The ruins, as it turned out, were no place for a ship the size of a pinwheel to land, let alone a beast like the Shera. The end result was that Cid had to stay on the ship, manning the wheel to keep her from drifting while the rest parachuted into the rubble that had once been the proud Shinra building.
Which, more or less, excluded Rufus from the excursion, as well. That left a pair of Turks, a pair of Shinra pseudo-employees, and Vincent.
Reno was the first to land, doing so far more gracefully than those who knew him might expect. He shrugged his way out of his parachute harness as he carefully picked his way to a clear spot in the rubble, tossing the apparatus aside so that it draped itself over a broken chunk of flooring that jutted upwards. The floor beneath him was heavily slanted, unsteady, but he managed to keep himself from sliding downwards by bracing his foot against a large piece of unidentifiable debris. Looking up, he motioned for the rest to follow.
Lyla landed nearby, skidding slightly until she found a foothold for herself, ducking out of her own parachute pack and similarly tossing it aside. Frowning, she surveyed the area they had landed in. It wasn't wholly recognizable, but an oversized desk split into three parts and somehow welded to the floor beneath it tipped her off. "Rufus' office. Lovely. I'm sure it would break his heart to see it."
Vincent touched down somewhere above them, crouching on an overhanging metal rod that was twisted half way beyond recognition. He peered down across the mess as he unhooked his parachute, letting it flutter another story down before catching on a broken window.
Over his shoulder, Cait Sith stared after it.
"Oi... what a wreck." He said morosely. "Dinnae think I'd ever miss this place."
Rude landed with a solid thud some thirty seconds later, rising to his feet and dusting his jacket off. Behind him, the parachute he had detached a few feet in the air caught a stiff wind and sailed leftward until it vanished behind another ruined spire.
Reno watched his partner land and thumped one fist against his chest twice in rapid succession. That taken care of, he began to scale the nearest mountain of debris, perching near it's peak and looking down over the edge. "Long drop to the lab," he surmised, "The floor beneath us is pretty wasted, too, but the lab and storage look like they just had a bunch of shit dropped into them."
Lyla pushed off against what she thought had once been part of a wall, freeing her foot from where it had been stuck to climb the same pile Reno had, though not nearly as quickly. Graceful enough, she supposed, but Reno was, by her own admission, fast like a freak. "... we need to get down there," she said with certainty as she peered over the edge.
"Is this really the time for your science fetish?" Reno asked, looking at her over his shoulder.
She didn't even spare a moment to glare at him, only closed her eyes and shook her head, just once. "... no. Something is down there. ... I feel something. It's calling us down there. It wants us there."
"Jes a suggestion lassie," Cait Sith offered, leaning over conspiratorially as Vincent paused beside them. "But don' ye think tha' might be th' bes' reason ye ever heard of NAE ta?"
Rude scowled up at the debris-pile the others were standing on, cracking his knuckles before making the first attempt to scale it.
And landing on his ass.
Reno instinctively turned to offer his partner his hand. "C'mon buddy, you can do this."
Lyla frowned in response, staring straight downward, leaning over the edge inch by inch, hands braced against the broken wall that stood between their number and the drop to the lab. "I'm going," she said in a voice that was somehow not her own, falling forward over the edge before Reno could turn back and interrupt.
"Lyla!" Vincent lunged after her, the gesture accompanying Cait Sith's rather high pitched yelp as he plunged into freefall.
Rude grunted, using Reno's hand for leverage in time to see the suicide leap. He frowned at Reno.
Reno stared back at him blankly. If he was panicked, it didn't show, save for the fact that his face was noticeably whiter than it had been moments before. "Not good," he murmured, leaning to peer over the edge.
Beneath them she had pulled into herself midair, pushing forward enough to right herself as one leg kicked out before the other. Her arms spread and she fell faster, a single line instead of a tangle of limbs, landing in a deep crouch two floors below, one hand resting against the floor between her knees, balancing. As though it had taken no effort at all, she slowly drew herself up to her full height, and began to walk forward.
"Lyla." The gunman said again, landing behind her a moment later, reaching out to take her arm. "Wait."
"It's here," she said plainly, hesitating for a moment as he reached out, moving forward again before he could grab hold of her. Her mouth had become a thin line, eyes fixed forward, occasionally roaming upwards or to either side as she continued to advance. "Jenova, and something else."
"Whatever it is, don't go running blindly to it. You're putting yourself at risk."
"Aye!" Cait Sith agreed, ducking down by Vincent's shoulder. "And th'rest o'us."
"It's calling." It was unclear whether their words had reached her or not; perhaps to their relief, she slowed to a stop, pausing in the center of what had once been Shinra headquarters' central laboratory. She looked upwards once more, then to the perimiter, turning slowly as if studying each expanse of the room. Nearby, a number of shattered tanks still stood, glowing faintly. "... I can't tell which direction. Here, somewhere."
"Lyla." Vincent said again, his tone flat but firm. "Get ahold of yourself. This isn't you."
Truth be told, the faintest trace of awareness pricked at him like a featherpoint. The knowledge that someone ... something, shared blood with him. Shared dark design. Jenova's signature, reaching out. But it held no sway over him. It never had. He wondered if that robbed him of some empathy, in this particular light.
A bodily thud sounded behind them, the faint squeak of boots against the ruined tile, the metallic sound of a blade being pulled from its scabbard. "You have come for Jenova," a woman's voice accused, coolly and without trace of an accent. Young, younger than any of those present. "You won't make more of us."
"I think we foun'yer friend, lassie!" Cait Sith cried, turning to stare at the newcomer the best he could.
Vincent looked over his shoulder for a beat before returning to the scientist in front of him. "Lyla." He said again, more sharply.
"What?" Lyla directed her attention to him, confused, an odd look passing over her face as she took in their surroundings for what seemed to be the first time. "... the lab, how did we-? Did I jump?"
The newcomer advanced on the cat, sword held loosely in one hand, tall, wiry form outlined by black leather that showed each muscle and lack of curve. Her hair was short, brushing against her shoulders as she moved, and tell-tale silver, eyes impossibly green. "No more."
Vincent turned when her eyes found him, fingers closing around Cerberus as he spoke. "We are here for Jenova." he agreed, voice rasping at the edges. "But not for the reasons you think."
"They ne'er listen, Vin." Cait Sith ducked behind his shoulder. "Nae t'asingle word!"
"We don't have to fight." He warned the feminine Sephiroth. "But we will, if you make me."
The woman had no reply, only paused to eye the caped man up and down, appraising him. Her gaze shifted and she froze, her grip going lax, sword falling from her hand and clattering loudly against the floor, skittering away and uncomfortably close to Cait Sith even as she launched herself forward, running towards the female figure at the back of their group.
The gunman frowned, brows knitting as he took a step out of the way.
"Vin! Whattaye -doin'-?" Cait Sith demanded, drawing a wince from proximity.
Lyla yelped as they collided, going very still as she looked down to see the larger woman on her knees, arms around her waist, face buried uncomfortably in her abdomen. "Mother, you came," she murmured against the brunette's midsection, causing Lyla to look to Vincent, panicked, hands frozen in midair.
"Help?"
"...Mother?" Cait Sith blinked, taking the hand up from Vincent.
"She dropped her sword." Vincent noted evenly, as though this explained everything.
"Ye think she was th'one callin' the lassie?"
"Mn."
The silver-haired girl rocked back onto her feet, arms still draped around Lyla's middle, letting out a slow exhale that wavered slightly, along with her voice. "Jenova won't shut up, she keeps talking, brother left her here and she keeps talking, she wants him back..." She paused, looking upwards. "No, she wants Father back... he's her favorite. We have to find him first! He's ours, not hers!"
The two former AVALANCHE members exchanged a glance. And then, as one, turned it on Lyla.
"So it's here."
"Sephiroth."
"And he's alive." Vincent looked up at the broken down ceiling. "Or he will be. Soon."
Lyla looked between the both of them, wide-eyed, pale. "What."
The silver-haired girl released her hold and snapped up to her full height, claiming her sword from the ground, sliding it back into its scabbard effortlessly. "If we find him first, he can be ours. -He- is trying to find father, he wants to make him the same as Jenova, wants them together again... if we find him first, we can have him back, we don't -need- her."
The brunette stared. "I... too many pronouns. ... Ingram, do you mean Ingram?"
"The doctor," the other woman hissed.
"... we want to find Sephiroth before he does, too. Or what remains of him."
Footsteps sounded from the opposite side of the lab, rapidly approaching as Reno hurtled himself forward, scuffed and dirty from climbing downwards through all the debris. "Alright you guys, no fair, Rude and I can't- what the fuck?"
There was a thud somewhere in the darkness. Moments later Rude trotted after, dusting the debris from his jacket, eyes straight ahead. But he stopped when they fell on the girl.
"Aye, laddie. Been won'drin' that meself." The cat said, leaping down and skittering across the wide floor to scale Reno.
Vincent watched him evenly, and, when the robot was properly situated, was rewarded for his long, serene look by a brandished finger.
"Ne'er again, Vin." He said firmly. "Ne'er again."
"Father is at the Knowlespole." The silver-haired girl paused to give the newest arrivals a glance before turning her attention back to Lyla, gaze slowly panning towards Vincent after a moment. "He is in pieces, pulling himself together. Building a new body inside a cocoon. Jenova whispered it to me. Over and over. ... you are like us," she observed, tilting a head towards the caped man.
Vincent nodded, red eyes watching her carefully. "In a way." he said.
"Taller lassie called 'er mum." Cait Sith whispered to Reno.
Reno raised a brow as he looked down at Reeve's pet. "Ew," he said plainly.
The girl nodded faintly, accepting his answer before turning on her heel to gesture towards one of the broken tanks. "I hid her there. I've been watching. ... she can't be near Father, she shouldn't be. ... your Ingram can't find her either. Needs a safe place." She frowned. "I tried destroying her."
"Not as easy as we'd like, I know," Lyla said softly, edging to her right, just enough to position herself slightly behind Vincent, hoping it would save her midsection from being attacked again.
"Actually." The voice came from above them, roughly a floor. The figure crouched on the overhang, peering down at them from a corner miserably scant in light. "From where I'm standing, you might not be able to destroy her at all." The shadow moved, revealing the glint of glass and metal. "We're calling it a she, right?"
"Spaceman's back," Reno observed, directing his gaze upwards.
"Can't help it." He shrugged, leaping down without much sign of fear or sting. Landing in a crouch at their edge. "You guys just seem to be where all the really fun action keeps happening."
The woman in black turned her gaze upwards as well, frowning. "You are something wicked."
"Yes I am." He agreed, folding his arms across his chest.
"Tell us something we don't know, Kaiun," Lyla voiced from somewhere behind Vincent, bracing her hands against her hips. "Jenova's managed to weather the last four years with people constantly trying to destroy her, not to mention the thousands of years she survived before that. We know what we can't do. Now we need to know what we can, to keep her separate from Sephiroth but safe from Ingram as well."
"He wants Prometheus," Reno pointed out. "We gotta prioritize."
He shrugged. "Okay, okay. If that's what you want. How about this, then? I can't seem to destroy her. And that's kind of freaky considering that's my bag." The dark man pushed his glasses up. "Or that your dirt marble here is-" He paused, waving a hand. "Well. One thing at a time."
"We have a location." Vincent frowned. "The Knowlespole."
"The whoseywhatsit?" Reno demanded, raising his other brow to match the first.
"The northern crater," Lyla supplied, peering around the caped man to look the silver-haired girl over again. "... do you have a name?"
She looked back, confused, nodding after a brief pause. "Kadaj said he heard the doctor call me Rei."
Rude frowned at his partner.
Vincent turned, frowning into the darkness from which the Turks had come. "Can you make your way back up?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's no big deal," Reno told him with a dismissive wave. "... what am I saying? Pain in the ASS. But doable."
The larger of the pair frowned a little more deeply, but he didn't volunteer any complaint.
"We should go, then."
"Do we take her with us?" Lyla asked, dropping the volume of her voice to direct the question solely at Vincent. "... Jenova. I don't think we've much of a choice with the other. ... but we have to do something with it. Unless you think leaving it here is- well, maybe he won't check here again? ... not final enough."
The gunman turned, eying the head's long resting place warily. At length he nodded, crossing the room in a few, long-legged strides to stand before the broken tube. With a frown he bent, pulling the head from the pool of green goo with a faint drip.
She winced even as she followed, stopping herself a few paces in. Whether it had been Jenova or Rei that had reached her from three floors away, she wasn't sure she should get much closer to test the theory. Even as she stopped short, their newest addition approached her, taking Lyla's hand in hers, giving a smile that was more blank and forced than anything else, never daring to reach her piercing eyes.
"You'll hurt less when we're together, Mother. The ache will leave you."
Lyla looked to her, alarmed, wanting to pull away and reclaim her arm, but too unsure of what the consequences might be. "... I- how did you- no, I'm just sick, I-"
"We all feel it," Rei reasoned, her words simple, cold. "These past months. We hurt because she hurts."
"She." Vincent said, inviting some better clarification.
Rei turned her sharp gaze to the gunman. "Jenova," she said flatly. "The one my brothers call their mother. They never could resist her calling like I do."
"You knew them well." He never turned, eyes fixed on the lolling head and her empty, hanging smile. "How."
"They are- were pieces of Father. They came to this place to seek Jenova and found me here. We spoke, then and after, but they left me behind." She frowned for the first time, watching the head in Vincent's grasp with interest. "Our gifts allowed us to speak without words."
"Nightmares." The word came from Vincent quietly, almost as though it had escaped. Too soft for anything meant to hear. He raised his head, taking his gaze at last from the one-eyed one boring into his throat.
He didn't ask if she knew what had become of them. He didn't voice concern for a child in this wasteland alone. If he had some concern for her attachment to Lyla, he left it unspoken. Instead he searched the darkness.
"You're still here." He said.
And for a beat, nothing answered.
"C'mon," Reno muttered, hoisting Cait Sith onto his shoulders and beckoning for Rude to follow as he began to retreat. "This is gonna take awhile. ... kind of getting too freaky in here for me, never wanted to see Jenova's friggin' head again if I could help it."
His companion nodded, grunting softly in agreement. He wasn't looking forward to the scale back up. At all.
"Kaiun?" Lyla echoed, causing Rei to direct her attention upwards.
"Yeah." Kaiun's voice echoed in the laboratory's shell after the footsteps faded. It had the air of one pulled from another thought entirely. He turned, scant light catching his face again. "I'm here, Scarecrow."
Vincent watched him without a word. The tall man shifted after a beat, coming closer.
"What?" He said, though his posture said he already knew.
Lyla looked on from where she stood, going still as she watched the head in Vincent's hands rather than his movement, forcing herself to direct her gaze to Kaiun a moment later. No. Don't invite trouble.
"...You want me to take it." There was a note of surprise in the foreigner's voice. He eyed Vincent almost suspiciously.
"There's not time to find a sterile case." The gunman said. "You can contain it, can't you. You're not like us."
"Well. I'm not like them." He snorted, taking the severed head in both of his hands. "Yeah, okay. I'll hold onto her for ya, I guess."
Vincent frowned, but made no comment.
"The safest place, for now, isn't it," Lyla remarked, glancing to her left as she felt Rei's grip on her wrist begin to ease.
"For you, maybe." He muttered, looking down at the head in his hands. "Tch. Don't think this means anything." Kaiun told it, sighing as he closed his strange, purplish eyes. "Don't wanna go steady or nothin'."
A ripple seemed to coat the room, his hands blackening from the fingertips downward as they had that first meeting outside of Edge. Their form softened, surrounding what they held like a coat of living tar, condensing down as they pressed together. Vanishing with a shudder that seemed to catch in the air.
Kaiun pulled a face, shaking the black out of his hands. "Ew." He said, poking out his tongue. "Tastes like whore."
Lyla grimaced. "Charming."
Rei blinked. "Whore?" she echoed.
Kaiun favored her with a mildly disbelieving look before pushing his glasses up again. "That's one I'll let you ask your mum."
Vincent wiped his hand against his pant leg absently, glancing up at the sky again. "Later." He said. And unsurprisingly, that was all.
Rei looked to Lyla expectantly, causing the latter to glare at Kaiun before carefully reclaiming her hand. "I wish people would stop calling me that."