"What do you see, Nimuria?" Cyrus asked as he waited patiently at the rope bridge connecting the Mt. Nibel Mountain Path with the mountain that held the Nibel Reactor. Nimuria was a few yards away, perched up on a boulder as she peered back down the path with a pair of night-vision binoculars.
"Rei's trap was set off intentionally by Yuffie Kisaragi," Nimuria reported. "Rei and Alanye engaged the enemy, but Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart managed to bypass our comrades. They are moving quickly up the path and will reach us in a matter of minutes."
"Damn," Cyrus swore as Nimuria jumped down from her perch and rejoined her master. "I was hoping our comrades would be able to hold them off a little better than they have. Knowing our enemies' abilities and their accomplishments, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
"Well, no sense in waiting for them to catch up. Let's make for the reactor."
Nimuria's head hung low as she reached for her daggers. "No…I fear this is where we part ways."
"What do you mean, Nimuria?" Cyrus asked, confused.
"If Strife and Lockhart catch up to you, they will attempt to kill you before you can complete our divine task. That is something I cannot allow. I will remain behind and stall them as best as I can. You must press on and release the power of the Clear Materia…and save the Planet."
Cyrus stood there, his eyes locked with those of his first lieutenant. He knew that she was right: if the traitors caught him before he made it to the Nibel Reactor, all the sacrifices of the Repentant would be for naught, and Cyrus and his Collective would never achieve forgiveness. Still, it was his deepest wish that Nimuria could have stood beside him in his moment of triumph. After all they had endured at the hands of humanity's cruelty, he wanted her last memory to be the ushering in of the new utopia.
Cyrus's angst overtook him as he embraced Nimuria and met her lips with his own. Passion, anger, sadness, and regret all flooded between the two Repentant as they drank one another in. After a few seconds, Cyrus released his kiss as he looked into the dark blue eyes of the only woman he'd ever cared for and quietly said, "Thank you, my angel. The will of the Planet be done."
Cyrus broke the embrace as he rushed across the bridge towards the winding caverns of Mt. Nibel. Nimuria gazed at the man she had devoted her life and soul to disappear into the catacombs towards his final destination.
"The will of the Planet?" Nimuria quietly mused. "No, not the Planet. Your will is all that ever mattered to me. Master…I will hold back the traitors and join you once again in the Lifestream. Thank you for opening my eyes…"
Nimuria fought back a tear as she unsheathed her daggers and waited at her end of the bridge. She waited patiently for Strife and Lockhart as the taste of Cyrus's lips still lingered on her own.
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"Before we get back down to business, I got something to ask you!" Yuffie demanded as she took a pause in her battle with Rei.
Rei panted as she struggled to keep standing. The battle between her and the ninja had been a fast-paced one, with both fighters suffering from various lacerations from one another's throwing weapons. Yuffie had three on her right arm and two on either of her legs; Rei had several on her back, including one very deep one that kept bleeding through her uniform. Despite her fear of Cyrus's wrath, she took advantage of the break and replied, "I think I know what it is…and yes, I am originally from Wutai."
"Oh, yeah? Then what are you doing helping that creep Cyrus? A Wutai warrior is a proud defender of her home and people, and you choose to be some psycho's lapdog? You bring shame to Da-Chao and Leviathan!"
Rei's normally timid demeanor quickly turned into one of rage as she rushed Yuffie with a pair of kunai knives. She continued to slash at Yuffie as the ninja retreated into a small canyon with several rocky ridges along the sides.
"Do not insult Master Cyrus, you little whelp!" Rei shouted as she leapt into the air. "Master Cyrus took me in when my own kindred abandoned me, and he gave me a home and a purpose. If he willed it, I would die for him. I will most certainly kill the princess of Wutai to prove my worth as a Repentant!"
Rei tossed the two kunai as Yuffie jumped up to one of the stone outcroppings. She grabbed a trio of smaller shuriken and aimed for the airborne Repentant. A small yellow light glowed from Rei's left arm as she spun in mid-air to dodge the shuriken, catch them with her left hand, and toss them back.
"Damn it! A Sense materia!" Yuffie thought bitterly as she jumped to another one of the canyon's ledges. A Sense materia normally allowed its user to scan their opponent for their strengths and weaknesses, but a fully-mastered one fused with its user could increase his or her ability to predict their opponent's attacks and develop a counter. Yuffie realized that as long as Rei could see her, the Repentant would be able to counter just about everything she'd throw at her.
"See…wait! That might work!" Yuffie realized with a slight grin. She dodged another attack from Rei's fans as she pulled a smoke bomb from her tool pouch. Yuffie gave the bomb a toss and ruptured it with a kunai, setting the grenade off. A large cloud of smoke filled the dimly-lit canyon as Rei found herself surrounded by haze.
"You think this will stop me from killing you, my lady?" Rei asked with trepidation in her voice as she held on tightly to her combat fans. She tried to pierce through the smoke with the Sense materia, but it did no good. All she could see were shadows dancing in the haze, and she was unable to tell which one of them belonged to Yuffie. She was about to try the Sense materia again when a kunai flew past her head and landed in the ground by her left foot.
"Ha! It seems you need some practice with your aim, princess!" Rei boasted as she focused again on maximizing the power of the Sense materia. She was getting close to finding Yuffie when the ninja's voice called out from beyond the smoke.
"The first lesson they teach you when training in the ninja arts is to always keep your true aims hidden. You think I missed? Think again!"
Rei was confused until she heard what sounded like a lit cannon fuse. She looked down where Yuffie's apparent errant kunai landed and realized that it wasn't alone. There, tied around the handle of the knife, was a live paper bomb. Rei panicked and started to run, but it was too late. The paper bomb exploded and sent Rei flying out of the smoke and directly into one of the canyon walls. Rei felt bones break and tendons snap as she fell to the ground in a heap. Yuffie leapt down from her perch and stood in front of the Repentant, her heavy shuriken in hand and ready to be unleashed.
Rei couldn't move, let alone utilize the materia fused with her. "Finish me. I've failed my master, and I deserve to die."
Yuffie stood there for a couple of seconds before lowering her shuriken and refastening it to her back. "I'm not a murderer. Unlike your master, I don't kill those who can't defend themselves. I'm outta here."
Yuffie turned her back on the Repentant and started to walk away. Rei tried to move to attack her, but found that her legs refused to cooperate. "No…I will not suffer my master's wrath again. My punishment…my escape…IS DEATH!"
Yuffie turned around in an instant only to watch Rei slit her own throat with one of her steel fans. The cut hemorrhaged as Rei choked on her own blood before giving up her soul to the Planet. Yuffie stood in horror at the sight of Rei's seppuku and wondered what sort of man Cyrus truly was to inspire such loyalty and fear in her subordinates.
Out in the distance, the sound of Red's howling broke Yuffie out of her trance. Yuffie shook off the terror she felt as she raced out of the canyon to find her friend. She stole one last glance at Rei's body to feel a bit of sorry as she turned her attention to locating Red XIII.
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Meanwhile, Red XIII had spent the first few minutes circling his opponent, something the Repentant Alanye mimicked. She had a sadistic smile on her face and a bloodthirsty look in her eyes as she continued to slowly stalk Red on the mountain path.
"You said your name was Alanye, correct? And that you were the Repentant's fifth lieutenant?" Red asked as he stopped pacing.
"You have very good ears, lovely beast," Alanye said in a wicked tone. "What of it?"
"Your rank…is it based on your abilities in combat?"
Alanye cackled at that notion. "Don't be ridiculous! Our rank only signifies our ability to lead the Repentant should Cyrus be killed. Our strength only determined that we become lieutenants…not how we were ranked. The Repentant foolishly see strength as only one tool, and a relatively unimportant one at that. To the Collective, strength is merely a means to complete one's tasks."
"I noticed you didn't address Cyrus as 'Master' like your companions," Red noted.
Alanye licked her left gauntlet as she continued to smile. "Very observant. I'm what you might call the black sheep of the Repentant. I care little for Cyrus's goals and aspirations…I'm only here to kill. As long as Cyrus can find me interesting opponents, I could care less about what happens to humanity or the Planet."
Red stood in shock at Alanye's cavalier attitude. "You enjoy slaughter? You monster!"
"Flattery will not get you any mercy from me, beast. I shed my humanity years ago to obtain strength. I've learned the monsters' ways of fighting, and have not fought a human who could be considered my equal. That is why I find you so…intriguing."
Alanye dropped on all fours like some wild animal as she continued, "You are not human, but yet sentient enough to possibly be a challenge for me. You fight like the monsters I've tried so hard to emulate, and I so look forward to seeing how well I've learned."
In a flash, Alanye rushed Red on all fours and started to slash at the guardian with her claws. Red's instincts kicked in as he jumped to the right to avoid Alanye's attack. Alanye quickly adjusted as she pounced again at Red, this time managing to dig her right claw into Red's right fore leg. Red howled in pain as he dug his teeth into his attacker's arm and found blood. Alanye didn't screech in agony, but the injury was enough to force her back. She stopped to wipe the blood with her left claw and lap it from her fingers with her tongue.
"Ah, my own blood. It's been a while since I've tasted it," Alanye said in an almost euphoric voice. She stood up as her left arm began to glow. "Allow me to grant you the same pleasure, dear beast."
A void formed at the tip of Alanye's left hand as she pointed it at Red. A moment later, a flood of water emerged from the void and flowed over Red, attempting to drown him.
"Aqualung!" Red realized as he did a midair spin-move to force the water to dissipate. Alanye used the scattered water as a cover as she rushed in again and dug her claws into Red's rear haunches. Alanye then spun Red in the air and slammed him into the ground hard. Red lied motionless, but still conscious as Alanye slithered on top of him and brought her face within inches of Red's snout.
"You are truly magnificent…if somewhat of a disappointment. Too bad this little dance of ours has to end so soon," Alanye purred as she gave Red a small kiss on his nose followed by a lick from her tongue. Red's skin crawled in disgust as he tried to free himself.
"What? Not interested in a mate? I would think that, as a member of a dying species, you'd be a little more open-minded," Alanye cooed wickedly.
Red smirked. "Sorry, I'm not interesting in a monster for a mate. And I dislike most two-legged things, anyway…"
Red used his hind legs and pushed Alanye off and over to the other side of the path, where at the edge there was a sheer drop directly to the bottom. Alanye tried to drop back into her battle stance, but Red was ready for that. He rushed the Repentant as streams of blue-green energy followed him, a technique he learned from his father Seto called Sled Fang. Red rammed his entire mass into Alanye as the energy trails added additional force. Alanye was forced back towards and over the edge, and would have fallen if not for her claws digging into the side of the mountain path.
Red gingerly walked over to the edge and surprisingly saw Alanye laughing maniacally. She looked up at Red and declared, "Well done! I suppose a beast does know how to fight like one better than I ever will after all…"
"Wrong," Red corrected as he shook his head. "I am no beast. I am Nanaki, son of Seto and defender of Cosmo Canyon. I fight for a reason beyond savage primal instincts. When it comes to you or me, the only beast here is you."
Alanye closed her eyes and smiled as she released her grip and voluntarily plummeted into the abyss below. Red stood there in awe at what a strange human this female was and wondered if Cyrus wasn't somewhat correct in his assessment of human nature.
"No," Red muttered to himself. "Humans are weak…but they can learn from their mistakes. They deserve the chance to do so."
"Red!" Yuffie's voices echoed over the hills. "You okay, buddy?"
"Yes, Yuffie, I'm fine. A bit mangled, but alive. Come, I need your help in treating my injuries. Cloud and Tifa will need our help, I'm sure."
"Gotcha! Be there in a jiffy!"
Red relaxed and lied down on the mountain path as he waited for Yuffie. Yes, humans were sometimes weak, but they were not without their virtues. As Yuffie, Cloud, and the rest of his friends demonstrated over the years…
Red smiled as he closed his eyes and wagged his tail. Cyrus was misguided and needed to be stopped, and although Red was and would continue to be guardian of Cosmo Canyon he would uphold the values the elders taught and make sure that madman was stopped…
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Author's Notes:
Before anyone says anything...yes, Alanye is CREEPY! She was supposed to be creepy, it's how I designed her character. Hope you like it!
Big props to MoriMemento for leaving me a review. Glad you appreciate my story and my dedication to uploading. I do it all for the fans!
Reviews, Reviews, the magical words...the more you write, the more it strike a chord! (Lame, I apologize in advance for this joke)
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"The Exile" Cyrus Truth