Djillaywaska

[Gdosimirj Sunset]

Gdosimirj led them out of the village, closely following the battalion. She heard the general that had been left behind giving orders- "If you succeed in beating them, blow the horn twice and wait for ten counts and we'll let you in." A boulder was rolled into the pyramid's inner entrance with finality, and Gdosimirj shuddered with the realization that this was likely the last time she would see her city.

Two more boulders slid shut over the external entrances of the pyramid as the band of warriors sped into the forest. Gdsomirj took them onto a fork that led away from the path they had originally walked.

"About an hour's walk from the ship, this path rejoins with the original path. The warriors should be long past that point by the time we get there, and you should all be able to find your way back."

*****

As they drew near to the original path, Gdosimirj payed her final farewell to her friends. "Even if I survive the battle, I know where my place in this world is. Back with my people. I want to help set right what has gone wrong since I left. Maybe some day I will leave and find you all again. I did it once, I can find you again, aye?" She gave a halfhearted grin. "It's been fun."

Her expression changed sharply. "Did you just hear something?"

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Ami watched the trees... the trail was more like twilight here, beyond the reach of Mammon's spell... "I'm glad to know you've realized your place, Sunset... for what it's worth, I've found mine in my time here. If I ever see you again, I'll tell you what I mean." She embraced the former sorceress, bidding her farewell. "I'll keep my ears open for a way to break those chains of yours... maybe after this 'evil twin' thing is taken care of, I'll come back here to see how you've fared. Quietly, of course... I don't plan to socialize with your friend the general anytime soon."

She began to hurry her friends along the path. "Reno, any ideas for the distraction yet?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking..."

[*~Nikkole~*]

kamen felt the slight presence of his master bading him home. he cringed and sighed..... wait... i could be a distraction. they don't care if i get captured or if i died... i could easily point them into another direction... but do i ask??. he looked over at ami and wondered. ''how many of them are there??'' he asked quietly. ''i could be the distraction while you all leave....''

nikky looked around, holding her side slightly.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Ami looked at him sharply. "We fight together or we die together. That's how it goes. I was planning on something of a more... mechanical nature."

She looked to Reno and Rude. "Well, boys?"

Rude was pulling some small metallic pods from his pockets. "Small, but effective."

He began dropping them along the path. "Keep moving."

Ami ushered the others on still more hurriedly... She had an idea of what Rude was up to, and they didn't want to be too close when it happened...

[*~Nikkole~*]

kamen nodded and followed her instuctions. ''i understand...'' he said quietly, even though he didn't. could she not see that he wanted to get away? to disappear... but maybe it was better if he stayed....

nikky watched rude warily as she followed reno.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Ami heard the sound of marching feet filtering through the forest...

"How much further, Rude?"

"Not much," he replied, noticing a small cocave area of rock in the side of a hill by the path. He cast one more pod. "That ought to do."

He herded everyone into the shallow cave and pulled out his cell phone. "Reno, care to catch the show?"

"I never pass up the chance to see sizable areas of land go ka-boom, yo," he grinned back, coming to the front of the crowd.

Rude hit the call button on his phone and pulled back behind the rock...

The pods began to explode one after the other, in the order Rude had set them.

Ami covered her ears. "If this doesn't distract 'em, nothing will!"

"It'll distract some of them... we have the rest of the army to worry about after that," Rude shouted over the explosions as the ground shuddered beneath them.

Ami could hear soldiers yelling as the booms continued...

[*~Nikkole~*]

nikky grinned and laughed slightly. she knew it was gonna be something like that....

kamen sunk back. no master... i'm not comming home..... you can't make me go back.... i have friends here..... i think.... please just leave me alone. he begged.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

The final pods began to ignite as thick dust filled the air. "Let's go!"

Rude began to head everyone out.

Ami hesitated, watching Kamen. I can feel your struggle... She took his hand and looked into his eyes intently. Use my strength.

"Ami, Kamen, let's move!"

He started ushering them down the trail as SOLDIERs began investigating the sources of the explosions... Hopefully, the low light and all this dust will cover us for now...

Ami kept hanging onto his hand. Don't do this alone... let's fight together!

****

Reno hung onto Nikky's hand as he hustled down the trail. "Had to miss the grand finale... oh well." He looked back at her and grinned, noticing the huge billow of dust and smoke rising behind her. "What I'd give for a camcorder right now."

They moved on carefully as possible, trying to avoid being spotted...

[*~Nikkole~*]

nikky laughed and followed. ''h**l yes... '' ^^

kamen looked back and nodded slowly. he was too rushed to notice that she still had his hand. he followed her silently. okay.... i am more afraid of him comming here.... he can only do so much if he is miles away.... he hoped.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

In the Medium Space, Axel was finishing his tale of woe to the others. With every bit of information he shared, the brothers looked a little more grim.

"This... Netherworld you keep mentioning? You have to lead us back there," Kadaj requested. "I think I may have the faintest idea of what Xima is up to."

Axel didn't like the tone he was using... it was the kind of tone he heard people use when they were about to say something very frightening and wanted the audience to get used to the idea...

After a short period of navigation through the flows and eddies of the Lifestream, they found a small dimensional depression and slipped through into an area of undesignated space... a pocket dimension of antimatter...

The girl looked around uneasily. "We should hurry... I'm not sure how long our consciousnesses can survive seperated from the Lifestream."

"Noted," Kadaj replied, prowling around the area.

A light stabbed out of somewhere, and he turned to its source...

"D**n," he muttered. "She beat us back."

Xima stood in a portal, letting light shine in through it as she carefully clipped the fingernails on her right hand, a sadistic smile on her face.

Axel, in his anger at the very sight of her, took a few swipes at her head... and realized he was making no impact.

"Down, boy," Kadaj insisted. "I told you, the mortal world is closed to us. Unless we're called, we can only observe in our state."

Axel did the mako equivalent of gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Yazoo, find sister. She'll need to see this."

He nodded and slipped back through the depression.

Xima finished her preening and, the clipped nails held in the flat of her palm, she proceeded across the space to an object obscured by deep shadow...

"The Constitution Chamber," Axel realized as she deposted the clippings into the analysis/synthesis input. "But what..."

Kadaj felt an icy feeling grip him. "Holy G**. She's actually going through with this."

Axel was non-plussed and very upset... he'd just been through quite a lot of trauma, after all. "Going through with WHAT?"

She activated the Chamber. It began to glow and flicker...

"Certain types of fish go back upstream to breed and hatch their young," he replied in a monotone. "She returned here to her birthplace... to begin the cycle of abominations anew."

A form began to take shape in the Chamber...

****

Yazoo discovered Ami stumbling along through the forests of the Wutai coast, clinging to the young sorcerer they had encountered earlier. He probed her thoughts...

I know what you mean, Kamen. I've been thinking along a similar thread lately... Her thoughts turned inward. Just who or what is this Xima, anyway?

Yazoo placed a thought in her mind through Kamen's telepathic ability. Why not see for yourself?

He connected with his brothers, still watching in silent horror as a new strain of virus began to evolve...

Ami realized she could no longer feel the forest floor beneath her feet. The forest and everything in it, her friends included, ha ddisappeared... except for Kamen, who still had a hold on her hand. "Kamen...?"

She noticed five other figures standing around a flickering chamber in a semi-circle. "My brothers... the girl who helped me... Axel?"

She took a closer look and discovered yet another figure, smiling maliciously at her reflection in the surface of the chamber as the glow reached blinding whiteness and finally faded to black... "oh, my G**... she's me."

The Chamber door opened, and within stood...

Ami paled to white. "G** save us."

A small child, he looked to be no more than five in terms of physical maturity. Blonde hair, white skin...

He opened his eyes. Cat-slit mako green.

Xima knelt to make eye contact with the boy. "Hello," she said softly. "Do you know who I am?"

The boy looked at her for a moment and smiled. "You are my mother."

She returned his smile. "Very good, child. Who is your father?"

He tilted his head. "Don't you know?"

Xima's smile evaporated. "We are not testing my knowledge. We are testing yours. Who is your father?"

The boy tilted his head to the other side. "His name is..." His forehead wrinkled in thought. "Rufus... Shinra?"

Xima's smile returned, even wider than before. "Perfect."

She led the child from his chamber. "Come, child. We have much to do before we can meet your grandmother..." She inhaled with satisfaction. "She's going to LOVE you."

The boy blinked curiously. "Love?"

Xima stiffened slightly. "A word that implies a connection."

"Is that all?"

Xima's smile became chilly. "Should there be more?"

The child shook his head soberly. "No, Mother."

She led her offspring towards the depression...

Ami returned to her senses, shaking with horror. "Oh, G**..."

She had come to a complete stop, still clutching Kamen's hand in a death grip.

Reno screeched to a stop when he realized she wasn't still following them. "Ami, what do you have, a death wish?"

He started pulling on her free arm. "Come on, we got to go before those creeps--"

"HEY!"

A soldier had stopped and was pointing at them through the haze.

"Spot us," Reno finished flatly. He broke into a run. "EVERYBODY GO FOR BROKE!"

Ami charged ahead, but her mind was far away in a dimension not her own... What has she done?

[*~Nikkole~*]

he looked over at her, realizing the change in her grip. he made a half wince. ''ami....'' but he realized also that she wasn't listening to him. he fell silent again, feeling safer in the silence of his mind.

nikky gasped slightly and swore.

they both bolted with the others.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

The spirits followed Xima out of the depression into a musty, dark ruin where she had stowed a few supplies. She retrieved some clothes and handed them to her son. "Put these on... we don't want you catching cold, sweetheart."

He smiled innocently and moved off to do as he was told.

Kadaj swore, several times over. "This is catastrophically bad."

Axel didn't quite understand... he felt like he was perputally half a step behind everyone else. "How so? I mean, he's just a kid."

"Kids grow up," Kadaj snapped. "And before they do, their guardians have charge over their earthly effects."

Axel was still confused, but he thought a few peices were falling into place... "So this kid...?"

"Is the most deadly enemy we could possibly have... and he to be so, all he has to do is exist."

****

Ami was in blind, gut-churning terror. An army of SOLDIERs bearing down on me... She smiled ironically. And this started out looking like such a nice evening. Where did we go wrong?

She heard them closing in and churned her legs even harder, still pushing her bike... Please, let the Ragnorak not be too far...

[*~Nikkole~*]

nikky stumbled and tripped slightly, her injuries slowing her.

kamen looked back but kept going. why do i get myself into these things.... i need a vacation...

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Reno stopped short to help her stand. "Nikky! Are you OK?"

He put her arm around his shoulders and helped her keep going...

****

Ami wasn't wearing down quite yet, but she could tell her family wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer. At least half the SOLDIERs had been drawn away by the explosions further back on the path... they'd covered most of the returning distance laying those incindiaries down... but the half that remained was still a sizeable and very deadly number. And she had no idea how much longer it would take to reach the ship... How long have we been walking? And how much distance have we covered running?

"Get the others ahead!" Ami called out to Rude, a desperate idea coming to her. "I'll double back and draw them off... you can come back for me in the ship!"

"Ami, no," Rude replied. "You can't outfight them, and you can't outrun them... not alone."

"Whoever said I planned on doing this alone?"

Rude rolled his eyes. "Ami, have you any idea exactly how rare --not to mention expensive-- silver materia is? You can't keep calling your brothers every time you break a nail."

"Rude, this is an emergency!"

"Keep going, Ami!" Rude ordered. "Don't think about turning back!"

Ami kept going, praying for a miracle to get them out of this...

She spotted Dimitri, also pushing his bike. Inspiration! "Dimitri! Go ahead of us and get the ship in motion! Meet us halfway! GO!"

The first SOLDIERs were beginning to reach the last of the party. Ami dropped back to cover them...

Reno realized he still had Ami's other Dragon Tooth. "Here, catch!" He tossed it to her as he passed her, still helping Nikky make her way back towards the ship.

A SOLDIER was reaching for Ami's sister, trying to take her down... she panted in fear and exhaustion, barely a step ahead of him... Ami began to engage the Shinra warrior, swiping at his arm. He pulled his Buster sword and took a swing at her head, which she barely ducked in time.

The SOLDIERs began converging towards the combatants as Ami's party pulled ahead...

Rude fired back into the horde almost blindly, still herding the others along. I'd BETTER not hit that girl... He glanced at Dimitri. What's he waiting for?

[*~Nikkole~*]

nikky reluctently let him help her as she made her way to the ship. she glanced back only once and that was to make sure kamen was still following them. which he was.