13, So slide back down and close your eyes. Sleep a while, you must be tired.
AN; An update? No way! Oh, yes way!
Sephiroth pushed Aeris harshly out of harm's way and barely avoided Chaos' shot himself. "You need to get out of here!"
Gazing over at him, Aeris managed to scramble up on her knees and flinched at a nearby explosion.
She wanted to scream that she could take care of herself, that she was no stranger to battle and had even fought Jenova herself once, but knew she was only endangering Sephiroth when he felt that he had to look after her as well as himself.
Aeris slowly got up on her feet and waited until Sephiroth glanced over at her. "Y-You be careful! Promise!"
Relief washed over him and the silver haired man managed a faint smile. "Go!"
Running away at that moment was one of the hardest things Aeris had ever done in her life. She clenched her jaw tight and set course for the annex, knowing the stairs would lead her away and him behind.
But the thought of Sephiroth being hurt because of her...
Aeris yanked up the door and aimed to climb down the stairs.
Only to walk straight into a wall.
No. Not a wall.
The pained cry made Sephiroth gaze over quickly and freeze at the sight of Kadaj holding Aeris' throat in a vice-like grip.
"Leaving already?" Kadaj smiled like a razor blade. Pure malice radiating from his eyes.
Sephiroth straightened and tightened his grip on the Masamune. "Let her go. She's got nothing to do with this."
Kadaj made Aeris tilt her head by a painful grip on her chin. "You're probably right…" His eyes moved over to hold Sephiroth's gaze and didn't hesitate as he flung the brunette aside. The smile on his face only seem to widened as he heard her body crash through obstacles and the pure fear in the other man's eyes told him just how close to the edge her now unconscious form was lying.
He was physically unable to keep himself from stepping forward in his instinct to go to her, but Kadaj quickly got in Sephiroth's way and drew his two-bladed sword.
"Don't you want to play, big brother?" Kadaj snarled with disgust. "All that power and you reject Mother for her…"
Sephiroth barely managed to tear his eyes off Aeris and focused on the silver haired youth with a harsh smile. "She lied to me too once, you know…"
Kadaj frowned confused.
"Mother. Jenova." Sephiroth shrugged off old memories. "I was her puppet once too, like you are now, but I'll rather die than to go back to that now." He got into a fighting position. "Move."
Sneering a laugh, Kadaj raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty confident, Sephiroth. You thrive on the power Mother gives you. Let's see how well you do without it."
Sephiroth lifted the Masamune. "I told you to move aside, brat." Final warning.
Kadaj grinned.
He took one step towards the younger man, but suddenly it felt like electricity shot through Sephiroth's body. Like a true puppet, he was yanked upright as pain raged through him, ravaging his senses and forcing the air out of his lungs.
Voices. Memories. Past and present. Thoughts and regrets. Everything flickered in front of his eyes.
Sephiroth vaguely heard Kadaj scream as well.
Waking up surrounded by ice. Yazoo and Loz.
Falling to his knees, Sephiroth clutched his head in agony and despair.
Jenova.
Kadaj stumbled back and nearly lost balance, trembling at the raw energy humming in his veins. It was amazing! No wonder they'd lost against big brother! This power was without equal! With this power, he could not be defeated!
Sephiroth fought for air as his body refused to stop trembling. He felt so incredibly weak. Managing to lift his gaze, he saw the still form of a young woman. He knew her, didn't he?
Something told him it was very important that he remembered her name.
"Mother doesn't need you anymore," Kadaj declared almost softly. "I'll help her destroy this world! Me! Her true son!"
Shaking his head, Sephiroth didn't pay attention to the words. He had to remember!
What was her name?
Stepping forward, Kadaj gazed down at the abandoned Masamune. "Mother still wants you to join us, brother." He frowned. "Can you still refuse her?"
Sephiroth didn't reply, lost in the rising panic. Why didn't he remember? WHY?
"She gave you everything, brother. You owe her your life!"
The words seemed distant in the fog that was clouding the former general's mind. Sephiroth tried to struggle free in vain and could only close his eyes in an effort to block out the voice. He had to focus on a pink dress. Green eyes. Flowers.
Kadaj growled angrily before reaching out to grasp the hilt of the infamous sword. "Very well, big brother. Let us see how your pride matters when you die by your own sword!"
Green eyes. Flowers. What was her name?
His intended attack halted abruptly as Kadaj found the Masamune impossible to move! His hand pulling fiercely at the hilt, but the thing appeared glued to the ground. "I'm your master now! You will obey ME!"
The sword did not seem impressed nor persuaded.
Putting his own sword in its sheath, Kadaj grasped the hilt with both hands and focused all his newly granted power on raising the sword.
It did not budge an inch.
Kadaj pulled at the deadly weapon with all this might to no avail and immature anger flooded his mind. "You wish to follow your master then? Fine!" He delivered a harsh kick that actually sent the shining blade sliding into a pile of rubbish. "I can kill just as easily with my own sword!"
Sephiroth flinched absently at the sound of Kadaj cutting the air with his double-bladed sword but made no move to counter the attack or flee.
He had to remember… If he didn't remember, there was no reason to fight, was there?
Flowers!
Burning with fury and humiliation, Kadaj stalked towards the kneeling man and raised his sword. "Goodbye, brother…"
"NO!" Slender hands grasped his wrist and prevented the strike.
Kadaj glared over at Aeris. "You…" He tore free and stumbled a step back. "Stay out of this!"
A backhand impacted with her cheekbone and Aeris hit the ground hard, the shock and pain numbing her enough for Kadaj to raise his sword and aim his anger at her instead.
Sephiroth's eyes focused and he quickly reached out his hand.
Lost in his anger, Kadaj failed to hear the rattling of the blade and surprise nearly drowned out the pain when the Masamune impaled his chest.
Aeris slowly lowered the arm she'd raised in instinctive defense and gazed over at the kneeling man who'd just saved her life.
Exhaling, Sephiroth sent the brunette an apologetic look.
He was so tired. So very tired.
Calling Masamune had taken everything he had left and he knew the strike was far from enough to stop Kadaj for good.
As their eyes met, they both knew they'd lost.
Crawling towards him, Aeris cried silently as she entered his embrace.
Aeris. Her name was Aeris!
He remembered everything now!
Even as he lost, Sephiroth knew he'd won. Jenova still couldn't break his spirit. His body, yes, but his mind? His freedom? His love?
Never.
Tightening his grip around her slightly, shielding her eyes, Sephiroth closed his own as Kadaj came closer.
He'd always known death would find him one day.
It was only a matter of time for all living things.
He was just grateful for the last years. For the time with Aeris. For Zefiris.
It was worth it.
It was worth every single moment.
Aeris felt a single wing wrap around her and the tears dried up. Calm replaced fear.
It was here she wanted to be. In his arms.
Sephiroth whispered something in her ear. She smiled and replied in turn.
There was no pain.
Barret cursed furiously as the bullets caused another creature to explode into dust only to be replaced with two more.
This was impossible!
They'd been killing these things for ages now and they just kept coming! Just kept increasing in numbers!
Glancing over at the orange beast by his side, Barret saw the clear fatigue in his ally's movements. They were losing.
A shadow beast leaped towards him only to be greeted by a shower of bullets.
A jolt of pain shot up Barret's arm to remind him that to make matters worse; the gun arm was near over-heating.
It wouldn't last much longer either way.
"Hey, cat!"
Despite nearly losing a paw at hearing Barret calling him a cat, Seto still managed an annoyed look. "I told you, please refrain from calling me that!"
Barret grinned satisfied. "Got your attention, didn'it?" He barely avoided a pair of shadow fangs locking on to his throat and sent the creature flying with a hard punch from his human fist. "Listen, you need to get the kids. Get them out of here. This place is gonna be swarming with these things soon!"
Seto started violently. "What? Have you lost your mind?"
"We ain't got no other choice!"
"If I leave, you won't stand a chance against them!" Seto argued fiercely.
Barret choked out a poisonous laugh. "We don't stand a chance together, bub. But you gotta make sure the kids get out! Ok?"
Seto hesitated. The thought of leaving the man to a certain death did not sit well with him, but his words rang undeniably true.
Not gazing over at the orange beast, Barret forced himself to focus on the shadow creatures. He didn't want to die. Didn't want to admit that the thought of falling to the fangs and claws of these monsters scared him.
"I can't just leave you!" Seto hissed desperately.
Barret placed his hand just where the metal of his gun arm melted into his human flesh, hoping to ease some of the pain, but managed to send Seto a strained smile. "Not giving you much choice, foo. Either you leave or I'm gonna cap your ass myself! Marlene always wanted a stuffed cat!"
A long hesitation. Reluctantly seeing the wisdom in the request. "I'll see you in the Lifestream," Seto declared, making it sound like a promise.
Barret managed a nod with a slight smile. "Yeah we will. Now, git, cat!"
Forcing himself to focus on the nightmare creatures, Barret clutched his gun arm and tried to ignore the darts of pain following each shot.
The gun arm was dangerously close to over-heating now.
And despite everything, Barret was still able to feel the shock stun him when a flash of orange flew by him and slammed into the wall.
He could tell by the trail of blood that the father of Red would probably never get up again.
Slowly turning around, foolishly turning his back on the monsters, Barret swallowed hard at the sight of the silver haired man. Short hair, reptile eyes and a wide smirk.
"Want to play?" Loz cracked his knuckles with lazy ease, gave a faint nod and threw out a deadly punch.
The fight was fierce but brief. Constant movement. Fists barely dodged shattered walls. Bullets unable to hit flesh that moved too fast for the eye to see. A losing battle had turned into a predator toying with its prey.
Loz chuckled amused as his opponent stumbled away and clutched his gun-arm. He could play like this for hours! Kadaj didn't say he wasn't allowed to play. The grin widened.
Panting, Barret knew he had to make a choice.
He thought about Marlene. He thought about Tarita. He refused to think about the hint she'd dropped the last time he'd spoken to her on the PHS.
"Wouldn't it be nice for Marlene to have a sibling?"
Loz blinked surprised when Barret didn't run, merely grabbed a firm hold of his wrist before the fist impacted with his mid-section and just held Loz' hand there.
Reptile eyes widened with horror when the other man released Big Shot, causing the gun-arm to finally over-heat and explode.
Cid gazed up at the sky.
He felt strangely calm.
Maybe you got used to it after facing death several times? Maybe it stopped scaring you after it took your friends, one by one, and left you to watch.
Or, he was just ready for it.
"Let's do this."
Are you sure, Cid Highwind?
"Yeah."
There will be no turning back.
"I know."
Then let's do this.
Cid closed his eyes, released the control and felt the power of Panlong tear out his chest as it shot towards the sky. The pain was sharp, like always, but he didn't mind.
One last time. One last battle.
Clouds began gathering in the sky, thunder rolling in the distance, and the roar of the mighty water dragon made the ground tremble.
Engulfed in complete darkness, Cid closed his eyes and could almost feel the scaly body dance its way up into the heavens as the first rain drops fell.
Curling and coiling, Panlong roared its challenge.
Chaos replied, spreading its wings and releasing a glowing aura.
A ray of energy barely missed the water dragon, allowing even Cid to sense the searing heat from its proximity, yet Panlong's claws found their target and locked around Chaos' arm.
Coiling around its prey, the mighty dragon roared again and lifted its head for a strike.
Sensing the danger, Chaos sent a pure ray of energy into the soft belly of the dragon, causing Cid to scream in the darkness and a single crack in the blue orb in Panlong's grasp.
Deadly fangs opened and Chaos prevented them from locking around him by a desperate grip on the dragon's left horn.
The grip tightened.
In the darkness, Cid clutched his head and screamed even louder.
Trembling, Panlong and Chaos measured their strength as they pushed at the other. Pushing until something had to give.
Lightning flashed and thunder exploded as the clawed hand of Chaos caused Panlong's horn to break off yet freed the dragon to dig it's fangs into the demonic flesh.
Cid fell back and blood filled his mouth. His body was shaking from the tortured shock.
The blue orb cracked even more and a small but steady drip of blood followed.
Struggling to breathe, Cid finally stopped convulsing and the darkness felt even more suffocating.
Its jaws locked over Chaos' shoulder, Panlong's fangs were deep into the creature's chest and back, but the water dragon could feel its power fading.
Fading with each drop of blood.
Struggling, Chaos clawed at the scale wall keeping it trapped and it was trying to battle the small sense of fear at the back of its skull. Another ray of energy nearly depleted its power, but Chaos felt a shudder of joy seeing the wound torn in the ray's path along Panlong's ribs.
Rolling over on his side, feeling like a knife cut through his skin, Cid barely managed a hoarse scream. Blood was everywhere now. Dear Planet, he couldn't take much more…
A small piece of the orb cracked loose and fell towards the ground.
Panlong tightened around Chaos, tightened until the bones trapped in its coils and between its jaws crackled, when it finally was forced to release the demon when its strength faded and started sinking.
A long, mournful sound emanated from the water dragon as it squirmed helplessly against gravity.
Cid slowly opened his eyes in the darkness. "We did good… Right?"
Forgive me, Cid Highwind…
The scaly blue body landed semi-gently on the soaked asphalt, a trembling mess of wounded flesh and broken bones.
"It's ok. We did good. They can take it from here."
And then the blue orb shattered.
Rufus watched as Yazoo read the files. Watched as his life was shattered in front of his eyes.
Yazoo's eyes flew over the lines in the rapport, his mind realizing what his heart had refused to believe. He'd known, hadn't he?
The unease. The constant feeling of being the one on the outside. He didn't belong.
Kadaj and Loz. Brothers, but not his.
Yazoo trembled, unknowingly causing the shadow monsters to growl aggressively and move closer to the tense Rufus. "Lies…"
"You know it's the truth," Rufus sneered, not taking his eyes off the monster eyeing him hungrily and slowly reached towards his shot-gun again.
Shaking his head, Yazoo felt like screaming. Everything had been in vain. He'd fought so long and so hard, not for Jenova, but to protect his brothers. His family.
Rufus saw the young man lost in his pain and finally reached for the weapon inside his coat.
Yazoo didn't even glance over, merely reached out a hand and Rufus was forced to abandon his reach for the shot-gun as he raised his arm to prevent the monster's fangs from tearing out his throat. The silver haired man did not flinch at the pained scream, merely straightened and closed the program.
He had to get away. Far away!
"Kadaj ordered me to kill you." Even Yazoo's voice didn't sound like his own anymore. Distant. Cold.
Rufus struggled not to sink to his knees under the weight of the shadow beast with its jaws locked around his wrist and showing no signs of letting go. He had to try twice before he managed to speak through the raw pain. "You don't have to obey him anymore." The blood seemed to seep through the unnatural mouth and drip down to pool on the floor.
Reptile eyes flashes with something hard and Yazoo tensed angrily. A slight nod of his head made several more beasts approach the trapped ShinRa.
Swallowing hard, Rufus cast a quick glance out the window and felt a weak sense of relief at not seeing Chaos' ominous presence in the sky. If the demon was gone, the troops might be able to deal with the trio and keep Tifa and the twins safe even if he didn't make it himself.
Yazoo turned away and walked out of the room, not looking back as the beasts kept inching closer to their trapped prey, but his numbness was shattered at the sight that met him out in the hall-way.
Barely able to stand, Loz leaned heavily against the wall. "Y-Yazoo…? I'm not crying…"
Starting, Yazoo ran over to support the other man as his legs gave in."Loz! What happened?" There was a soft sound as the shadow beasts became dust.
"He got me good, Yazoo." Loz hissed with pain, covered with cuts and blood.
Yazoo shook his head as he let his hands hover over at particularly nasty wound. "I think I can heal the worst of it with the materia Kadaj gave me, but you're a mess. We need to get out of here, Loz!"
Struggling up, much thanks to the help of Yazoo, Loz found himself swaying on his feet again. "What?"
"This is suicide, Loz!" Yazoo spoke hastily, knowing Kadaj wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice them both. "We need to leave! Now!"
Loz sighed depressed. "You going against Kadaj again, aren't you?"
"What? No!" Yazoo reached out desperately as Loz took a step away. "Listen, Loz, I…" He never got to finish the sentence as the other man suddenly lashed out after him. Dodging the attack easily, he watched helplessly as Loz lost balance and sank down again.
"You promised you wouldn't betray him again," Loz complained agonized while struggling to his feet again.
Yazoo moved to support him, but had to dodge a second punch. It left a huge hole in the wall. "Loz, please…!"
Gritting his teeth against the pain and the dizzy feeling of blood-loss, Loz clung to the one clear thought in his mind; Kadaj's orders. "He said if you went against him again; I had to kill you."
Backing away, Yazoo swallowed down the hurt. "Loz…"
It was only natural that Loz would be more loyal to Kadaj. They were brothers. Family.
Yazoo was alone.
Making his choice, Yazoo slowly removed the Restore materia from himself and tossed it over to Loz. "I'm sorry, Loz…"
Loz blinked confused. "Yazoo?"
It took everything in him, but Yazoo finally moved back towards the door to the stairs and turned away.
He ran.
And it would be a very, very long time before he would stop.
Despite their suspicions and fear, Loz had brought Tifa to the infirmary on the ground floor and left with a mere longing glance at the unconscious woman. Shera and Rain were trying to help as much as they could, with the infirmary filled with wounded soldiers and not nearly enough doctors.
A nurse was tending to the children in the doctors' office when Hojo appeared in the door. Seeing how he'd claimed the office as his own, there was still only a flicker of surprise at seeing it invaded. "I heard Lockhart was brought here?"
"She's stabilized. Should be awake soon." The nurse seemed uncomfortable under the amber gaze of Hojo and seemed to clutch Zefiris closer more for her own sake than the wide-eyed child's.
Hojo gave a short nod before turning on his heel and walk out. He took two steps before coming to an abrupt halt.
Shera tightened her grip on the blood-stained bandages she was holding and stared harshly at the scientist.
Swallowing hard, Hojo found himself unable to defend himself for the first time in his life. He knew that, logically speaking, he'd done what he had to do. He'd do it again. No hesitation. But for some reason, he couldn't shake off the blame in her eyes like he used to.
"Daddy?"
The small voice cut through the mayhem and both Hojo and Shera quickly gazed over to see Dawn standing on a chair and looking out the window.
Running over, Rain picked up Dawn and stared with horror at what was happening outside.
Chaos was on the ground, down on one knee with one broken wing hanging awkwardly behind him, and lashing out energy rays at the ShinRa soldiers surrounding it.
"Dear Planet, no…" Rain whispered as fear flooded her veins. "They're going to kill him…"
Appearing next to her, Shera made no reply. Her own eyes locked on a form a small distance away. Cid.
Rain didn't get a chance to say anything before the other woman simply turned and ran. Casting a final glance out the window, she suddenly walked over to Hojo. "Vincent said never to trust you." She saw the scorn in the scientist's eyes. "But Aeris does. So I'm going to do the same." With that, Rain handed the puzzled Dawn over to the startled man. "I can't let them kill him!"
"Wait! What…" Hojo stared after Rain as she ran, his sentence cut off by the door slamming shut behind her, and he slowly turned his gaze back at the little girl he was holding with straight arms. "Great…"
Reaching the exit door just as it was closing after Shera passing through it; Rain stepped outside and came to a halt. She saw the other woman racing towards the fallen Cid. She saw the burning buildings, the fallen soldiers and destroyed cars. She saw the wounded and surrounded demon.
Then she saw the soldier raising a huge weapon aiming to fire a missile to end the fight.
"No! Stop!" Rain rushed over, getting between the soldier and the furious Chaos. "You can't kill him!"
The soldiers and the demon battled for the most confused expression.
Slowly back up towards Chaos, Rain finally dared to turn and kneel in front of it. Flinching at the open wounds and broken bones, she saw the anger of a trapped animal in the unnatural eyes. "Vincent…"
Chaos bared it's fangs in something between a sneer and a smile. "Vincent is gone. Only death here."
Rain bit back a sob, reaching out to touch the unfamiliar face but let her hand merely hover near it as the demon tensed dangerously. "Vincent, please…"
For a moment, it was almost silent, except for the sound for fires and a distant scream from someone in pain. For a moment, she was allowed to hope.
She didn't even notice when Shera's sorrow filled the air.
Chaos closed its eyes for a heat-beat and when it opened them again, they were filled with malice. "Vincent is gone."
Rain never saw the light surrounding Chaos' hand, how it shaped itself into a long dagger before it was rammed into her chest to pierce her very heart.
Shock drowned out the pain at first. Rain's eyes were wide with surprise only for a second before they darted from the deadly wound to Chaos' face. A ghost of a smile still lingered on her lips. She held the gaze, looking deep into the unnatural eyes, beyond the demon and seeing the man trapped in there.
Vincent.
'I love you…' Rain managed to mouth the words, her hand falling to her side as she slowly sank forward and her head came to rest on Chaos' shoulder.
A clawed hand slowly came up to hold her close and a scream was building deep down in the demon's throat. Building and building until it tore free with pure agony of a shattered soul.
A human scream.
Voices. Hurried and tense. People running. Screams from someone in pain. Muffled sounds of explosions.
Tifa felt sleep was heavy on her mind, but a gnawing feeling told her this was not the time to be sleeping. There was something important she had to do. Something important she needed to remember.
Slowly, eyelashes fluttered before lifting to reveal drowsy wine colored eyes.
She appeared to be in the infirmary. And so were a lot of ShinRa soldiers. What…?
Tifa sat up abruptly as the memories came flooding back. The children! She had to…
Aiming to slide out of bed, she halted mid-movement upon seeing a familiar shape standing by the window. Frowning confused, Tifa finally put her feet on the ground, but made no move to actually stand as dizziness was quickly staking claim on her. "Hojo…?" He didn't react. "Hojo, what is going on? The children…"
"Are in the next room." The scientist interrupted her without taking his eyes off whatever he was staring at.
Tifa swallowed hard. "Hojo. Look at me, Hojo." She waited until he did. "What's happening?"
Hojo frowned as if he had a hard time understanding the words he was going to say himself. "We're losing."
"What?"
"Losing, Lockhart. We're losing." Hojo turned back to stare out the window, not sure why he couldn't take his eyes off Shera's and Vincent's pain. "They're dying…"
There would be no winners this time. Only loss on all sides. Losses that could never be replaced.
Shaking her head, Tifa carefully got up and found her balance. "What do you mean 'dying'? Who is dying?" She stumbled over and grabbed a hold of his white jacket to keep from sinking to her knees. "They can't die!"
Hojo clenched his jaw hard as Vincent, now in his human form, let out another scream that pierced the sound of the wounded Midgar. "We lose…"
Letting go, Tifa fell to her knees as tears flooded her vision. Rufus? Everyone? Who would the next coffin lowered into the ground belong to? Did she even want to know?
Why did this have to happen? WHY?
Lost in the grief threatening to destroy her completely, Tifa failed to notice the sounds vanishing and how she was suddenly alone in the room. No. Not all alone.
A lone figure stood beside her.
A light nudge at her shoulder and Tifa found a handkerchief held out to her. Blindly accepting, she buried her face in it.
"I'm sorry…"
Tifa glanced up to find the small figure of the Sage next to her. "What…? What are you doing here?"
"I never meant for this to happen…"
"I don't understand…" Tifa began meekly, not sure why she couldn't take her eyes off the strange person.
The Sage sighed deeply. "Things have gone too far." He let a few moments of silence pass. "You're crying."
The young woman flinched. "My friends…" And her husband?
"You've all fought bravely." The Sage leaned heavily on his cane. "I guess I should learn from your example."
It seemed like the old man was lost in his own world, like always, so Tifa let herself sink back into her grief. It felt like a cold iron claw around her heart, squeezing and squeezing until she thought the pain would actually kill her too. "Please…" She shook violently as sobs racked through her. "Please, make it stop…" An anguished plea that she knew was impossible to grant.
Patting her shoulder, the Sage sighed deeply again. "I'm going to miss this life, you know?" His voice was deeply tainted with regret and so resigned it could cut your soul.
Tifa trembled without even hearing his words.
The Sage glanced around, now letting his hand rest on her shoulder. "I'm going to miss all of it."
A violent flash of light followed, causing Tifa to gasp surprised and shield her eyes from it. Then silence followed. Not daring to lower her arms at first, she wondered if this was how it felt to be dead.
"Welcome to the Lifestream, Tifa."
Peeking, she found herself standing in some strange place. Everything was the colour of the trees in the Lost City, except that there were no trees here. Actually, there was no nothing. Just light.
And the Sage hovering in front of her.
"Is this the Lifestream?" She didn't dare to ask if she really was dead.
The Sage nodded. "Yes. This is the final stop, Tifa. This is where all souls go." He tilted his hat slightly further back on his head with his cane. "Now, we have much to discuss."
As the Sage floated by her, Tifa turned around to follow but froze with a gasp.
Sephiroth. Yuffie. Cid. Vincent. Cloud. Hojo. And everyone else. Everyone was there!
AN; Ah, yes, the plot thickens! At long last! Erm, will be working on an update as soon as humanly possible!