Chapter Five

Discoveries

Aelita slowly rode through the strange forest on her dark green bike. It was definitely the most bizarre forest she'd ever seen. All the trees had no leaves, as if they were dead, and they glowed a soft white. Frowning, she ignored the trees and followed the trail. It would have been difficult for a regular person to follow, but she had a gift that helped her.

Aelita could sense, and sometimes influence, people's emotions. When people moved they left a trail of emotions behind them, so it was easy for her to track them. She couldn't remember a time when she couldn't sense people's emotions. At first, when she was very young, it almost drove her mad. Millions of emotions were thrown at her daily in cities from the people surrounding her, but slowly she learned how to close them out and focus on just one person's emotions. On this particular trail, there were emotions from four different people. Three were very strong, as if they traveled on the road a lot. The fourth was faint and unfamiliar.

Aelita's senses twitched as she felt sudden anger coming from above and ahead of her. She smiled, reaching back with her right hand to grip one of her katana's and whipped it out of it's sheath. Skidding her bike on it's side she raised her weapon, keeping her blade parallel with her forearm, blocking her attacker. For a split second they stared at each other.

The man's weapon, a large contraption on his left arm with two fang-like devices sticking out was halted by her katana. The large man with short, spiked silver hair stared at her with blue eyes with cat-like pupils. He had on black leather pants and a black leather jacked that zipped. She smiled at him and with a small laugh whipped her arm around and, with surprising strength, threw him off and to the side. She left him on the side of the almost invisible path and pushed on faster. She didn't trust herself to fight on the bike; she definitely wasn't a talented driver like Cloud.

A couple minutes later she skidded to a stop, dismounted, and drew her other katana in one swift motion. She could feel him getting closer. Twirling her weapons around so she gripped them properly, Aelita crouched, ready for the attack.

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"Where is stupid Loz?" Kadaj growled. He, Yazoo, and Raven sat out on the stairs of the same structure from her last vision. They munched on dried fruit and meat.

"Something's not right." Raven suddenly announced. She set down her food, stood, and walked out from under the building and stood by the water. She closed her eyes and allowed her power to spread out.

Yazoo and Kadaj shivered and they felt her power wash over them. Yazoo liked what Raven wore; it made her even more attractive. In the wardrobe she had found tight black pants and short boots. Her top was a tight black spaghetti strap shirt that was a bit too small, leaving a strip of her midriff visible. Over this she wore a sleeveless leather jacket that laced from her neck to her waist before flaring out behind her, almost to her feet. The neck of the jacket turned up a little, giving her a hard-edge look.

"Oh." She sighed, getting the men's attention, "He's fighting someone. A young woman and I think I know her." With that Raven ran into the water and to the other side, slipping silently into the glowing forest. As she pulled her power back in a bit she felt Yazoo and Kadaj's surprise as they ran to follow her, causing her to smile a bit. When she found Loz and the girl, Raven was furious at both of them.

Loz straddled the girl's lap, an evil grin on his lips as he sneered at her, his odd weapon resting on her neck. The brown haired girl looked exhausted, her eyes closed. Two short katanas lay on the ground a few feet from them, which were probably the cause of the many cuts and slashes all over Loz's face a body. Raven's lips twitched in anger,

"LOZ!" she yelled, suddenly realizing that she didn't really know this man, though he did look familiar, "Get off of her."

"What?" he turned to her, snarling, "No!" He pushed a button on his arm-mounted weapon and it pressed further into the girl's neck, who whimpered.

As Yazoo and Kadaj joined her they staggered back as Raven released her power, throwing out a hand. Loz didn't even have time to draw a breath as he was thrown off the girl, crashing into a tree. He stared at her in awe, fear, and anger. She scowled at him before running to the girl's side,

"Aelita! Aelita, can you hear me?" she cupped the girls face in her hands and peered down at her. Kadaj and Yazoo hadn't moved, nor had Loz. All watched the purple haired woman as she closed her eyes and white light glowed around her hands and flowed over the young girl's still body. When it disappeared the brunette's burns from Loz's weapon were gone and she breathed evenly. Raven then stood up and walked over to Loz. He growled at her, but she glared and cut him off,

"Shut up and don't move." He obeyed. She then placed her hands on his chest where the worst of his wounds were and closed her eyes. White light engulfed her hands again and spread over his body, making him feel warm and tingly all over. When she finished, Raven stood and walked back to Yazoo and Kadaj,

"Can one of you carry her?" She asked. Kadaj nodded,

"I'll take her bike too and put her in the room next to yours." He said, walking over and scooping up the unconscious girl. He went to her bike and mounted, driving away after making a face at his eldest brother.

After he left, Raven turned an angry glare onto Loz,

"What were you doing?" she cried, "You could have killed her!"

"She was in OUR home. She was probably tracking us, maybe even looking for you! I had to do something!" he screamed back.

"You could have just asked her to stop or at least captured her instead of attacking!" she hollered back, closing her eyes and clenching her fists in frustration. Yazoo took a cautious step forward, lifting his hand,

"Raven…?" he asked, gently. He could feel her power throbbing around her. She ignored his soft call.

"Loz…" she hissed through clenched teeth, "You are not on my good side. I swear, if you've done any permanent damage to her you will pay."

Yazoo glanced worriedly around him. The glowing trees were beginning to quake and rattle. Loz didn't seem to notice, though he could feel her power pulsing,

"Just go on." He snarled, rising to his feet. He pushed past her, trying to knock her down with a stiff shoulder, but when he slammed into her she was like stone, causing Loz to stumble a bit. He growled and stormed off into the forest in the opposite direction of their home. Yazoo watched his brother go and slowly dropped his hand before turning back to watch the purple-haired woman. He was surprised and a bit frightened to see black light surrounding her hands, her eyes still closed tightly. Suddenly, with a loud crack, the tree that Loz had been leaning on split from the bottom up, a large rift appeared in the earth where he had been sitting. Yazoo's eyes flicked from the destroyed tree to Raven several times.

She sighed and opened her eyes as the black light faded from around her fists. Small beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. She reached up and brushed them off before turning back to Yazoo, sadness in her eyes,

"Now what do you think of me?" she whispered. A single tear trickled down her cheek, "This is what happens when I let my guard down. When I stop controlling my emotions. I almost killed Loz."

"Raven--" Yazoo murmured, staking a step towards her. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. He stopped and watched as she turned to the side. Black light appeared around her feet and she sank down into it, disappearing.

"Well…" Yazoo muttered, "That was unexpected."

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Aelita groaned and rolled over. 'This is the worst hangover I've ever had...' she thought, slowly bringing her hands to her head to massage her aching temples. She froze when she remembered what had happened,

"Oh yeah…" she muttered, voice cracking. She needed water. Sitting up, the young brunette stretched. Ignoring her pounding head, she swung out of the bed. The room was all white. There was only the small, single bed she had been in and a chest and wardrobe against one wall. She picked up her katanas from the top of the chest and strapped them on, one resting on each hip. She walked over to the only door and opened it, leaning against the frame for support. She closed her eyes, picking up on the emotional trail of whoever had brought her to the room. She followed the trail down the white halls and around a corner. She was in a room that was open to the outdoors on one side. The ceiling was high and dome-like. Her boots clicked lightly, echoing around her as she walked to the edge of the room and stopped at the top of a short flight of stairs leading down to the soft earth. Sitting by the water was a man, his back to her. His shoulder length silver hair rustled in the slight breeze. Judging by his emotions, this was the man that had brought her into the odd structure.

Aelita silently approached the man, not sensing any immediate threat. When she stood a few feet behind him, she cleared her throat,

"Excuse me, sir?" she asked. He jumped, leapt to his feet and whirled around,

"Wha-? Oh. It's you." He relaxed upon realizing who it was, "Erm…how are you?"

"Alright, except for a bad headache. I thought I had a massive hangover from a party." She smiled at him, cocking her head, "Who are you?"

"Kadaj." He answered, watching her carefully. She seemed very…comfortable, "And you?"

"My name's Aelita." She glanced around, "Where's Raven?"

"I don't know. She hasn't come back yet."

"Oh. Okay." Her eyes settled on the lake, "Can I drink from that."

"Yeah, I guess. Yazoo does sometimes."

"Yazoo?" she asked, frowning as she walked down to the edge of the water where she kneeled.

"My brother." He watched her as she dipped her hands into the clear water and drank deeply. Her hair was a few inches longer than his and light brown. He was pretty sure that her eyes were a dark olive, almost brown. She was thin and wore a short burgundy, longsleeve dress that was cinched around her waist with a brown belt. Under the dress she wore brown leggings that were cut off mid-thigh. Her ankle boots were also brown and had a small heel. When she finished drinking her share, Aelita turned back to him,

"And who was the guy that attacked me?" she asked, fiddling with the high collar of her dress.

"Loz. My other brother." He smirked as he sat back down, "He's a bit of an idiot."

"No kidding." She muttered, walking back to sit down beside him, "So. You guys live here by yourselves, or are there others?"

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Yazoo rode through the forest, grateful that he could feel Raven's power. He had run back to their home, grabbed his bike, and sped off into the forest. He had drove around randomly until he felt a twinge of her power and now knew he was close as he felt her power in the distance. He broke into a clearing and saw her laying on the ground, staring up at the stars. He cut off his bike and approached her, the soft glow from the white trees defining her tragic beauty. He sank down beside her and laid out his lanky body parallel to hers. Crossing his hands over his stomach he followed her gaze up into the heavens. After a few moments of silence, he turned to study her profile.

"How did you find me?" she asked suddenly, voice barely above a whisper. She kept her gaze straight ahead at the twinkling stars. He watched her a few moments before answering,

"I can sense your power." He answered softly. Now she turned to meet his intense gaze,

"How?"

"I don't know. I just can. My brothers can too." He frowned, "Why did you leave?"

"Because of what I did." Her eyes were intense and he fought the urge to look away.

"You did nothing wrong, Raven." Yazoo murmured, "You have every right to be angry with Loz. That girl is your friend, am I right?"

"Yes, though we aren't very close. But still…she's young." She pursed her lips. "Plus, I feel a certain…protectiveness towards her because her family was also killed."

"Ah." He continued to study her face as she turned her own gaze back to the night sky. "Raven?"

"Hm?"

"Let me know if you want me to leave." He said, watching closely for her reaction. None was evident until she answered,

"I'd like you to stay."

"Good." Yazoo smiled, pleased. "Tell me when you want to go home."

"Okay." She whispered, not noticing how he had implied that it was their home instead of his own. Yazoo reached over and took her hand in his, happy that she didn't jerk away but instead smiled. He looked back up to the sky, for once in his life feeling light-hearted.

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Reno walked down the road with Yuffie, not really paying attention to what she said. It had been almost a month since Raven had left and he was worried about her. He'd left at least one message a day on her phone and she hadn't returned a single one. Over the past few weeks Yuffie had been doing her best to cheer him up, and he appreciated it, but her attempts were mostly futile.

"Reno. Someone's coming." Yuffie announced, tugging on his jacket sleeve and pulling him back to reality.

"…Hn?" he asked before following her gaze. A motorcycle was quickly approaching them from the distance. He frowned and stepped in front of Yuffie, drawing his weapon. The cyclist slowed as he drew closer, eventually coming to a stop a few feet in front of them. Reno recognized the man immediately,

"You're in Kadaj's gang, yeah?" He asked calmly, stepping forward and tapping the end of his rod on his shoulder.

"Maybe." Loz replied, flexing his muscles and chuckling, "What's it to ya?"

"I heard from…sources…that you guys were looking for a, ah…a friend of mine." Reno cocked his head to the side.

"Oh really?" Loz flashed a menacing grin. So this was Raven's boyfriend. Kadaj had said that a man would sometimes walk home with the violet-haired woman. "Would you be talking about…Raven?"

"What do you know about her!" Reno snarled, lowering him self into a fighting stance.

"Nothing really…" Loz mused, "Except that she's living with us now. And quite contentedly, might I add."

"Liar!" Yuffie yelled, stepping out from behind the red-head.

"Oh! Now who's this?" Loz raised his eyebrows, "Raven's only been gone for a month and you've already got a new girlfriend?"

"Shut! Up!" Reno screamed, preparing to attack.

"Oh, it's very true, sir." Loz chuckled. "In fact, I believe she's taken a liking to my younger brother, Yazoo. They spend a lot of time together…alone, most days."

"Raaaagh!" Reno roared, running at Loz, weapon raised. Loz smirked and revved the engine of his bike, swerving out of range easily.

"You really should be thanking me!" the silver-haired man laughed, "After all, I'm helping you. Now you don't have to hold on any longer. She's through with you."

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Okay, a slightly lame ending for that chapter, but I had to stop it somehow. Reviews please and thank you!!!

Kitsune