Took from me all that I had
With my soul and spirit dead
Killing everything in me
What is one use to be free
Now to drive away the pain
I'll destroy all I disdain
I'll become what I despise
Living someone elses life
(Don't ever back down)
There were two points of entrances that they were going to use. The front entrance was going to be guarded while a back entrance and the garage where deliveries were made were to be their infiltration points. As predicted, Sephiroth was going to lead one of the teams, and he entrusted the back entrance to Zack. He thought it was cool, but at the same time knew it was more of a because the situation required it and there were no other options. "Are the ground teams ready?" Tifa was going to be their information feed from base.
"This is Zack. Yeah, we're ready."
"Sephiroth. Everything is in position."
The bright lights that illuminated the streets were minimal to the brightly lit up home of the Devil's Harvesters. Instead of front doors they could see the ramp that went from the street and led up to the first platform, where a few of their men were standing around either smoking, drinking, or showing off their newest guns. Zack studied the area from one of the rooftops off to the side of the building, currently playing backup sniper. Yuffie was somewhere in the streets close to the entrance, and would be going in with another team soon after the first distraction was employed. That first distraction of course, would come from Cid. He was currently getting ready to blow the fuse that would cut their power just long enough for her to get near the prisoner cells. While she was rescuing them Sephiroth and his guys would be heading for the leader. Zack would move in half way through the escape and be the escorts for them while business was wrapped up.
"Yo. This is Cid, give the word and I'll be ready for ya." Zack looked at the small hand held device in his hand and saw the camera that guarded the front entrance.
"Be ready in two minutes." Sephiroth's cool voice commanded. "Then we move in."
"Got it." Zack could literally see him chewing on the cigarette in his mouth at the moment, just waiting to get this show on the road.
"Ok. Cut the power in five. Four. Three-"
"What the hell!" Everyone was caught off guard as the power suddenly went out, and not just the opposing gangs base, but the surrounding streetlights as well, leaving the pitch black night to envelope the area.
"Cid, I didn't give the signal." Sephiroth growled into his speaker, his eyes quickly adjusting to the night.
"Obviously you didn't Commander. Someone else killed the power."
"Alright teams. Move in. Be wary though, we've got a third party in the vicinity." Zack looked at the camera again, it's night vision kicking in. The men on the bay were looking around in confusion at the lack of light. "Woah. Sephiroth, take a look at the front entrance video feed."
The team Commander did so and he frowned. It's just a couple of drunks... However, he was proved wrong when something went flying through the air, and the man closest to the entrance went down with a long shaft sticking out of him. "Sephiroth. I think that's an arrow." Zack breath, watching as the other five men quickly went down in the dark like the others.
A figure dropped down from one of the pillars, a bow in one hand while the quiver of arrows was on their back. Zack's breath caught in his throat as he saw the faint outline of long black hair and a body clothed in something similar to cargo Capri's and a t-shirt, the more distinguishing features were the guns and knives that coated their body. "Seph." He said quietly onto the private channel that they had been speaking on. "Is that...Shade?"
The figure looked at the camera and did a two fingered salute before turning and moving deeper into the base. "That's her."
XXXXXX
Sora's head whipped up when the lights went from full blast to absolutely dead, plunging them into the darkness. "You guys alright?" Axel immediately asked.
He attempted to look around but could barely see the hand in front of his face. Something landed on his shoulder and he could recognize it as Riku's own hand, giving him some assurance. "Yeah, we're good. Kairi? Namine?"
"We're fine." Kairi said, her voice not so cold. "The lights just went out." Axel hadn't told them about his sister, for fear of possibly being wrong and getting their hopes up for nothing. However, he did tell Cloud about the message and what he thought. Cloud had simply nodded before falling into silent thought.
Yelling could be heard in the distance but the group just ignored it. Kairi and Namine held hands just to silently make sure that the other was there, straining to hear the sounds around them. When the doors suddenly slammed in and flashlights roamed over them, Sora could see the distinct looks of a few of the members of their current captors, and frowned slightly, a feature he never used much.
"Which ones did he want for hostage?" A rough voice asked.
"The girls, said she would be more cautious." Roxas glanced over at Sora in the darkness. "She?" He didn't bother keeping his voice low.
Sora just shrugged but when the door to the gates opened up and the shrieks of the teenage girls reached their ears, all of them were up and once again attacking the bars. "Leave them alone." Axel growled.
"No. Boss needed their bodies for leverage."
Axel paused. "You'll need them alive."
"He said to just shoot them if you guys start pushing it."
"Easy Xigbar." Lexaeus said, having a firm hold on a whimpering Kairi. "He also said as a last resort."
Kairi was attempting to get away, refusing to give them an easy catch even as his fingers continued to dig into her arm. "Let us go!"
"No." Was his toneless answer. They just started moving before a voice interrupted them. Problem was it was almost like a disembodied, and belonged to none of them.
"Did they ask your permission?" Namine froze in her struggles as well. Faintly remembering the line.
She quickly glanced up, heart pounding in her chest, and saw that she was standing behind Shadow, a very pissed off Shadow to stand corrected. How did she know this? She didn't show any emotion, while her eyes looked ready to murder someone.
She walked over to the one that threatened to kiss her and put a heavy boot on his stomach causing him to grimace and moan. "Did she give you permission." When no answer came she pressed down harder. "Did she?"
"Did they?"
Xigbar scoffed. "Don't need permission to kill someone. Now show yourself."
"You're right, you don't need someone's permission." The airy laugh seemed to resonate throughout the room. When a sound like something falling came from the entrance they had come from, both had their guns up, still holding onto the girls, and fired at the direction, not stopping until their clips are empty.
"They're definitely dead now." Lexaeus said with a smirk.
"Really?" They spun to the right, at the cells across from the group.
"Enough. Show yourself." Xigbar demanded, then growled a curse as the flashlight he had once again flipped on, only to hear the two gunshots that penetrated both their sources of lighting, once again throwing them into darkness.
Sora didn't realize he was holding his breath as he heard both girls shriek before two solid thumps resounded throughout the room. Kairi and Namine found each other in the darkness and grabbed each other in choking holds as they went up against the guy's cells, blindly looking around.
"Who's there?" Axel demanded.
"Wow Axel, looks like confinement hasn't really damped your temper." The lights that were built into ceiling blinked on and the redhead dully noted that the ones in the rooms next over didn't come on.
There, standing against the cell doors, was Shade. Standing in complete calm with her arms cross, each one holding the daggers that had light traces of blood on them, the ones that no doubt caused the slit throats to the burly men currently wore. Her hair looked like it had been roughly cut, getting rid of the red ends before being pulled into a low ponytail. Cargo Capri's and a t-shirt were almost completely covered by the weapons she had covering her body. She looked at him and Cloud, a small smirk on her face, before facing her sisters, and that smirk turned into a small smile.
"Hey you two."
"Y-you're supposed to b-be d-dead." Namine stuttered, staring wide eyed at the person in front of her.
Shadow cocked her head to the side and looked at them, before widely spreading her arms. "Really? Last time I checked, just a few scratches." Kairi finally came out of the shock and playfully frowned at her sister.
"That's rude! Let us think you died in a fire!" She walked up and smacked her sisters arm, not missing the flinch that came with it.
"Hey, just because I'm not dead don't mean that bullet hole isn't there." She said, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Yeah, I know, I owe you guys a story later." Namine came up and gave her a soft hug before Shade reached down and grabbed the keys off the dead bodies, her daggers now sheathed as she went up and unlocked the caged doors.
"Mr. Valentine. Yuffie's team should be about half way in, meet up with them for extra support." Sora turned and saw the seemingly dark aurora man walked through the door, nodding silently.
Roxas turned to the eldest sister "Wait, you're not coming?"
"I'll be there in a few, got a few loose ends to tie up." She nodded in Vincent's direction. "He'll keep you guys safe." Namine and Kairi immediately opened their mouths to protest but Shadow gave them a look, and immediately shut them.
"Just don't die." Kairi said firmly.
"Got it. Now move." Axel and Cloud hung back a few seconds longer as the teenagers were led out of the room. It was silent a few seconds.
"Did you honestly expect us to let you have all the fun?" Shadow smirked at Axel's comment, reached to her back and taking the shotgun that was holstered there while handing Cloud a set of daggers.
"You can have Saix, heard you two didn't get along that well."
"And you heard correctly." She nodded and turned to the opposite door in the room. "After this beers are on me."
"Hell yeah they are." Axel said with mock seriousness, the mood immediately lightening up at the simple comment.
XXXXXX
Yuffie ran down the memorized hallway at top speed, hearing the ragged breaths of Reno and Carter behind her. She was small and lithe, the perfect combination for a runner, and a thief. Her hair was held out of her face by her black bandanna and for once she wasn't chatting about the randomness of the world, but that didn't mean her mind was completely blank as well.
Why would Commander Sephiroth and Commander Zack be so troubled before this began? I mean sure, someone else tripped the lights a few seconds ahead of schedule, doesn't mean that the whole plan is spiraling out of control. Maybe just a couple of drug dealers that chose the same night to break in, couple more people to take out. Blah blah blah, don't see why they are worried about having to put in a little extra work. Of course I wouldn't mind some free time to just sleep, seriously, they need to loosen up some. I'm sure Shade wouldn't like them moping around like they have been, it's been making my job of annoying them into cheerfulness harder than normal. Yuffie caught herself ranting and quickly cut herself off.
"Yuffie, slow down." Reno gasped. "We're supposed to stay together."
"As impossible as it seems, he has a point." Carter said.
She sighed and slowed down some, allowing them to run with her. "Come on guys, we're almost there-" Right as she made the sharp right turn she came to a screeching stop and had the Shuriken already in her hands. "Creepy guy!" She yelped, already attacking.
He easily dodged her blows as he stepped to the side to avoid them before Carter came up and stopped her from bringing it down again. "Yuffie. He's not a bad guy." She paused for a moment when she saw Kairi and the others appear behind him.
"He's kidnapping them!" This earned her a couple chuckles from the teenagers and an eye roll from Carter.
"Hey, Mr. Creepy was a pretty good name." Reno commented, coming up next to Carter. "Hey twerps. Where's Axel And Cloud?"
"They went with Shade." Kairi replied happily. The trio froze at the comment, momentarily not knowing what to think.
"PTSD?" Carter wondered quietly to the others.
"No." Vincent finally said. "She was able to get into a secure part of the house before the explosion. I found her and she's been staying at my home. She's currently pursuing Xemnas before planning to meet up with us outside."
Yuffie studied him for a moment. "OK, I believe Mr. Creepy." The two men looked at her incredulously while Vincent just nodded.
"I was told to meet you guys halfway here and continue to escort them outside to an abandoned shop we managed to locate." He continued.
"Wait, since when do you take orders?" Reno asked. "Aren't you like a mercenary, like, way up there with Shade?"
"She's paying." Was all he said, motioning for the teenagers to follow him. Yuffie quickly went up next to him, the dim lighting that had come back on barely illuminating her mouth as it quickly moved, talking to Vincint. Carter brought up the rear of the group while Reno was center, quickly assessing all of them to make sure they didn't have any fatal wounds. "Think we can trust him?" He asked, falling back to talk to Carter.
"Shade respects him. Trust him with their lives. Yeah, we can." The taller man said.
"Dude, are we sure she's alive. I mean-"
"She's alive. Nothing else explains it."
XXXXXX
Zack dodged to the left and fired a single shot from the rifle he had resting in his arms, not watching as the body dropped before continuing his journey down the hall. He had sent the rest of the team as back up to reinforce the quarters where the agents had been staying to take care of them and continued to go down to meet up with Sephiroth who was pursuing Xemnas. If he was on time, then when he made this turn into the hallway-
He stopped short just after he made the turn, took a couple more steps, and fell into step next to the Commander as they made their way through one of the platforms that had the city exposed to the right while it was a solid wall on the left, wrapping left and through a corner. "Seen anyone?" He asked.
"Haven't seen anyone else except our team and these dirt bags." Zack replied, checking one of the exits to make sure it was empty before moving on. "You?"
"No. However, Carter called in saying that they found the teenagers, and that Vincent Valentine was escorting them out of the premises per Shade's orders."
"Whoa, Vincent? Why is he helping her out?"
"He also said that she paid him."
"That sounds a lot more believable." The raven haired man replied, "How much longer do we got until we hit the main platform where he's supposed to be?"
"Another five minutes if we keep this pace." They were silent for a few moments before Zack spoke up again.
"Think we'll run into her?"
"I would expect so." Sephiroth replied, and Zack saw the slightest of smirks on his face. "She prefers to take care of problems herself. I would believe she considers Xemnas a problem."
Zack chuckled. "Good point."
XXXXXX
Dear Kairi and Namine,
Tonight you two will be turning eleven years old, something that I'm glad you two have been able to accomplish, and hopefully I'll be able to write you letters for the many more birthdays to come. When I say hopefully, I'm not referring to the probability that you two would die, in fact, much to my dismay, I refer to myself.
A lot has changed in the past five years, and any innocence I once held has no doubt been ban from my description. I can't tell you how many times I have wished to relive the days when we would play tag in the forest or on the playground at the park. I remember the tackles quite clearly, and I also remember how I wouldn't trade those moments for anything in the world. You two accepted me like a real sister immediately, something that children from the orphanage rarely see, and a gift that I am eternally grateful for.
My new family, yes, I can refer to them as family now, (though I would never refer to them as that in their faces) have been very accepting and helping me harden up to the harsh surroundings that this place contains. I've learned many new things. Fighting has a wide variety of tactics to choose from, with hand-to-hand combat and weapons such as guns and knives, I am slowly mastering all of these things.
My world is slowly turning to that of one that matches my title. The life of a mercenary isn't nice, and I'm quickly realizing that it isn't one to be fond of. A few weeks ago I did my first mission, and I also made the promise that I would never let you know about this side of my life. If you did I can honestly say your reaction would scare me. I know that I have no right to still ask for the compassion that you guys have given willingly throughout the years when I have done nothing but given you half-truths. Yes, I'm being selfish, and hopefully at some point in my life I will just suck it up and give you guys the truth that you deserve.
I can already hear your protests now. How you would never turn your backs on me because of the things I've done. How you will always stick by my side. How do I know this? You've told me these things before, hundreds of times in the many letters throughout the years. But I'm still only human, and unlike innocence, fear is still something that can describe me at moments when I'm at gunpoint. How sad, how I can go through with taking someone's life but not telling my own sisters what I do in my daily lives.
A few years from now hopefully I will suck it up and give you this letter, taking the blows that would no doubt come with them. Even though I'm not blood related and nothing close to similar to you guys, please know that I am proud of you and am honored to call you sisters. I will talk to you soon, and it will be the kind of letter that I always send. One filled with honest compliments and not-so-honest half-lies to barely quench your curiosity. Take care, be safe, and continue to to use your gift of making others around you feel like they belong.
Your sister,
-Shadow
Shadow, age fifteen, sighed as she neatly folded up the letter, sliding it into the envelope and sealing it. She flipped it over and neatly wrote the name of her two sisters across it before letting the paper rest on the desk in front of her. A sigh escaped her as she took it and put the letter inside of one of the drawers of the desk, one that had a solid lock and only three other letters similar to this one that she had written throughout the years explaining the situation to them, but would never have the chance to be sent.