, showing that he had heard. "You are welcome." He replied, his voice cool and emotionless, like always.

Liz looked up from her leg, her head snapping around so she could face them. They were her two opponents and, in some ways, her captors. She hissed, then stopped, turning her attention back to her wound as her warm blood continued to seep through her hands. Her pant leg was already dyed a deep crimson at the back of her right calf, accompanying the bullet hole.

The remnant was furious. She knew she wouldn't be able to stand again on her own, not for some time at least, and she was beating herself up on the inside for not noticing Vincent's arrival.

"Monster." She hissed at him, her frustration clearly visible. "Demon. Chaos." She didn't know how she knew this, but this former Turk, this man that had been her caretaker when she had been young and still living in Hojo's lab, held the spirit and mind of Chaos, the demon.

Vincent's only response was to incline his head slightly. None of this was new to him, none at all. Only the fact that these things were coming from this being, this remnant whose name he associated with a child he had known long ago unsettled him. But he didn't let it show.

All three of them heard heavy footsteps, but only Liz tensed. "Loz is coming." Tifa explained, having recognized the heavy foot falls.

Then there was a moan of pain from the remnant that still sat on the ground; an emotional pain that escaped her lips. It sounded nothing like her earlier cries. "He is gone…" Liz babbled suddenly. She stiffened again, her eyes going blank and rolling back in her head. She went rigid as black feathers appeared in her mind's eye. Within the confining walls of her own consciousness, the feathers disintegrated, barriers that had been there crumbled, a wave of burning pain filled her head, accompanied by images and visions.

Memories.

Liz's eyes refocused again at the exact moment of Loz's arrival through the open doors of the church. He faltered, coming to a stop as their gazes met. Liz was crying, the tears falling down her cheeks as her face became readable again, displaying her emotions all too clearly.

"Nii-san…" Her words were choked and she could barely speak. Her eyes lolled back again, and she collapsed onto the ground, limp as a rag doll, unconscious.

Loz looked from each figure in the church to another, from Tifa, to Vincent, and then to Liz, back to Vincent and Tifa, before then finally settled on the youngest sibling after seeing that Tifa was unharmed. He knelt by his sister and lifted her up, cradling her in his arms. "Liz," He began, "Liz? Imoto-chan?" He shook her but she remained unconscious and unresponsive. Then he noticed her leg. He set her back down on the ground, making sure to be gentle, and moved around to try and stop the bleeding. Yet the wound persisted.

Koinu: So, what did you think? Sephi is officially gone (for now) and I need reviews.

Please...

Pretty please...

With sugar on top?