Kalm Inn

[Squall]

Squall twisted the gunblade spitefully as he slowly forced it deeper. He smirked at him, Im gonna kill you for what youve done. Squalls suddenly became particularly aware of rapid gunfire a short distance away and looked across to see yazoo shooting at an elite, No biggie... Hold up!? Squall stood horrified as he followed the elites line of site down to Ami, who still lay motionless on the ground. COWARDLY F***!!! Squall looked around frantically, " Cid! Come here!" Squall shunted the gunblade right throught the elites leg and swivelled it, almost chopping it off. " Cid, take care of this guy for me please?" Squall wrenched Cids spear from him with his free hand and launched it at the elite, the spear penetrating deep into his shoulder. " Thanks!"

[Ru]

Cid shook his head, and made a fumbling grasp for his spear, but it was too late - Squall had thrown it already. His head seemed to clear slightly, even through the haze of injury and shock.
"You b*stard!" He fought the urge to punch the man, "Touch my stuff again and I'll cripple you!" He shut his mouth, and glanced down the battlefield, where the bodies of the others lay.
"Alright. I gotcher back." His spear had dealt a sizable wound to the Elite, but the thing obviously wasn't dead - well, time enough to fix that. Cid ran in quickly, dodging back and forth, and grabbed the butt end of his spear, jerking it upwards and outwards of the enemy's shoulder before falling back quickly into a stance.
"Not bad, eh?" He couldn't resist another look down the field - nothing had settled in yet.

[matt]

Blood turned to see an elite heading for Ami. "Dammnit..." Blood couldn't help. He could bearly stand. He gripped the kunai as tight as he could, and parried one of the clones blows, being knocked back by another ones blade to his shoulder. Struggling to get back into a defensive stance, the pain set in, and Blood dropped down to one knee. The clones didn't show any mercy as one of them kicked him full force into the wall of the inn, breaking through it easily. There was no way Blood could stand now. It was all he could do to stay conscious.
Akira headed towards the elite attacking Ami. Unsure of if he would get there in time, he sent a ball of fire towards it, and sprinted with his swords drawn right at it. Akira clashed swords with the elite clone who parried his blow, and soon found that he was more tired than he thought, as he was knocked backwards by it, and sent sprawling across the floor. This was the first time that Akira had felt limited. In his demon form he would have killed the elite in an instant, but now. Akira saw Squall on his way, so he rolled backwards and stalled the clone by parrying all of its blows, in an attempt to waste time until Squall got here. Hopefully Squall wasn't as tired as Akira.

[mistervillainman]

42 finally was overcome by the damage to his body and toppled to the ground, for all intensive purposes... dead.

-------------

Tseng was knocked back and briefly shocked by the force of the blow from Kadaj. His vision danced wildly and he barely managed to swing his EMR up to deflect Kadaj's strike for his throat, Tseng then began desperately blocking Kadaj's strikes, giving himself time to get oriented again. He knew he would have to end the battle soon, one way or another, or else he was going to lose for SURE.

-------------

Rufus struggled to get to his feet and fired off a few rounds at the floor next to where Reno had disappeared around the doorway. Just to let him know he was still here... He moved backwards, nearly tripping over Jared's body as he went to check the kids. Rufus looked down and saw something he'd hoped NEVER to have to see... The corpse of his son. Even if it was the elder version and he'd tried to kill him previously... it was still his son. Rufus lowered himself to the floor next to the body, leaning against a large piece of debris... His face twisted slightly in both anger and sadness and he reached out, taking his son's now cold hand and letting his head come to rest on his other hand, the assault rifle resting on his lap now.

"I'm sorry son... It shouldnt have happened this way... I'd give anything to change this, but I cant... All the things I can do, but one way or another... My family is doomed."

He suddenly became aware of exactly what situation he was in... He was mourning the loss of his son, when his son was still alive only a few feet away from him. He released the older version's hand and turned to Fruxas, still with his sister. The sight of the two of them alive, together... Somehow gave him hope.

"Dont worry... It doesnt have to happen this way son... You can change it. I'll make sure your taken care of by the right person this time." He said, pulling his comm off his belt and pressing the button. "Tseng, I dont know where you are or what your doing, but I may not make it out of this... If I dont, I need you to get to the Inn and take Fruxas and the baby with you when you leave. If I die today or not, this is my final order to you as your boss." With that, he clicked it off and put the comm away.

------------

Back outside, Tseng was finally back in his groove and evenly exchanging blows with Kadaj rather than fighting for his life. He heard the message from Rufus, but couldnt take a moment to respond. He would do as his boss asked though, by any means necessary...

[Amnesty Lazuli]

The girls zeroed in as Xima raced to beat them to the children... She swiped viciously at the girls, but faltered as she felt a whoosh of air and a burning pain splash against her back, plasma bolts deflected by the nanoarmor...

She whirled and saw a red-headed parent standing just behind her, a terrible rage burning on his blue eyes, a stolen plasma blade in his hand. "Leave my children alone, b***h."

"Only when you return the favor, d**n you!" She aimed the sword at his neck, but it was far too late... her blade suddenly faded to transparency and passed straight through him as though she were a ghost...

Her eyes widened in something Reno never thought he'd see on the face of a Remnant. Horror. She spun around... Annie had baby Jenova in her arms and fire in her eyes. A purple glow was leaking out of the child, forced out by the green streks of energy flowing into her from the girls and their father... an ancient voice was screaming...

"Game over, Xima," Annie's voice said, echoing strangely in the room...

Fruxas snapped out of it and tried to pry the baby out of Annie's arms. Annie turned a fierce glare on him... he began to lose traction on the floor and slipped... "What my sister ever saw in you I'll never know."

Fruxas gave up, flat on the floor... he stared at his fading father with tears in his eyes... He didn't know which version of the truth to believe, and the conflicting tales were tearing him in two... Only one thought was clear... I need more time... I need more time...

He threw his arms around him, realizing there was only one truth here, and his elder version had told him it... I love him, one way or the other, and I always will. "Don't leave me again... I love you..." The future memories washed through him. "I never stopped loving you."

****

Reno and the girls focused... the evil essence contined to seep out of the child, contained in one of Annie's space envelopes... It began turning faintly gray as they petrified it... The girls, too, began to fade...

****

The elites and clones, dead and alive, began to turn transparent... the Elite attempting to attack Akira swiped over and over, but his blade kept passing through him...

Clouds gathered in the sky, heavy and gray... Kadaj shivered, feeling something deep in the planet's lifeblood running cold... He fought back against Tseng, hearing Rufus' commands... "One more reason for you to die."

[mistervillainman]

Rufus realized with dread what was going on, he could only watch as the assault rifle clattered to the floor, passing right through him. Then Fruxas came and hugged him and he felt tears forming in his disappearing eyes as well.

"I love you too son... Never forget that, please." He said sadly as he became more and more transparent.

-----------

Tseng also became aware of what was occuring around him and realized that no matter WHAT it meant, he'd run out of time, he had to move now. He lunged forward just as Kadaj used an overheard swipe and grabbed the remnant by the waist, lifting him right up off the ground and throwing all his weight against him. The two flew through the air, weapons scattered and Kadaj's back slammed full-force into the hard rock ground. Tseng grunted and rolled off his opponent, then, stopping only to snatch up one of his EMR's, he moved with a limp-run towards the inn as fast as he could.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Fruxas could feel his father fading away... he pulled back and watched him dissolve... crying for the past his elder self had known... for the future he could never see... for the family he was never meant to have.

He cried for Jared most of all... Jared was really the one... the one who had truly gone his entire life without knowing love.

He knew love now... and as much as it would hurt him to lose it... it was worth having had it, even if only for a moment.

"I'll never forget... never."

His father was almost gone... he touched what was left of him, for what he knew now would be the last time.

****

Xima felt her memories splintering, one by one... her past was dissolving... Oh, G**...

She edged backwards, away from the acid glares of these tiny Norns... Almost invisible now, she stumbled over Jared's corpse, now also fading... "Oh, G**..." Her voice was faint, echoing...

She saw her crying son, her fading mate... Everything I have done and fought for... it's over. It's dying, falling apart... there is nothing more I can do...

She thought of her petrified self, still in the woods beyond the Mansion, and her eyes hardened. No. I am still here, if in another incarnation... "You will all suffer for this!" Xima screeched wildly.

And she dissolved into uncontrollable weeping.

****

Joey concentrated, her fading, fury-charged presence fully focused on the baby. This is for Jared, you twisted motherf**ker.

The last of the essence was removed as Annie moved haltingly to her father, handing over the infant... She smiled up at him as Reno hesitantly took her... "I'll see you in ten months," Annie's soft voice whispered...

And suddenly the world went white as the earth shook...

****

Cloud could feel himself beginning to make the crossing from one side of death back to the other, his presence sliding slowly back into his mortal form, out of this numb space of anonymous whiteness...

Aeris...

She touched his face as he began fading from the feet up, dissolving into a swarm of green particles...

Hurry back... but not TOO soon.

And though his vision was beginning to blur, his sense of touch gradually becoming strangely ambiguous, he could feel something warm touching his lips... the light began to fade, and he began to feel cold as the blankness receded...

****

Kadaj could not get up to pursue Tseng quickly enough as the former Turk plowed for the Inn... but the world suddenly dissolved altogether, and it was as if everything was suspended in a brief period of nothingness... his mind went completely blank for the briefest of seconds, and suddenly was reassembled into a tangled mass of memories as the world, momentarily torn molecule from molecule as time's flow tore it apart, was fused back together into a cohesive whole... He stumbled and tripped, as he came out of the period of Nothing, over an inert form...

He found himself facedown in the dirt in front of the Inn. He raised his head experimentally...

The entire place looked as though nothing had ever happened. The damage from Cid's blasts were still there, as was the gap where Loz had broken down the wall... but all the blood and clone corpses, the plasma shot and energy blade scars... all that was gone as though it had never been...

And abruptly he realized that was because it HAD never been. He could see Reno, standing inside the hotel room, totally dazed... the baby still in his arms... They exorcised her. The chain of events is broken.

He pulled himself slowly to his feet... The heavy clouds still hung in the sky... and suddenly they were falling.

Snow. Snowflakes were descending on them in thick blankets.

He followed the descent of one down to the earth, where it fell on the inert form... on Cloud, lying there very still, but his wounds gone... the plasma blade absent...

Cloud's eyes flickered open at the touch of the falling flakes. He jerked slightly and blinked, drawing in a deep breath, somewhat in shock... He sat up, looking numb. He glanced at where his wounds had been... they were gone.

Kadaj felt the snow melting on him as he stared... he turned his head up to the sky and let the snow fall down on him, brushing his face.

"Kadaj?"

He turned. Amnesty was standing beside him, with no trace of her broken neck. "What's going on here? What happened? The last thing I remember was getting out of the tree by the Manor..."

Cloud heard her voice, and was yanked back to reality. "Ami... consider yourself blessed that you'll NEVER need to know."

Kadaj's head snapped back towards his former adversary... Don't tell me WE are the ONLY ones who remember, he insisted telepathically.

Cloud only gazed at him in return.

****

Fruxas found himself alone with Reno, who was nonplussed and very noisy about being it. "Hey, since when did I become a babysitter for the Calamity? What the h**l happened? When did we leave Shinra Mansion, anyway? Where th--"

"Shut up," Fruxas sobbed, curled into a ball on the floor. His parents were gone again...

Reno didn't get it. "Oh, h**l... NOW what's the problem?"

Fruxas glared at him accusingly. "You don't even remember, do you?"

Reno felt strangely creepy. "Remember what?"

Snow drifted into the room through the gap in the wall... it brushed Loz's comatose body, and he started to come around, groaning. "What... OK, who's the wise guy..."

He staggered to his feet, feeling unaccountably sore in several places, even though no wounds were apparent on him... He remembered being on an airship, but things always got fuzzy in places, and some of his recent memories seemed to be missing altogether...

Fruxas noticed him reviving. If I plan to get away... it has to be while he's still confused. I'll do as you told me, Father... I'll set things right.

He snatched the baby and ran outside. "Tseng!"

Reno jerked. "Huh?" He began to follow. "Kid--"

Vincent did not know fully what was happening, but he could see the former Turk leader making a break for the Inn... and instinctively knew that was bad news. He began to fire...

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Fruxas turned back and fired at the vampiric man with his free hand, clutching his sister to him with his other one. The child, now merely that and no longer the vessel of the Calamity, screamed in fright and discomfort...

Vincent kept coming, deflecting the bolts as they came at him.

Fruxas, his eyes still blurry from crying, decided fighting back would not help him now... he hung his gun over his shoulder and grabbed Tseng's hand. "Run!"

The pint-sized clone sped away with the adult in tow, faster than the eye could follow. In the blinding snowstorm, they quickly faded out of sight...

Vincent lowered his gun. "If the child will still rebel against us, even after having learned the truth... there is little more we can do."

He stalked back to the group. He, too, had his memory in tatters... but unlike the other amnesiacs, he knew what that had to mean. Something has happened here that the Lifestream itself has seen fit to erase from our minds. He glanced around the small crowd. I wonder... was the secret taken from all of us, or given to a priveliged few?

"Little more... like h**l," Ami snorted. She reached out for Fruxas mentally through their genetic link... and discovered he was blocking her. Her eyes opened wide. "What the h**l?" I thought that was impossible.

Kadaj felt the block as well. His face was grim. "Talented kid."

Reno approached the others. "Well, nothing left to do now except call in an expert. Whatever happened to that Dimitri guy, yo?"

"He took off at the Crater. He said he had 'other business to take care of'," Ami shrugged.

"Whatever the h**l that means," Rude muttered.

Ami got out her cell. "He left me his number, so..." She dialed and waited. She sighed. "Answering machine. I'm getting a price list..." She dug into her wallet... and gaped. "Uh, guys..."

Kadaj smirked. "Let me guess. Broke?"

"Yep."

He shook his head. "A year of waitressing only gets you so far."

Ami scowled. "Saving the world ain't cheap."

"Isn't."

"Whatever!" Ami huffed. "Well, this can only mean one thing."

"What's that?" Rude asked.

"We need jobs." Ami folded her arms against the sudden cold.

Kadaj did a double take. "Excuse me?"

Reno laughed. "It's like I said. Being a Chosen one is all well and good, but the pay is lousy, yo."

Kadaj looked down at Cloud. "Don't suppose you could use any more delivery boys, huh?" He smirked at him.

Cloud looked up at him incredulously. Kadaj's smirk widened as he offered Cloud a hand up.

Cloud looked at it. He looked at Kadaj.

What the h**l.

He took it and let the Remnant pull him up.

Kadaj gave Cloud a hard look in the eyes. "Nice to see you still in one piece."

Cloud wasn't quite sure how to respond to that at first, until he realized Kadaj was being serious. "Nice to be in one piece, Kadaj."

And the mutual understanding of a shared secret... an important secret, one that would belong to the others, when they were ready... passed between them. Not trust, or anything even near friendship... but something akin to respect.

Ami smiled. She didn't know from whence this feeling came, but it was familiar enough to her. She gazed up at the falling snow... and began to dance in it.

Reno headed over to Rude. "Uh, partner... am I the only one who feels like his memory has been Swiss-cheesed?"

Rude glanced at him with a bit of surprise, drawing a new pair of shades out of his coat. "You, too?"

Reno looked around. "Something REALLY weird is going on... weird for even THIS crowd, yo."

Yazoo headed over to Cid. "Well, sir... since the Shinra threat is more or less eradicated, I believe it would be in order to return our family to their point of origin."

Loz interpreted. "In other words, we wanna take our family home 'fore we start begging for money. Can ya give us a ride to the Seventh Heaven?"

Rude doubted Cid would oblige the brothers with any sort of favors, so he seconded the request.

****

Some miles away, hidden somewhere dark and dry, Fruxas was huddled with Tseng and the baby, trying to comfort her. "I'm Fruxas. And this..." She isn't Jenova anymore. "This... is
Hope." Hope. Yes... she really is.

((Guys... I'm going to Kentucky tonight, and I'll be there for a week. I'm going to try my d**nedest to log in while I'm there, but I don't know if I can find a reliable net connection... meanwhile, feel free to move along without me!))

[Amnesty Lazuli]

((I'M BACK!!! I HAVE A CONNECTION THIS WEEK AFTER ALL!!!

LET'S ROCK TONIGHT! I'LL BE HERE THIS EVENING FOR SURE!

YAY!!!))

[Ru]

((Aww, *censored* I have to go to my neighbor's Christmas party, although maybe I can fistfight with their kids for control of the PS2...))

Cid blinked, looking wildly around the scene in confusion. He felt like he'd just had a very strange dream, but the more he tried to remember it, the more it faded away. He established a few things, though - this wasn't Rocket Town, it was Kalm, and as his airship was nearby, he'd probably flown. "What the h*ll..." he muttered, rubbing his forehead, and startled as he was approached by Yazoo and Loz.
"Hey, you - you're supposed to be dead!" He poked Loz in the shoulder with the dull end of his spear, as the man didn't really seem a threat, "What favors do I owe ya, huh? Why do you wanna go to Seventh Heaven?" Rude's request seemed a little more normal - he mostly trusted the Turks. After a bit of muffled grumbling, Cid nodded.
"Whatever. But if they're coming, they gotta go in the cargo hold," he muttered, gesturing to the silver-haired brothers. "I still don't get what's going on here...."

[matt]

Blood got up to his feet with a sudden rush of energy. Looking around he could see that the clones had gone. Even the bodies. Suddenly remembering his wounds he felt his shoulder. Nothing. No blood, no cuts, not even a scratch. Had it all just been a dream? Blood headed over to the others. He didn't mention what had happened- whether it was a dream, or reality. Feeling his shoulder once more, he found himself in deep thought over what had just happened. Cloud was fine, Ami was fine, Loz was fine. No one was injured, even slightly. Could it have all just been a dream?
Akira sat on top of the airship. All he could remember was a battle, and nothing more. Looking over the edge he could tell that a fight had gone on, but there were no bodies, or blood. No one even had a scratch. Quickly forgetting his thoughts, he lay on top of the ship and relaxed. Asuka and Unknown remembered nothing of what had happened.
Asuka made her way into the ship. She was tired, so she headed to the cargo hold, and went to sleep resting against a wall. Unknown quickly took off for Midgar.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Cargo hold? What the--" Kadaj began before realizing Cid, too, had forgotten everything. He stepped back. "How much do you remember?"

Cloud approached the Remnant. "He remembers enough. If there are any questions, let me answer."

Kadaj might have protested, if not for the dark look on Cloud's face... the one that said common secrets did NOT mean alliances, and they most certainly did not mean absolution. He held his tongue-- and jerked up a mental block as his brother began trying to probe him for answers. I can't keep it secret from them for long. When they're ready to know, they'll hear it. For now, they have to trust me.

Then things got complicated.

The Innkeeper came outside and saw just how much damage had been done to his establishment. He turned white, then red, and began yelling incoherently.

Kadaj saw him coming first and cursed quietly, backing away, motioning his brothers to do the same. They managed to stay out of sight, realizing full well that anyone would be sooner ready to shoot them than look at them, given their history on this planet...

Cloud attempted to restrain the three-quarters crazed man. "Excuse me, there's been something of a mistake here... G**, how do I explain this..."

The Innkeeped then spotted Reno and Rude, not far from Amnesty. "Them three... the terrorists from Junon!"

"The what?!" Amnesty yelled back. "Hold it, that building got blown up because it was full of creeps holding MY family hostage... and WE weren't even the ones who lit the fuse!"

Vincent blinked calmly and turned slowly to Amnesty. "You blew up... a building."

"Did NOT!" Ami and Reno yelled together.

Too late. The Innkeeper was off to notify the authorities.

Vincent shook his head. "So YOU'RE responsible for the destruction of the new headquarters in Junon."

Ami was beginning to feel uneasy. "Uh... you say that like it's a bad thing."

"Guess what... it is," Cloud replied, sounding a bit irritated. "What do you think we were DOING all that time while you and the others were caving in mines? Gathering proof that Rufus was up to his old tricks. Believe it or not, most people didn't even know he was still ALIVE. Most people thought the corporation was nearly extinct. And now, with Tseng holding onto the kids..."

"He could take over Shinra himself, and no one would be wiser about any of this," Ami finished for him, paling. She suddenly tilted her head in confusion. "Cloud... only one thing I'm none the wiser about. I remember going to the caves at Mt. Nibel, and a fight there... and Cid coming to bring us here... but there are parts that always go fuzzy."

"You're likely one of the lucky ones. Be thankful for what you know... AND what you don't." He turned towards the Sierra. "I have a little money. Where is this Dimitri? We have to get to him fast..."

"And how," Reno interrupted. "I know Tseng... if he don't wanna be found, he won't, yo. We got to hustle."

Ami thought back. "Midgar, I don't know quite where exactly," she answered finally.

Kadaj re-emerged at about this time. "But I got one more problem for you." Cloud turned silently and regarded him acidly. Kadaj met his gaze. "We are none of us in a condition to carry on right now. Ami remembered a battle, even if not clearly. But it happened. And we all need time to recover. We have needed it, for a while now. And this... Tseng? Resourceful as he may be, he will not take over Shinra overnight. We need to rest."

Sirens were heard in the distance. Reno arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, Snowball... but I got the feelin' here and now ain't the time or place." He made tracks for the Sierra. "Let's lick our wounds AFTER we're airborne, yo."

The crowd began filing into the ship... as Kadaj began to make tracks away from the ship. Cloud, suspicious, followed. "Where the h**l do you think--"

"The body," Kadaj replied. "He belonged in the present, remember?" He turned back towards the hillside where they had left Sephiroth's petrified remains. "We can't let someone else have the chance to free his soul again."

Cloud looked back at the others loading up, dark figures in the snowfall... Reno helping Nikky inside, Loz and Yazoo piling in one after the other... he turned back to Kadaj. "Where do we hide him?"

"We have to go back to the caves for our supplies, anyway," he answered without even stopping to think. "We'll seal him in the bottleneck cavern." He started to move again until Cloud stopped him once more.

"We can't load him alone. I'll have Cid fly us to the site." He began heading back to the Sierra.

Kadaj watched him going for a moment. He hesitated and sighed discontentedly before following.

They got inside the Sierra, shooting a few dirty looks at each other. Ami sighed relief. Thank G**. I was starting to think something weird was going on.

Cloud went to the helm, where Cid was getting into take-off position. "Get us to that hillside about half a mile north of the Inn. We have one more passenger waiting there."

Ami approached her brother, who was glaring up at Cid and Cloud. "Look, we'll worry about the money and the kids and all that later. Right now, I'm just glad we came out of whatever the h**l happened back there alive and in one piece." She hugged him.

He jumped and stiffened, not a little startled. He glanced over at Loz, who was looking a mite nervous... he hated flying. He relaxed. "Yes... me, too."

Reno approached Cloud and began using healing energy on him. "Hey, Blondie... you're looking a little ragged. Somebody run you through a meat grinder back there?"

"You're close, Reno," Cloud replied. He felt himself mending... "Question. Since when were you a healer?"

He shrugged. "Since I went to visit Ami's place. I was just hanging around up there when suddenly I got all green and mystic."

Cloud considered that. "I think I might want to see 'Ami's place'."

"Well, now's kinda bad timing, yo," he joked. "I mean, with the police of the world after us, we gotta find someplace to hole out, man." Reno finished mending the wounds up. "All done, yo. Better?"

Clod moved his arms to test them. "Much. We were heading to the Seventh Heaven... that sounds as close to a plan as we're going to get. But we have a couple stops to make first."

"So I hear, yo," Reno nodded. "Who's this extra passenger, exactly?"

"Long story... I'll tell you when we get there." Just hope we can still fly in this storm... though I got to admit, it's been a while since I saw snow... it's kind of pretty.

Reno shrugged and moved off to check out Nikky. "Hey, baby... how you doing?" He embraced her gently. "I hope your memory is in better shape than mine... on second thought, I don't. If it is, our engagement might be in serious danger... my relationships thrive on short memory spans." He laughed. "Speaking of... we ever gonna set a date, or what?"

Ami stood in the glass dome of the Sierra, watching the snow come down... again, she began dancing with the spinning flakes. Her brothers looked a little embarassed, especially when she began prodding them to join her. "Come on, you're a great dancer!" Ami whined.

Loz swatted her off. "You're kidding, right? Tell me you are joking, and I may let you live."

Kadaj shook his head, grinning. Some things never change.

[Ru]

"Stop ordering me around, d*mmit!" Cid muttered as Cloud left the helm, "For the last time, I'm not a g*dd*mn taxi service!" The fact that he could only remember bits and pieces of the recent events hadn't left him in a very good mood. It was resonable, too - he could vaguely remember flying, and fighting people with silver hair, but the gaping holes between made him wonder if he hadn't suffered some kind of serious head trauma. In a moment, the Sierra lifted off the ground, kicking up dust in the winds from its engines before speeding off past Kalm towards the hillside Cloud had indicated. It was a quick puddle-jump for the ship - no more than five minutes of flying time at full power. Cid landed the ship carefully, then turned around and leaned against the steering wheel defensively, lighting himself a new cigarette and glaring at the people loitering around his ship. "Right, do whatever the h*ll you gotta do," he muttered finally.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Kadaj looked more than a little grim as he headed out the door. This is argubly the most bizarre thing I have done in my life... all right, the second most bizarre thing, right after that thing with my mother's head... THAT was REALLY weird. Still have nightmares about that... "Come on, boys, let's get this over with."

He and his siblings trooped outside, Cloud following them to make sure they didn't try anything funny. He motioned Vincent and Rude to follow in case something really strange happened.

Outside, the snow rapidly covering it, all three of Kadaj's siblings saw the corpse at the same time, and all collectively suppressed a cringe at the sight of it.

Decapitation is a creepy thing to observe the results of, especially when set in stone.

Without even saying a word, they loaded the petrified remains into the cargo bay. It fell to Kadaj to move the head, which he did with a bit of difficulty (but not as much as one would expect from someone trying very hard to not look at what he is moving).

Also with barely a word, they stayed in the cargo bay as Cid had requested. No reminders were needed now of exactly why this had been requested of them.

Ami began following. Cloud almost stopped her until she shot a scathing glare at him. He could almost hear her speaking to him.

I'm one of them, too, even if I'm human now. If they stay down here, so do I. It's only fair.

They closed the hatch on themselves.

Vincent, Cloud, and Rude went back to the passenger area.

Reno opened his mouth.

"Shut up," they all said with one voice.

He did so with an irritated shrug.

They closed the door and waited to reach the caves.

Cloud sat and dropped his head tiredly into his hands as the declining afternoon sunlight darkened the sky still more.

What a day.

((To Mt. Nibelheim/Caves))

[mistervillainman]

Tseng looked out at the dirt road ahead as the transport truck sped down it swiftly. Leaving the Inn behind. He looked over at Fruxas quickly and couldnt help but see Rufus Shinra sitting there, still 10 years old... Still under his care per his father's wishes. Tseng almost smiled, were it not for the extremely depressing circumstances they were under. Someone once said that history repeats itself... I bet they never thought of ANYTHING remotely close to what they had all just gone through.

"Dont worry kid... I'm gonna be taking care of you for awhile. I know I'm not your mom and dad... But I'm told I can take care of kids pretty good."