Nibelheim Inn

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Jared fell to the floor, his weapon knocked out of his hand... and for a few moments, he was a little boy again, alone and weeping for the family he was never meant to have...

He reached for the Angel Cry and aimed it carefully at his father's back... He started shaking and lowered the gun. After all this time... after so many deaths... he still couldn't bring himself to do what he knew needed to be done. Just as he had let Jenova escape as a child, he was letting his father escape now...

His eyes hardened. No.

He shot him in the leg, forcing him to crumple. "No. You're not walking away from me this time. Not here, not now. You're staying right here and listening to me, d**n it!" He pulled himself to his feet, still bleeding from his shoulder. "I'm not a little boy you can write off and ignore anymore! When a boy sees everyone in his life murdered by his own father, he grows up in a big hurry."

He got some keys out of his pocket, a whole handful of them. He started throwing them in his father's lap, one by one. "Amnesty Lazuli. Age twenty-six. Kidnapped en route to help a displaced child. Never was heard from again. Squall Leonheart. Age twenty-nine. Went out to find Amnesty Lazuli. Was never heard from again. Cloud Strife. Was attacked at the Nibelheim Inn in the middle of the night by seven unidentified assailants. He was unarmed. Pronounced dead at the scene. Assailants described as tall, pale, and with silver hair. Tifa Lockheart. Attempted to intervene and was overwhelmed. Also pronounced dead immediately. Vincent Valentine. Discovered dead in Nibelheim, apparently blown apart from the inside out. No witnesses. His weapons were missing. Kamen Wati. Caught in the crossfire between the Shinra Rising Corpoation's newly created Security Force and a young family trying to expose its secrets. Shot dead attempting to rescue Annie and Joey Lea. Nikkole A-Faui Lea. Sacrificed herself to protect her daughters from the SR Security Force. Reno Lea. Reports say he committed suicide. His daughters were forcefully threatened when they attempted to contradict the report." He leaned against a wall, weakened by the blood loss. "I had to memorize all that because the papers were all burned... and not one of the bodies saw proper burial. In fact, their remains are still missing. Do I really have to go on?" He glared down. "You have the gall to say I am stabbing my family in the back... you've stabbed me through the heart more times than I can count."

[mistervillainman]

Rufus just looked at him, rage building in his eyes.

"Fruxas... None of those people cared about you... ME and your mother were the only ones who did... they only wanted you around so they could prevent you from joining us. And I wasnt writing you off... I dont want to hurt you, but your not leaving me much choice in the matter."

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Jared shook his head. "I am not an idiot, Rufus. They didn't keep me around to keep me from joining you-- you were dead and they never knew you would come back. They kept me... because they knew they had made an orphan of me and refused to leave me alone. They kept me because they loved me, unconditionally, even when I repaid their kindness with nothing but hate." He felt like he was burning up inside. "They kept me because they knew I wasn't an asset or a pawn... the only thing you or Xima ever saw me as. They saw that I was a child."

He stared out the window at his sister, evil radiating from her as she unleashed horrific mental attacks on Joey and Annie... his mother as she beat Kadaj bloody... "When I told Sigma my mother was Heartless... I didn't know she was one by choice. Look at her." He shook his head. "Just death, death, more death. That's all she wants. And anyone who doesn't want it will die, too."

He turned back to his father. "If you want to kill me, go ahead. I'm trapped here in the past, trying to stop a mistake I made when I was too young to know any better, and too decieved to know I hadn't lost anything worth lamenting. I got nothing left to live for."

[mistervillainman]

Rufus glared at Fruxas. "A pawn? How dare you... I never saw you as EITHER of those things... You were my son and I would have raised you as such. If I didnt care about you then why would I have DIED TRYING TO PROTECT YOU FROM THEM!?"

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"YOU DIED TRYING TO SAVE YOUR OWN SKIN! I'M SO SICK OF YOUR LIES, RUFUS!" Jared screamed. He looked at the blade in his hands. "And yet..." He laughed dryly, bitterly, at himself. "Yet, I STILL can't bring myself to finally do what I should have done a year ago..." He dropped his head and shrugged, shaking his head and bobbing it, smiling a desperate smile. "Because somewhere, deep down, that helpless little boy in me is still begging for it to all be true." In a sudden access of anger, he threw his sword to the other side of the room, letting it clatter against the wall. "Two days out of twelve years! One pretty little lie in the middle of the truth! WHY CAN I NOT LET GO?!" He slammed his back into the wall, groaning. "I've spent my whole life trying to let go. I ran fast and I ran far. I was by turns a straight-A student, an athlete, a pop rock mini-celebrity, and a freedom fighter. But everything I became just brought me back to what I started out as. The b*****d son of Rufus Shinra and a Sephiroth clone." He glared at this man who called himself his father. "I never should have existed at all. You know that?" He knocked his head into the wall again. "I survived this year by telling myself if I killed you it would all go away. Then one terrible morning I woke up and realized out it wouldn't change a d**n thing, but I had to do it anyway. Not because I would be free, but because I'm the world's last miracle worker." He shook his head and sung to himself brokenly, the title song from the first and last album he ever cut. "Nobody sees me praying/ God send me a way out of this/ If you love me kill me now/ I'm so sick of your to do list/ I'm just another miracle worker/ Have mercy on me and let me die." He sighed and closed his eyes, slumping to the floor. "I wish to G** I'd never existed. Then the world could go to h**l without me... and I wouldn't have to ask myself, why can't I kill you?"

[mistervillainman]

"Thats easy." Rufus said, shaking his head. "You know that what I told you isnt lies... You know I was telling the truth. Your the only one I ever DID tell the truth to, son."

[Amnesty Lazuli]

He looked up and smiled, the disjointed smile of someone who has broken apart inside and smiles only because there is nothing left to do. "Another version of the truth. I've been getting those ad infinitum, ad nauseam, et cetera, et al., all my life." He rubbed his eyes and stared into nothing. "So what do you suggest we do now? Claim the last twelve months we have spent trying to kill each other never happened, go out for a highball, and they all lived happily ever after?" He shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm far too cynical for it to be that simple, Dad... even IF I were willing to forget the fact that about twelve years down the road, you're going to d**n the world." He sighed, grinning just a little insanely. "Besides, don't take this personally, but being a Shinra really b*tes in my day and age."

This is a surreal conversation. My long dead father, brought back from the grave, barely nine years older than me... while my mother and sister are fighting to the death against my two best friends, and four people they killed six months ago... I think I'm off the deep end at last.

[mistervillainman]

Rufus sighed, actually saddened by his son's decision...

"I'm sorry you feel that way son... Enjoy your life of playing lapdog to the murderer of your true parents..." He said, turning once more and walking away, slightly limping this time obviously.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Jared watched him going. He didn't even bother raising the gun this time... I'll never be able to go through with it. I'm so pathetic. "For what it's worth... I never did call anybody else my father." He pushed himself up off the floor and looked him in the face.

He embraced him. "I'm not going to kill you. But I'm not going to help you."

He pulled away and retrieved the Angel Cry, reloading it. He charged Jenova, igniting his blade... Distracted, she turned to meet it... and released her hold on the others. The barrage of attacks she had rained down on them had left them all but comatose, however...

Kadaj finally got a bead on Xima's fighting pattern and started to block her. "Finally... you're actually presenting me with a challenge."

She snarled and redoubled her efforts...

[matt]

Ryukishin watched invisibly at the side lines. Let them destroy each other. Their rage shall only fuel my power. This is not my battle, so I shall not linger where i am not wanted. Ryukishin dissapeared

[mistervillainman]

Rufus almost growled in anger as he pulled his comm from his belt, watching "Jared" go back to the brawl.

"Thinks he can just write me off... He should know his father better..." He said, pressing the button on top marked with a simple skull.

"Time to introduce you to more of the family!" He shouted as pounding footsteps approached from all directions...

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Joey heard the too familiar sound. "Oh, c**p..."

Jared went white. How could they control the machine from this end? It was only designed to send passengers BACKWARD in time... Unless...

Jenova smirked. "That's right, brother... and grandson." She laughed with a dual voice, one young and light, the other aged and dark. By turns she sounded very young... and very ancient... as the two souls ruling this single body alternated control of it. "It was no desperation but desire that urged me to return here... I always intended to give my granddaughter the gift of her parent's return-- your antics simply forced my hand. I had intended to send them here later... after I came of age, for revenge is best served cold... after I had more time to refine the machine. But when you and your feeble cronies dreamed up this mad little escapade, I decided, why wait?"

Annie barely had time to set up a weak friction shield as clone soldiers came out of everywhere. Joey sealed her companions in time speed envelopes to make them faster than their enemies... but neither the envelopes nor the shield had any hope of lasting for long...

Ami moved in to aid her brother in fighting back Xima... she slowed significantly with the aid of the envelope, and began to retreat towards her ranks... I'll have my revenge on you both in time, but first I'll reclaim what I lost... my children. She watched Jared angrily, nearly a blur as he fought his sister, who was miraculously able to match his speed... If you'll not join me in the future, then I'll reclaim you in the past. I won't surrender my family so easily.

The brothers shifted positions to take on the rushing horde... seven on three had been nothing short of a guaranteed victory, and now this scenario was beginning to look more like a last stand as the clone troopers surrounded them...

[matt]

Asuka threw three kunai at some clones before charging in with her kriss blade. She didn't have a scratch from her fight with Akira, but she had used up most of her chaos energy. Still, she didn't think she would have a problem with the clones.
"What would you guys do without me?" she asked openly as she sent a fire ball through one of their heads. charging into the crowds again she summoned flames around her and wiped out a small crowd of them. "Gotta take it easy with the chaos magic...", she muttered as she drew out her katana. This is kinda fun...

[matt]

Blood looked down upon the clones, from the top of the inn. He dropped down and swung his blade through a clone, and turned to Rufus. He was wounded, but he was still dangerous. Blood charged at him, swinging his blade through a clone that tried to oppose him, and slashed at Rufus.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Xima surged forward and savagely bashed the hilt of her blade against Blood's side, knocking him down and away. Attacking a wounded man... you've learned well from my traitorous siblings.

She saw the heroes begin to retreat. "Another time, Rufus... they'll feel our wrath another time... we have a very important meeting to attend." She called out to the being who was both her mother and her daughter, and to another of her lesser brothers, who answered her call by arriving in an aerial troop transport...

Jenova aimed one last devastating attack on Jared, knocking him off balance with her right hand hilt and shooting furiously at him with the other. Knocked flat on the ground, he blocked as many of the plasma charges as he could while she backed slowly towards the transport, which her parents had already entered... as he regained his feet, a pair of shots got past his blade and struck him in the leg and shoulder... he groaned and crumpled.

"The time of the giving is at hand," Jenova hissed as the vehicle lifted off with the evil family inside.

Ami and the brothers tensed in frustration... pressed on all sides by the clone battalion, they couldn't break away to stop or attack the transport...

Annie broke away from the battle and darted inside the hotel, taking cover and concentrating on the vehicle. Stop... stop now...

The transport's surface was frictionless and her shields did nothing to slow it... her attempts to create a high-density area around the ship were unsuccessful because it would not stay still long enough... She gave it one last desperate shot and tried to construct a wormhole to send them careening into... it was no use. They got past her reach too quickly, and her powers were drained. She lay on the hotel room floor, exhausted.

Joey felt her sister's distress, but she too was weakening... the time speed envelopes began to flicker...

A new reserve of energy suddenly pumped into her. What--?

Reno and Rude had finally caught up-- figuring out the invisibility shields for the Ragnorak had taken a little longer than they thought. "Check it out-- the cavalry's here, yo!" Reno announced as he pushed Lifestream energy into his future daughter.

Joey grinned and formed new envelopes to the latest additions to the party... the clone troopers, diluted versions so as not to pose the threat of uprise, fell easily before the near light speed attacks of their assailants. "Take this, creeps!" Of course, her voice was too speeded up for them to hear her taunt... Within moments, the crowd was in full retreat from the supercharged heroes.

****

Fruxas, still at the ship with Tseng and a couple of the others, had jut felt an impossible vibration... Mother? Alive? It's impossible... He shook his head. No, it's not. She told me we would always have each other... she's just keeping her promise.

Xima felt her son's younger self somewhere in the vicinity, but now was not the time to search for him... even though she was sorely tempted, and her arms ached to hold him again as he once had been-- a smiling, adoring little boy that would have moved the world for her, instead of a dark, cynical teenager filled with bitterness and hate. She forced herself to stop thinking about it and focus on the next phase of the plan... He will be restored to you soon enough, if the General accepts your proposition.

She pulled Rufus into an embrace, feeling his disappointment. "There now... you knew our son was set in his ways. But don't worry. We haven't crossed twelve years and Death itself to give up so easily. We WILL be a family again-- ALL of us."

Jenova smiled, watching the woman who was both daughter and mother to her. And soon comes the rebirth of my favored son, the alpha male of our tribe... this shall be a Reunion no one will ever forget.

The craft disappeared into the distance.

((To the Mythril Mines))

****

As the last of the battalion fled, Annie and Joey came to Jared, still bleeding and broken on the battlefield. "He was right there... and I didn't stop him..."

"Easy, Jared," Joey soothed. "You took some pretty hard hits out here... don't be so hard on yourself." Annie was already hard at work, mending his wounds...

Jared shook his head. "I repeated the same mistake I made twelve years ago... I'll I've done by coming here is make things even worse than they were before, and I'd thought that wasn't even possible."

"Jared, knock it off," Joey snapped irritably. "You always got to blame yourself for every stinking thing, yo. What's your problem? You always gripin' about how you was never good enough. How you gonna be good enough 'less you think it, boyo?" She always lapsed into pidgin when she got upset at him...

Jared smiled. "You're the craziest girl ever. So how come you're the only one who ever says anything that makes sense?"

His wounds mended, he stood up and looked ruefully at the sky. "Well, we can't stop them now... so the goal becomes to UN-possess the baby instead." He looked directly at Reno.

He looked back until it started sinking in. "Whoa, whoa. OK, I can do a lot of crazy s**t-- excuse me, girls-- since I found out I got this Lifestream c**p-- sorry, girls-- but force the Calamity out of her granddaughter's mind? I mean, that is one bada**-- sorry-- old hag we're talking about here!"

Jared snickered at Reno's repeated slips of the tongue. "You and the girls together should be able to pull it off. My only worry is getting past the General."

"The who?"

Joey gave her father a dark look. "Sephiroth."

"HEY! Since when was the Nightmare back in the picture, yo?!" THe more Reno heard about this, the less he liked it.

"Sigma will transform into him when he arrives at the Mines... Jenova will take on her grandmother's spirit, but retain her form, because the elder Jenova wants a young body filled with potential. Not so the spirit of Sephiroth. Single celled organisms... like viruses... have a peculiar form of evolution, in which the weaker cell sacrifices itself for the nourishment of the superior form. Sigma is about to become a textbook demonstration of the concept."

Reno gave Jared a long look. "What do they teach you kids in the future, anyway?"

Jared shrugged. "Like I said, I was straight-As. When you're being groomed up to take control of the planet, that's kind of the only option."

Reno opened and closed his mouth as he decided against further comment along that line of discussion.

"There's a bigger danger than that," Joey interjected. "I tried to plumb their heads for the course they're setting... I hoped we could intercept them... I found out something else instead. They're coming after the younger Fruxas... if they succeed, we and Jared never came here, and Jenova still sent back her parents, meaning the future is theirs, signed, sealed, and delivered."

Reno's head was spinning. "Explain all that over again to the smart people, yo. I can't take any more."

"No need," Kadaj spoke up. "I heard her the first time, and she's right-- our only chance is to extract Jenova's soul from the baby and protect Fruxas from his family reclaiming him." He turned to his siblings. "But don't dare to tell him so... if he knows we are keeping them apart, he'll run from us."

Ami agreed grimly. "He's too innocent to understand yet."

"Seconded," Jared confirmed. "Joey, set up some blocks... that's the only way we can keep this from him."

Joey nodded and complied, reaching into the minds of all her audience and shunting off any thoughts related to their plan, keeping them safely away from Fruxas' clairvoyance.

Jared began to lead the way back to the ship. "Should we go to them, or find a place for them to come to us... because they assuredly will, and at the mines we may be at a tactical disadvantage."

Rude, standing by silently, shook his head. Mentally seventeen years old-- twelve chronologically-- and the girls both eleven... it's the Children's Crusade all over again. But this time, the innocents aren't so innocent anymore... and their innocence isn't what they think will win this war... it's their loss of it. He examined Reno's daughters... their faces were too old. Eleven is too young to be a freedom fighter. What kind of future have we condemned them to?