Kalm Town

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Yeah. Whatever." She went towards the Infirmary to clean her scratches.

She looked in on Samson once again as she applied the disinfectant. "Come on, Cap. Quit lying down on the job. I can't take all these nutjobs alone."

What if he never wakes up... Come on, Ami, don't think like that.

****

The ship's elevation climbed as Yazoo ordered a flyover of the Shinra Mansion. No, the memetic beacon was not there. But something else was. Something that disturbed him deeply.

"Pick up the speed. On to Wutai. This is even more serious than I dared to fear."

****

In one of the cabins, Kadaj and Loz were mulling over what the information in the message could mean. So far, it was nothing but statistics and cryptic messages perpetuated by an unknown presence.

Kadaj, we're in trouble.

Again?

Xima is alive. And so is her mate.

Figures. How are you sure about Rufus?

That's what worries me.

You don't mean...

Right. He's one of us now.

Which means when the Orphans come...

Kadaj, consider this. Evil as Xima is, she may be the better choice.

What are you saying?

Amnesty has become erratic. Even unstable.

It's called being a teenager. We'll help her.

She cannot depend on us forever.

She can depend on us as long as we're still breathing.

[Sin]

Sin gritted his teeth one final time, and wrenched the arm to face the right way. He rebuckled his armor and weapons, and headed towards the infermarary as well. He sat down and took some painkillers, wondering what the others were up to.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Ami turned to see the movement in her periphery and caught a glimpse of Sin. "Oh, hey." She turned hurriedly away from the capsule. "Don't think you two have been introduced. Samson, Sin. Sin, Samson." She sighed and looked back on him wearily. "He's been out of it for days."

****

Tifa heard the jammed door creak open. She found Cloud's outline silhouetted in it. "Why did you send the kid to talk to me?" Tifa turned away and said nothing.

Cloud came closer and sat next to her. "I didn't tell him anything I haven't already said to you. Why can't you understand..."

She stood abruptly and wheeled on him. "Because I don't want to, OK?!" She sighed and slumped into the chair. "I just want to wake up in my bed at home and find out this has all been a nightmare."

Cloud got up and tried to take her hand reassuringly. "I do, too--"

She got up and barged out through the cluttered floor without a word. Cloud sat down in the darkened room and dropped his head into his hands wearily.

****

Yazoo broke the contact with Kadaj just in time for him to hear an "erp" and the door slamming closed again. He looked at Loz strangely. "What was that about?"

****

"Tifa!" Marlene got up from her seat in the common room, leaving lay the comics pages she picked up when Reno dropped them.

Tifa knelt down to hug her. "I was looking all over for you."

"Is everything all right? You look pale."

"Nothing. I just..." How could she explain almost walking in on the two monsters that had for months been haunting Marlene's dreams?

[Sin]

Sin nodded towards Samson

"What happened to him?"

He took a few more painkillers, and looked around for a splint.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Ami shrugged helplessly. "Who knows? Some parasite thing attacked him. I tried to help... I thought I'd saved him. But as usual, all I did was make things worse."

[Sin]

"Ah. When did it happen?"

Sin found the splint and wound up his arm, a temporary fix until he could get Reno to look at it.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"A few days ago." She glanced at him. "I thought that..." She shook her head and left.

She went into a cabin to rest and recover. A tap on the shoulder snapped her back to wakefulness.

"Ami."

She relaxed. "Vincent. Thank G**... a sane person."

He drew back. "Amnesty. I've been speaking to your brother."

"That self-centered punk? I'm starting to feel why he gets on Tifa's nerves--"

"Ami." His tone was seriously serious now. "He doesn't want me speaking to you anymore. He thinks my presence is bad for you. And I feel he may be right."

Ami's jaw dropped. "You're not serious. I mean, for one, that you would take anything he had to say seriously, and second, that you'd actually follow his orders!"

"This has nothing to do with his orders. He just told me something I already knew... When I am with you, you are in danger."

"Vincent, think it over. People are always trying to kill me anyway. Always have been. I'm used to it. I'm safer with you than not."

He watched her for a long moment. "No. After this, we go our seperate ways." He started leaving the room.

Ami would have none of that. She cut in front of him and slammed the door shut. "I am NOT Lucrezia!"

In the moment of stunned silence that followed, she barged on. "I'm stronger than she was! And I am not going to leave you!"

"Ami, I am leaving you."

"Just try! It's not that easy! I'll follow you. Just try to stop me!" She glared into his eyes. "You're never getting rid of me!"

They stood glaring at one another for a moment.

Quite inexplicably, he hugged her.

The look on her face was priceless. "Stuff my brother. I'm not leaving you."

[Sin]

Sin watched in amusement, and headed out of the room to look for Reno.

That was almost... cute... hahahahaha

He headed for the kitchen first.

[Kidd Strife]

"It's done! Come get it everyone!" Kidd had set the steaks according to thier types, ranging from medium-rare to well done, the potatoes next to it. He took the capitain's platter to Samson's quarters. "Captian Samson, welcome to the land of the awoken ones."

[Sin]

Sin sat down at the rarest plate, and waited for the others. His arm was bleeding again, andd was probably going to get infected soon.

Where the hell is Reno? damn... at the very least the food is excellent.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Where's the grub, yo? Don't hold out on me, dudes." Reno came into the infirmary and grabbed a steak to eat barehanded. This was a big mistake. Freshly cooked steak + unprotected hand = grown men screaming like little girls.

He was dancing around like a maniac trying to cool his hand down for the next five minutes.

[Sin]

Sin stared at Reno for a second and went back to eating.

"Reno, since you are going to need to go to the infermary, mind fixing my arm?"

Sin rased his broken arm, a bit of blood dripping off onto the floor.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Huh? Oh, yeah, kid. No problem, yo." He took the mendings off and winced. "Daaaang. That's gnarly, man. How the h**l did you get that?" The bloody arm began to glow.

[Kidd Strife]

Kidd set down the platter and walked off. His footsteps were light as he roamed the interior of the vessel. He switched on his MP3 player and began to play some music. "Harder, faster better stronger..." He began to think out loud. "Maybe I should get a new look... haven't been to a store latley..."

freddy08.imeem.com/music/clM_A1ia/stronger_kanye_westfullcdq/

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Amnesty was still in her cabin. "Um, Vincent... you can, uh, let go now."

"Sorry."

She took a deep breath, propping herself against the wall. "Geez. Air. You don't show your feelings often, but when you do, people KNOW about it." She gave him a wry grin.

"Pardon me if I forgot myself," he replied, only half-seriously.

"People don't forget themselves. They forget what they want other people to see."

Vincent nodded. "Do you know what I see now in you?"

"What?"

"Myself."

Ami smiled. "I'm going to see if we're almost there, Vincent."

****

She strolled into the c0ckpit. "How much longer, Yazoo?"

"Not long."

"We're over the ocean. So, Wutai?"

"Of course. The signal gets stronger every second. Even you should feel it now."

Ami couldn't help but sense his irritation. "Yazoo, please, tell me what happened back in Kalm. Whatever it is, it's tearing you up, trying to get out."

"Only if you tell me first about Vincent, and your journey with him. I know you refused Kadaj. Why?"

Ami sighed. She felt pinned. "Read my mind. No offense, ABel, but this is not for you to know."

He seemed accepting of this. Ami closed her eyes and concentrated. Lucrezia. I saw her. She told me... everything.