Ami's Village, Seven Hours South of the City

[mistervillainman]

Tseng was taken off-guard by the ferocity of her attack and dropped to his knees as the others attacked. He took the hits, fought through the pain and used the momentum to throw himself backward, slamming down onto Ami with all his weight and rolling backwards out of her grip.

"Sorry kids, time to go now."

He pressed a button on a device fixed to his belt and a moment later, a reinforcement squad blasted in through the windows, swarming Reno and Rude. Tseng took the opportunity and grabbed Ami by the arms, flinging her out the front door, where several soldiers instantly began hitting her with tazers.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"GYEAAH!!!" She could barely move with all the tasers coming at her. She drew her sword and sparks flew... she cut the tips from all the tasers that came near her with one seamless spin. She held her swords out in a challenging position, although her knees were shaking. She smirked evilly at the soldiers surrounding her, knowing she had their attention by the hesitation in their postures. "Come play with me..."

It took all she had to not collapse, but she wanted to really sell this performance-- it had been a knockout so far.

Reno and Rude fought back, but they were barely keeping themselves from going down. Trying to help Ami or any of the others was out of the question... the goal right now was to stay alive.

If she'd chosen to fight with us instead of going her own way, we could have beaten them back...

[mistervillainman]

Tseng exited the house and stepped in front of the soldiers.

"Listen 15 Prime... Either you play our way or your family takes your place on the game field. My employer has no qualms about biding his time, but he may get bored while he waits for us to get hold of you and he might blow off some steam by torturing every one of your family to death in the meantime."

He knew that would touch a nerve.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Ami stood as firm as she could, but she knew the longer she stood now, the harder the fall would be when it finally came.

She dropped to her knees, her feet unable to hold her. She struggled to rise again, but it was only a display of a child's pathetic courage... or perhaps, a foolish woman's stubborness. And she remembered the flash...

The one that came the day her brothers died, although she would not know they were gone until much later...

Struggling to rise again in battle, but knowing he had been abandoned... why fight anymore?

Lurching forward... blacking out... finding himself fallen into his enemy's arms...

"You don't have to hold on any longer."

Her eyes weaved their way up to Tseng's.

"F**k you." She flipped him off as she finally lost consciousness, toppling face first at his feet, her midnight black hair tangling with his shoelaces.

A voice in the dark...

Kid?

Brother...

Shhh... Listen... It's okay sometimes... it's okay to fall...

[mistervillainman]

Tseng couldnt help himself, he was actually caught very off-guard by what had just occured, for a moment he thought he was watching the previous brothers fall before him. He quickly shook it off as Reno and Rude burst through the front door, flinging several soldiers aside. The Shinra chopper swooped in low and the soldiers boarded, dragging Ami's unconscious form in with him, Tseng stepped onto the landing rail and gave the former Shinra Turks a false salute as the chopper lifted off and flew out of sight, leaving Reno and Rude glaring after it. Reno ran a hand through his hair in frustration and slammed his EMR down to the grass. Rude just watched from behind his shades as the chopper disappeared.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Great!"

Reno cursed loudly at the departing chopper. "Yo, you forgot about us, you SOB's! Ain't we got a price on our head big enough for you jacka**es?!"

The helicopter's passengers either did not hear or chose to ignore him.

He turned to his partner. "D**nit! You know what this means?! They're gonna DISSECT that kid and restart the whole d**n Jenova Project, yo!"

Rude was even less pleased with this development, although he didn't show it as readily. "No... they won't be able to use her cells to complete the Jenova Project data. But by the time they realize that..."

"It'll be too d**n late, for Ami, anyway," Reno fumed. His eyes suddenly widened. "Nikky!"

He tore back into the house, hoping-- praying-- she'd found a place to hide...

He found her squeezed into Ami's closet. He pulled her out and embraced her, almost ready to faint with relief. "Oh, thank G**..."

Rude came inside and checked up on the others. They all seemed OK-- one less inconvenience, anyway. Apparently, Rufus' orders had not included any of them. And Kamen had been left entirely undisturbed. They were having a little trouble breathing, but after the house aired out for a few minutes, that problem was taken care of.

He sighed, evaluating this situation. Not good at all. They might not be able to use Ami's cells, but she can still summon her brothers when she's in trouble... and as much trouble as they were, I doubt even they can get her out of this. They're just as likely to wind up on the dissection table with her. Ami, you got your wish... Tseng caught you. Now what?

He realized his cell was beeping...

He pulled it out. He'd heard it ring before, but he'd never heard it beep.

He gave the readout a look... "Son of a..."

It was giving a geographic display with a red indicator on it.

How'd she get one of my tracking pods off me? Probably sometime during the decoy argument earlier, while Kamen was getting patched up... but how'd she do it without my noticing...

When we stopped for gas on the way here and I left my coat in the car. She must have swiped one of my trackers then. She's using herself as bait... that's the way she planned it all along.

He sighed. She thought she was so wise... and that may undo her. This is a suicide mission.

Something on the kitchen fridge caught his eye.

He approached it to view it more carefully. It was a calendar with a day circled on it in red pen. A message was inked on it.

"Happy Birthday Ami... we won't forget"

The date circled was tomorrow.

Her family had been kidnapped, her boyfriend had disappeared (probably also kidnapped), her brothers and only genetic family killed, all within the same twelve months. What a year to celebrate. Happy birthday to you, Ami. I'd commit suicide, too. Sweet sixteen, and many happy returns.

Rude backed away from the calendar and found Reno in Ami's room. "Well, now we've got to go save her, it looks like."

Reno looked up at Rude. "Partner... I'm sorry we lost Ami too, but to go after her-- we'd be asking to have our hides nailed to the outside of Nibelheim Mansion, yo."

Rude looked hard at Reno, and noticed his arms tightening around Nikky. "If it weren't for Ami, you two would never have met."

Reno blinked and looked into Nikky's eyes. He's right about that much. Besides... you told Nikky you'd started to believe in second chances. Who exactly gave you the faith? A person can't help believing... when he sees a girl's brothers rise from the grave, just to keep her safe.

Well, Reno, strategy time again. What are ya gonna do?

He gave Nikky a half-grin. "Well, looks like you aren't the only damsel in distress in my life all of a sudden. So how about it? Rescue the kid, save the world? Sound like a hot date?"

Rude gave a barely perceptible nod of approval. That's the way, Reno. "We need to formulate a plan immediately."

****

Ami stirred uneasily on her stretcher. She had a feeling like she was supposed to wake up, but she couldn't remember why...

Another dream of a memory. She and her brother, sitting out at Destiny Point, staring across the wastes out to Midgar.

"I think about this night every day," Kadaj said. "I said to you, 'You see those lights out there?'"

Ami nodded. "I think about this all the time, too. I said, 'Yeah, that's where Dad works.' And then you got real quiet and you said..."

"I said, 'He isn't our father.' You got so upset when I said that."

"I knew it was true, of course. But I always tried to forget."

Kadaj kept staring outward. "I wish I could forget this. This is the part where I told you I was leaving."

Ami put a hand on his arm. "But you can't, and that's a good sign. It shows you're sorry for what you've done, and it won't happen again."

Kadaj gave her a dark look and shrugged her off. "I wish that were true. It is happening again. You're repeating all my mistakes, Ami. Rude was right about you."

Ami got defensive. "I can't take it back now. You said it yourself: 'There is no undoing'."

He held her gaze with simmering anger. "Maybe, but would you take it back if you could?"

Ami averted her eyes.

Kadaj nodded. "I thought so." He looked up at the sky, his strange eyes haunted. "Our pride is too oversized to let us sit home and fidget while the people we love die." His tone became bitter. "It's in our g**d**n blood, you know. It's in our blood, whether we want it there or not."

Ami's stomach twisted. "I wanted the soldiers to think... there was a part of HIM in me."

"Why?"

Ami let out a shuddering breath. "So they would be afraid."

Kadaj blinked contemplatively. "There's power in that kind of evil."

Ami looked at him. "But... I'm not... evil... am I?"

Kadaj looked at her sidelong. "Of course you are. Everyone is. Everybody starts out evil. You have to work at becoming good."

Ami pulled grass out of the dirt. "So what is good or evil in this position? Good is letting a monster like Shinra torture innocent people who were good enough to take me in when the rest of the world might have killed me? Or is good disobeying one of my best friends and facing this creature alone?"

Kadaj put a hand over hers. "Good is not trying so hard to always be the hero. There are other heroes in the world, Ami. Let them help you. Let go of your pride... and your fear. Your fear that they will fail you... or that you will fail them."

Ami looked away, shame eating her insides. "What do I do now? Last time I checked, I was out cold at the feet of a Shinra-funded horde."

"Stick by your plan... what else can you do? But when help arrives... accept it. And don't be ashamed to realize you were wrong." He sat up a little straighter. "It worked for me."

Ami sighed sadly. "Yeah. Too bad you were dead when it did."

Kadaj smirked at her. "I know you aren't trying to be funny... but it's all I can do to not laugh." He pushed some hair out of her face. "Didn't I tell you... it's okay sometimes to fall?"

He got up and offered her a hand. "Just as long as you get back up."

She took his hand and rose...

****

The dream faded, and her eyes slowly cleared. She blinked feebly, finding herself securely bound inside a chopper in flight.

There was Tseng, sitting across from her, watching her. Ami's dry mouth turned upward into a weak grin. I'm gonna have a little fun with you...

"Hey, bad boy. Your gums recovering yet?" She chuckled painfully. "Amnesty Lazuli, DDS. Pioneer of the Dragon's Teeth technique."

[*~Nikkole~*]

nikky grinned. ''as long as we can safely hide kamen... and i'm not in danger of being found.... bring it on.'' she grinned before glancing around and checking on kamen. he wasn't doing so hot. better, but still feverish and also very cold. she sighed, kamen was more stable.... but couldn't be left way unattended.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"We know Tseng will take her back to Shinra headquarters, wherever that may be now," Rude continued. "The big question is how much military force will be present there?"

"And how about Rufus? I'd think that p***k would have the nerve to want a sit-down chin-wag with her face-to-face, yo," Reno asserted.

"Obviously, he will want a look at his new trophy," Rude agreed. "If we can launch an attack on him during that window... that will be when he is most vulnerable. If we have the kingpin in our hands, the rest of the machine will fall apart."

"So the crucial thing is to follow Ami's signal, and wait to find out when he will have her in his sights, yeah?"

"And to get past the other agents when we do know."

"So first order of business is disguises. And I got mine picked out already." He headed back out to the living room to get the outfit he'd dropped earlier. "You stew a little longer. I'm gonna get all dolled up for our visit to the Chief Exec, yo."

Rude turned to Nikky. "Sunset and the others will be able to guard Kamen. As for you... I have a slightly different kind of disguise in mind." He retrieved the clothing bag and pulled out a black pantsuit. "Give this a try."

He got the clothes he'd been about to try on earlier and went into the bathroom to give them a go.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Reno returned in the blue outfit, finding Nikky with the pantsuit, looking nonplussed.

"Hey, Nikky?"

He spun around in his new stuff playfully. "Do ya dig it, yo?" He showed her a Cheshire cat grin. "No more of that d**n post-mortem junkola."

Rude finished up at about the same time, wearing... well, nothing that diverged too much from his last outfit. Black coat (granted, it was leather, but still), white shirt, black slacks. Shades. No tie.

Reno shook his head. "You can take the man out of the Turks..."

He pulled out his EMR, which he had retrieved from the front yard on his way back. "You guys ready to kick some corporate a**?"

[Kidd Strife]

Kidd walked in arms spread wide. "Are you guys gonna leave me behind or do I get to have a go at the guys who stole my sister?"

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Nah, you're comin'," Reno said. "We're gonna need plenty of help... Rufus ain't exactly Liu Kang, but he's got his resources."

"You'll have to leave Kamryn, though," Rude insisted. "Someone needs to guard Kamen, and Sunset is too unpredictable to be left to the task on her own."

"And by the way, Kidd," Reno added, "if you got any ideas to bring to the table, spit 'em out, 'cause our rescue plan thus far isn't too brilliant, yo. Basically, it's 'follow the girl until something bad happens'." He stretched. "Yup, fools go rushing in where angels don't dare tread... but nobody ever accused me of being an angel."

[Kidd Strife]

"Here's what I propose,nice outfit Reno. Anyway do we still have those snipers? I can borrow Kamryn's. I say we should follow in the shadows until they land. Then we take out as many as we can from different angles. That way when we do go rescue her our path will be a little clearer."

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Rude nodded. "Good idea... that might improve our odds. However, it might decrease our chances of getting to Rufus."

Reno nodded "Getting Ami and company back is definitely first priority. But if at all possible, I'd like to smoke the sucker while we're catching the kid, yo."

"And we have retrieval of her family to consider as well," Rude added. "Still, the sniper rifles will definitely come into play."

"As of right now, she's getting airlifted 'Nam style to wherever we're supposed to be going, yo," Reno summarized. "We got to pack up what we can grab and start following her signal." He came over to Rude. "Which way they headed?"

[Kidd Strife]

Kidd ran into the back room. He came back with the snipers and ammo... and a black robe with a hood. (Organization Xlll) "Anything else we need?" Kidd saw his team stare akwardly. "Hey I get to dress up too, don't I?"

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Sorry... but that getup looks familiar." Reno tried to shake it off. "Naw, I think we're good, yo... Oh, yeah. One more thing."

He went outside and loaded Ami's cycle into the back of the van. "Got a feeling we'll be able to use this... anybody here know how to hotwire a chopper?"

He got into the driver's seat. "Okay, everybody, all aboard."

Rude scratched out his cell number for the others to use in case of emergency. He got Ami's bag out of Kamen's room and dropped it in the back as he got into the shotgun seat.

Reno turned to his partner. "Hey, where'd Nikky go?"

"Still changing clothes."

Reno rolled his eyes. Not the first time a girl has kept me waiting for that reason. Guess it comes with the territory.

He honked a couple times and yelled back at the house. "Not to rush you, but we're on a limited timeframe here!" He waited. "Yo, Kidd! Let's get this party started!" He turned on the radio, which was playing a tune that sounded suspiciously like The Immigrant Song.