Mount Nibel/Caves

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"No... that it practically screams, 'I'm compensating for something!'" Kadaj struck back at the Masamune with the onrushing force of a speeding train... he knew he was going in over his head, but such is the life of a Remnant. Their blades locked, and the pair glared at each other over them, face to face... He couldn't help wondering if he was setting himself up to be killed once again by the same means as before, but he never picked a fight without seeing it through...

Cloud grunted in pain as he bashed into the mountainside, but planted his feet under him to brake himself as he began to slide... he shoved out with his arms and flew back out towards the ground, hitting the ground running, snagging the Buster blade Sephiroth had forced him to drop along the way... he leaped into the air, interlocking the blades again and pulling the united blade back to slash at Sephiroth's shoulders...

Jenova, slinking away as the soldiers began to trickle out of the cave behind her, merely scoffed at the ship. Pay no attention to this interloper... we'll deal with him soon enough. She sent a message to her elder son. You've had your fun... now let's finish the mission at hand. You can kill these pathetic worms later. She sprinted towards the troop transport, her many children trailing behind... Loz and Yazoo pursued the party, and Jenova sighed. "Your uncles just don't know when to give up."

She spun around and sent an energy ball flying at them... they dove to the side and let it destroy a boulder directly behind them...

[mistervillainman]

Sephiroth suddenly back-pedalled, using Kadaj's momentum against him and causing Cloud to sail right over him straight at his ally. Sephiroth skidded to a halt in a crouch and launched himself right back into the fray, bringing his blade to bare on Kadaj in a stabbing motion aimed straight into his larval form's chest.

[Ru]

Cid snickered at Kadaj's comment, trying not to openly grin - then jumped slightly as he heard something explode, possibly from within the mountain, and people began to flood out from the caves. So - he'd pretty much underestimated this whole fight. But still, the group was getting nowhere fast.

"Hey, Blondie!" he shouted, charging down the slope from the Sierra and holding up his spear to halt Cloud's flight, "If you're not gonna get on my ship, I gotcher back!" Skidding to a halt, he stood his ground, trying to keep his focus on the closest fight, and not at the masses and masses of troops pouring out from the tunnels towards the transport ships. There was no way he could take on all of those people at the same time...although, from the looks of things, a battle was taking place there too.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Reno spotted Cid on the mountainside as he ushered his bizarre family into the Sierra's entry hatch, Rude right behind them, covering them with the Sacrifice. He bawled out at him, "Hey, flyboy! We need a lift, pronto!" World in danger or no, I'm not letting my future wife and kids stay here to be butchered by these maniacs!

****

Cloud landed against Cid's spear and sprang off it, too fast for a thank you... I'll have to get back to him on that... He saw the strike coming for Kadaj and acted on instinct... if he'd had time to think about it, he wouldn't have done the right thing... he snagged the Remnant's arm and yanked him to the side. The blade missed his heart and lungs, but it still impaled his side, and he yelled in pain and outrage as the momentum continued to carry them forward... A sickening sensation of deja vu came over Cloud as Kadaj twisted to the side, yanking the Masamune out of his Template's grip, still embedded in his flesh as he and Cloud rocketed past him. Cloud braked to a stop on the earth below, leaving skid marks in the dirt, before realizing he had not yet released the Remnant, who was now half-leaning on him in pain. He impulsively jerked but stopped himself from pulling away as Kadaj tried to regain his balance, the foreign object sending sharp jabs of pain up and down his entire side from where it had entered him... he braced himself and yanked it back out, green blood pouring out of the wound.

"Don't... think..." Kadaj panted, pausing to catch his breath. "...that I'll go down so easily this time."

Cloud wasn't sure who exactly he meant to address... he didn't have time to ponder it. He sprang to meet Sephiroth, the Buster's point aimed at his abdomen... Kadaj weaved slightly before following suit, the Angel Cry in one hand and the Masamune in the other...

[mistervillainman]

Sephiroth stepped back and slammed the side of his fist into the blunt side of the buster sword, knocking it off-target, then turned to Kadaj and locked eyes with him. Nobody else knew it, but at that moment, Kadaj heard a voice in his mind saying "Stop".

[Ru]

Hearing another familiar voice reach his ears, Cid glanced behind him to spot two familiar Turks - and several people he'd never seen before - dashing up into the ship. He waved a hand at them quickly, scowling.
"I'm busy down here!! Be patient, d*mmit! And don't touch anything!!" He turned back to focus on the fight once more, but something seemed to be winding to a close. Kadaj had been hurt at the very least, so either way, it would be over quickly. He could wait long enough to help a little more before returning to his ship - and he might get an explanation out of it. At least Sephiroth had stopped trying to kill everyone for the moment...

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Kadaj froze... Oh, s**t... A dizzyingly familiar feeling was taking hold on him... He resisted it, but an impulse was growing inside him and getting beyond his control... he spun sharply to the side and began following Cloud back towards the ground... What am I doing?! He pulled his sword back to attack... he shook with the strain, trying to resist the control his Template had over him... He forced himself to drop the Masamune, and it glinted as it landed point first in the ground below... The Angel Cry was now twitching towards Cloud's head... He couldn't make himself stop, he couldn't even speak... Turn around, Strife! He realized suddenly that for the first time he'd forgotten he hated Cloud from the bottom of his heart... About a year ago, I would have jumped at the chance to skin him alive... but betrayal tends to change a person that way. It was all out of his hands now... he did the last thing he could think of to do in the last possible split seconds before he could reach the ground and strike Cloud down, scrabbling to regain control of his own mind...

I remember it too well... There was sudden blackness, and then horrible pain... a voice declaring rejection... mocking my weakness... The darkness broke, and there was a sensation like falling... I crumpled on a cement roof, still blinded by my hysteria, my madness, my devotion... I saw Cloud, standing there in almost shock, and hatred, like poison, filled me and propelled me forward... I launched myself at him, but mid-lunge, everything went black again, and I faltered... I was falling, and I gave up hope... I was rejected, there was no cause to fight anymore... I WANTED to die, because I had let my "mother" down... I had given it my all, and it wasn't enough... when I regained my consciousness, I realized I had collapsed in his arms... I thought if the wounds didn't kill me soon, the despair would... then another voice.

A gentle voice, the kind of voice I had once dreamed someone would use for me, when I was still a child and I didn't understand that I was more than just an orphan... A voice calling my name in compassion... it sounded so familiar, but I didn't know from where... I thought... perhaps I had been accepted after all... but in a moment, I didn't care. I didn't care who was calling me... All that mattered was someone finally was. Someone had called me... Somehow, even though I had failed so miserably... someone wanted me. I reached out... and my pain suddenly died...

Time seemed to slow down. The memory... in it, in reliving the pain, and the relief that followed, the compassion rewarding his evil... he had found the strength he needed to fight back. He twisted around... he landed on the ground barely inches behind Strife and flung himself back at Sephiroth, the Angel Cry shimmering... the Template's grip on him slipping...

He pulled the blade back over his shoulder and slashed down at Sephiroth's shoulder with it. "STAY OUT OF MY MIND, YOU B*****D!" You'll learn... that I do NOT take rejection well.

[mistervillainman]

Sephiroth and Kadaj's eyes locked again as the blade hung between them, just as frozen as their gazes were.

"And you'll find... Brother... that I do not enjoy going out alone." He said.

Suddenly, a silvery glow emmited from his eyes and it grew to a blinding level of brightness. A dull hum could be heard even where Cid stood and then there was total and complete silence as a thump spread from Sephiroth's spot and rocked the mountainside. A moment later the BOOM! was heard, Kadaj and Cloud were both flung in opposite directions by the energy blast and skidded along the dirt, ending up yards away from their foe... But in the spot where Sephiroth stood, there only remained a few drifting feathers, a whiff of ozone and a scolding crater... He was gone.

Once more in his mind, Kadaj heard an echoing voice that faded to that spot in your spine where the cold shivers originated...

"I will never be a memory..."

[Ru]

Cid lowered his arm from in front of his eyes, squinting at the smoldering spot some distance away where Sephiroth had stood. He would have liked to think that he was gone for good, but he got an unsettling feeling things would never turn out that easy. Giving a short sigh, he turned back to his ship and started heading up the hill, slinging his lance across his shoulders.

"Better luck next time," he muttered, "C'mon." The engines of the Sierra were still running, the propellors still knocking the grass back with the force of the wind. Cid paused by the hatchway to make sure that Cloud was following him, before ducking up through the hatchway and heading for the wheel, for the moment ignoring the people that had gathered inside.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Jared staggered out of the cave mouth in time to see the explosion, supported by Ami, who had gone back to the cave to find it emptied of everyone but him. He gaped... but tilted his head, puzzled. He could swear... he still felt the General's presence, but he couldn't tell where the vibrations were coming from...

Ami sighed with relief. "Well, that, I believe, would be that, eldest brother." She began helping Jared towards the ship, grinning.

He turned to her, incredulous. "What are you smiling for? They got to Fruxas... to ME. We abjectly failed to do anything we set out to do here... and in all painful honesty, we've only made it worse." He groaned. "Why did I not count on my parents NOT bringing the baby with them to our position? G**, what a twit!"

Ami gave him a look. "We survived, didn't we? We're all OK. And we still have the next twelve years to bust Mummy's a**, haven't we? Meanwhile, we get you into the ship and have you looked at. That bolt in your chest ain't any garden-variety splinter... it'll take Annie and Reno both to tend that sucker properly."

Kadaj smirked as Jared nodded grudgingly... but his expression changed as he felt a slight wave of dizziness. What the... He blinked and put a hand to his head.

Ami looked over at her young brother. "You OK?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine..."

Ami noticed his wound. "Oh, my G**..."

"It's nothing--" He tried to wave it off, but Ami knew him too well.

"It most certainly is not. Come on... you need help. Cloud, help Jared." Ami put an arm around Kadaj. "Let's get you patched."

Kadaj kept shaking his head... the blood loss didn't explain the dizzy feeling he kept getting. Maybe I hit the mountain harder than I thought... He glanced at Ami. "You're bleeding too, you know." He swiped a finger across her forehead... she'd gotten nailed but good when she was flung into the rocks, and his hand came away streaked by red.

She shrugged. "Just a scratch."

Cloud trailed after them, helping Jared limp into the ship, followed gradually by the Chaos warriors, Squall, Vincent, Kamen, and Tseng. He couldn't help noticing as he entered, spatters of blood on the Sierra's floor... alternating red and green...

****

Loz and Yazoo trailed Jenova all the way to the troop transport, which took off as soon as the last trooper was inside... Yazoo shot at it as it flew away, but the transport showed no negative effects... in fact, it seemed to ignore him as it sped off towards Kalm. "Oh, terrific," he groaned.

Loz seemed to be considering something. "Funny... I thought Sephiroth was her favorite."

Yazoo glanced at him. "You thought right, for a change. What's your point?"

"How come she didn't wait for him?"

Yazoo opened his mouth in surprise and closed it again. He spoke, holstering his gun. "Loz, you are an idiot savant, you know that?"

"Uh, thanks... I think."

He started heading back to the caves. "Something is not right with this picture... we have to tell the others."

They, too, entered the Sierra, closing the hatch behind them.

Cloud helped Jared sit painfully against a wall before approaching Cid. "Get us the h**l out of here... I don't care where. Just move us far and fast. We'll sort out the fine details later."

They zoomed off...

[mistervillainman]

Tseng had been watching the events unfold before him for a long while already and it was trying his patience... How had it come to this? He was working with Cloud, the triplets and Amnesty while his boss was working with Sephiroth and Xima... He ran a hand through his hair and seated himself before he fell over from exhaustion.

"I need a new job..."

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Reno smirked. "My sentiments exactly, boss."

He put a hand on Tseng's shoulder. "Welcome to life in the private sector. Us and the crazy dudes trying to bail the world out of one mess after the other, yo." He gave him a grin. "'Least you got a familiar face to getcha through it, eh?"

A faint light traveled down his arm into Tseng as Reno's eyes began to glow green. "Did I mention I'm supposed to be some kinda chosen one or some s**t?"

"Watch your language," Annie, Joey, and Jared all said in unison.

Annie was tending to Cloud, who had sustained a few noteworthy scratches, in a similar manner. "D**g... You got some serious issues, yo." She shook her head. "You know, healers are really just high-level empaths. I can't read your mind... that's Joey's department... but I can feel your pain, both inside and out, easy as flipping on a TV set. And man, could you use a Sacrifice."

Cloud didn't know what she was driving at. "A what?"

"A Sacrifice. If you ask Aunt A, she can take you pain away like that." Annie snapped her fingers.

Cloud examined her... she was sitting next to Kadaj, who was leaning back against a wall, holding a hand over his still oozing sword wound. "Stay right there," she instructed him. "I'm gonna be right back, OK?"

He winced and nodded grudgingly.

Reno had moved on to take a look at Yazoo's arm. "And you're saying your twelve-year-old neice gave you this?"

Yazoo huffed. "Can you take care of it or not?"

Reno shrugged. "Never tried tending a Remnant before, 'cept Ami. But I can give it a shot."

"Wait," Ami interrupted. "Kadaj is hurt bad. Can't you see about him first?"

"He's next in line, Am," Reno waved her off. "Now let me concentrate here, yo." He gazed at Yazoo's wound intently, and it began to glow green...

Ami sighed and turned around. She sat next to Kadaj again. "He;ll be here in a second."

Kadaj shrugged and nodded mutely. "I can wait." He closed his eyes and let his head hit the wall, trying to ignore the pain.

He felt Ami's hand gently come to rest on his free one. "You did a very good thing back there. I'm proud of you."

He smiled faintly. "I try." He turned his head and looked over at her. "Your standards aren't easy to live up to, little sister."

She grinned. "I learned from the best." She ruffed his hair.

He swatted her off. "Give me a break. I've had a rough morning." He winced again, the sudden movement sending a stab of pain into his side.

Ami laid a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Just relax. It'll be good as new in a few minutes."

He nodded vacantly, staring across the room. That weird feeling was still nagging at him... a feeling that something wasn't quite right with him...

He heard a tune coming from somewhere... Ami was humming. He tilted his head. "Which song is that? It sounds familar."

"Night in the Rain. Used to be your favorite."

He shrugged. "My memory is still patchy in places."

Ami smiled faintly and hugged him. "Doesn't matter. I'll teach you to remember."

Cloud blinked. He had always known the gang was made of three brothers. He'd never known... that they were family.

He glanced back at Annie, who was still expecting him to answer her. "Sorry, but... it's nothing personal. But without pain... I don't think I'd know who I am."

[matt]

Unknown got up and dusted himself off. Seeing that Jenova was fighting Kadaj, he left them be. His shadow clones returned to his and struck down anything that came near him. Dusting off his hair, Unknown picked up his sword fragments, as they melted back togethor.
Asuka quickly avoided Akira. "If he see's me He'll freak..." she muttered almost laughing. Blood was still thinking about his fear. Seeing the others fight gave him courage, but It wasn't enough. Broken from his thoughts as a clone knocked him into a wall and cut into him with their sword. He reached for his sword, which he had dropped and cut the clones arm off and sliced off its head. He'd have to be more careful from now on...

[Ru]

"Yeah, yeah," Cid muttered a little sarcastically to Cloud's apparant order, "Nice to see ya too." The Sierra rose from the ground quickly, sending clouds of dust billowing out, and Cid twisted the wheel, turning the ship away from where the troop transports had flown to. As long as they kept flying, things would probably be alright, and those hurt would get a chance to recover.

"There's some bandages and stuff in one o' those cabinets," he said, pointing to a nearby wall, "So you don't hafta bleed all over my floor." He shot another quick glare in the direction of the action, not really sure what to think about all of this.
"Anyone feel like explainin' what the h*ll seems to be going on to me?" Cid suggested, raising an eyebrow, "Or am I just the driver?" He thought he deserved some kind of explanation - especially since Cloud had been so abrupt about calling him in.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Cloud got up, nodding gratefully to Annie as she moved on to check on her mother. He approached Cid. "Sorry, Cid... I guess I kind of skimped on the details of the situation, didn't I?"

He noticed the half-eaten sandwich. "And on that note, I'm also very sorry about interrupting your lunch break." He gave his old friend a half-grin. "But as you can see... I sort of wound up in what you might call dire straits." He lowered his voice, and his smile faded. "Otherwise, there is no way in h**l I would be working with those three back there." We actually saved each other's necks... what the h**k is all THAT about?

He took a deep breath. "It's kind of a long story... but a few months back, I caught wind of Shinra being back to his old tricks, and one thing led to another... and now here I am." He shrugged. "See the girl back there? She doesn't look it... but she's another one of them. I met her in Mideel, trying to stop a Lifestream spirit called Aztar... and..." He wasn't sure how to say this. "Cid, don't think I'm out of my gourd... I'm having trouble believing all this myself. The girl told me... she's seen Aeris, that she is her friend. And I don't know about you... but any friend of hers is a friend of mine." He sighed and shook his head. "Her name is Amnesty. She said her dark side became another entity, called Xima. She asked for my help in finding her and stopping her... but we failed. Xima did what she came here to do... she resurrected Jenova, and Sephiroth. And the brothers, too... but they tell me they won't work for her. Ami says they've changed... whether or not I can believe that, I still don't know for sure. But one thing I do know. That redheaded girl back there, and her sister, and their blonde friend... they SAY they're from the future. They SAY Xima and Rufus Shinra took over everything there, with a force of Sephiroth clones called the Seraphic Army. They SAY they came back here to remove Jenova's spirit from Xima's baby. They SAY that is the one hope we have of stopping her from destroying everything." He gave Cid a hard stare. "And based on what I saw in those caves... I say they could be right."

Meanwhile, the three time refugees were quietly conferring. "If Jenova got her hands on you, why haven't you disappeared on us yet?" Joey asked, worry all too obvious in her voice as Annie mended his wounds. Jared shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I hope it's a good sign... we could all use some good news for once. It must mean my younger self hasn't made up his mind... the future isn't written beyond unmade choices. If we can reach him before they turn him... we've still got a chance. If not... well, we're s***wed. I don't want to toot my own horn... but if they get my potential on their side, the rebellion doesn't stand a chance."

"Mr. Modesty, here," Annie scoffed. "But I got to admit, you could be right... it would seriously mess up the future, either way."

****

Yazoo and Loz looked somewhat uncomfortable... they "spoke" to each other by their genetic connection.

When will we tell the others about Jenova and the troop transport?

Soon as possible. But that's not my major worry right now...

What is your worry, then?

I can still feel him... he's close. But I can't tell where... his presence seems to be altered somehow. If we tell someone flat out, we could be overheard by the wrong ears... we have to contact one of the telepaths. Preferably the young girl... Annie, I think she called herself... then she could relay it to Cloud. We can't speak into his mind as readily as before... not since he lost his connection to us. And I don't feel like doing a mental broadcast... again, that might attract unwanted attention. Besides, Kadaj was always the one who was good at that.

****

Reno knelt beside Nikky. "How are you holding up?" He'd seen Annie tending to her a minute ago, but he wanted to double check, just in case. He took her hand and tried to meet her eyes.

Ami jabbed him from behind. "Hey, Red... forgetting something?" She directed his gaze over to her brother, still slumped against the wall, her jacket bunched against his wound.

Reno sighed and rolled his eyes. "OK, OK, I'm comin', I'm comin'." He approached him. "All right, so what's the damage, kid?"

Kadaj sighed. "Don't call me that."

Reno shrugged. "Whatever." He pulled the coat away to find it soaked with green. "Geez... he nailed ya but good, didn't he?"

Kadaj let that pass without comment as the wound started glowing. Reno shook his head. "I do not envy you... your big brother is one bad-a** dude, yo."

Kadaj rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it."

"How'd you go from being his number one fan to hating his guts, yo? That's the one thing I can't get my head around."

Kadaj watched Reno with a placid attitude, although the question irritated him. "Betrayal tends to do that to a person." Something at the back of his head seemed to be simmering, and another wave of dizziness came over him... Blood loss. It has to be the blood loss.