Chapter 14: Cat and Mouse
I woke up sometime later, but don’t know how long I was unconscious. I slowly sat up and studied the area. It looked like I was taken to some kind of old-looking house that seemed like it used to be a small bar or something, but I didn’t see anyone nearby except Kadaj and Loz. They were also lying motionless. I quickly remembered what happened before I was knocked out and cried “Kadaj, Loz! Are you alright?” I hurried to them to make sure they werent hurt. Loz woke up and looked around “Uh oh… where are we? What happened..?” I replied “I don’t know, but the last thing I remember is… trying to protect you and Sister from that man with the big sword. After that, I think he punched me and then everything went black all of a sudden… but, how are we alive? Something isnt right here.” Kadaj moaned and got up last, and turned to me. I helped Loz to his feet. Kadaj was confused after studying the area “Where are we…? How did we survive from that guy..?” I shook my head “I don’t know the answer to that, either… I guess he let us live? But the question is why…” Loz grumbled “Ohh man, Mother’s gonna be really mad at us now… We really did it this time…” Kadaj disagreed “No, this isnt our fault. Even if we didn’t listen, ending up wherever this is was still an accident… if we hadnt ran into Cloud, we would’ve had that core for sure. But, he destroyed it… and then I think he kidnapped us by the look of things.” I agreed “Right. It doesn’t matter that we had an accident. The important thing now is to find a way out of here before he comes back. Look around, you two; see if you can find a safe way out. I don’t want to escape through the front door unless that’s the only way to get out of here.” They both obeyed and went separate ways. I chose to stay put and think about what was going on. Cloud had showed up as if he knew we were there. Was everything that happened at New Shinra another setup? I sighed and shrugged, choosing to wait before I decide to confirm anything. I shook my head “This cant be good… was all of it another trap? But something doesn’t add up. How would the enemy have had a way of knowing our activity after we’d left Midgar and gone far away from it for several days? It doesn’t make any sense.” Kadaj and Loz came back, and I asked “Anything?” Kadaj sighed “Nothing… there doesn’t seem to be any way out downstairs. And the only windows there are… are in this room.” Loz added “Same thing here. This place is pretty small, and the only ways out are the windows up here and the front door.” I grumbled “Great. Here we go again. We cant just sit around and wait for him to come back. There’s no telling what he might do to us, or what his plans are having knocked us all out and leaving us here an unknown time later. In a worst case scenario, he might have caught us in order to lure Mother and Sephiroth right to him.” Kadaj worried “Oh no… we need to get out of here!” Loz agreed “Right, I’ll break the door down!” He went ahead of me, but I stopped him “No, wait. If you break the door, anyone who’s out there will know we’re here. We have to stay quiet, even if we are going through the front.” I approached the door and turned the nob, then tugged several times, but it wouldn’t budge. I grew frustrated “Lovely… looks like the enemy has exterior locks on this door. Judging by the minimal results when I pulled, I’ll bet they’re very strong. I feared this would happen, but still… what a drag. We have no choice; Loz, break it open.” I went behind Loz, and he armed his dual hound, striking the door with his full strength. He hit it several times, until it finally wouldn’t crack anymore and gave out, leaving an open path for us. Kadaj was relieved “Phew, thank goodness we have Loz! Without that strength, we’d be stuck here forever!” She laughed under her breath, and I felt a strange emotion rush through me. I wasn’t angry, but I wasn’t happy, either; it felt like a mix of love and jealousy at the same time. I moaned, and shook my head, trying to shake the feeling away. I returned my focus to our escape mission and nodded “Um, right… let’s get going before anymore enemies show up and find out we escaped.” I led the way, and Loz and Kadaj followed behind me. But I didn’t get far before I’d stopped. I saw a woman with long black hair wearing black fighting gloves along with a top and skirt standing just ahead of us. She said “Oh no, you don’t. Get back inside.” I was confused and asked “What? Who are you?” She answered “It doesn’t matter. I said get back inside, and I expect you to listen. You’re too young to be going out on your own.” Loz complained “Hey, what’re you talking about? We’ve been on the streets since birth, stupid! We arent new to the rough life!” Kadaj agreed “Exactly. I cant argue with that at all…” The woman refused “You arent on the streets anymore. I’m giving the three of you a proper home. It’s too dangerous for you kids to be running around Midgar by yourselves. Where are you parents?” I sighed “They… had an accident. And didn’t make it back…” The woman understood “Very well. Then I’ll be your mother instead for your sake. Go on, back inside. Get in there.” She gently pushed us back into the house, and reached for a large wooden board to cover the opening where Loz had destroyed the heavily locked door. I felt suspicious about this woman. Something told me that she knew us and wasn’t showing it. Loz groaned “Argh! This is so dumb! We didn’t wanna come here in the first place!” Kadaj shrugged “At least she doesn’t seem like she wants to hurt us… I think…” I turned back to her and decided to speak up “Who are you? No sense in trying to hide anything. When we woke up and tried the door, it wouldn’t move a bit. So much that it was as if it was barred shut from the other side. Moreover, it took my Brother here several attacks to break it. Several—not the more common one. Its loud and clear you and one certain somebody know about his supreme strength. People don’t bar their doors unless they know something or someone is strong enough to break through it. How dumb do you think we are?” She looked at me immediately behind the long counter and replied “My name is Tifa. It was my best friend that brought the three of you here. His name is Cloud, but I think you already know that part. He didn’t leave you kids here as a trap or setup of any kind; he left you here with good intent. I want to teach you three right from wrong so you don’t grow up behaving the same way you do you now. Do you really want to grow up leading a violent life of crime and killing people the way you do now? Does that seem right to you, to live like that, taking lives away from other families forever?” Loz sighed “I mean, it’s not like we care about defending ourselves or none of that, but it does get tiring…” Kadaj looked downward and added “Good point… peace and quiet would be nice. But what about Mother? We cant just betray her like that…” I hardened my expression and kept silent, my angry and steely gaze locked on Tifa. I refused to listen to anything she had to say. If I die here, I want to at least die fulfilling the duty Mother left me with. Tifa took notice to my hardened display “Wow, you really are thicker than your two siblings… Cloud wasn’t kidding about you. You’re awfully brave for a little boy, Yazoo.” I replied “Of course I am. I’m the leader of the three of us. Not only that, but I’ve also been fighting since birth. What else do you expect from a person who’s seen the truth about this Planet?” I reached for my revolver, then gasped “What the..?” I felt again for it, but it was no good. I felt anger building inside myself and sighed “You’re smarter than I thought… even took our weapons, didn’t you?” Tifa replied “Yeah, except for Loz. He’s not as smart as you and your Sister, so I decided he wasn’t as much of a threat if he kept his. Plus, someone’s gotta fight if you three are in a bind.” Loz groaned “Uggh! Shut up, stupid lady! You don’t know anything about me!” Now I really didn’t know what to do. Without my weapon, I was powerless to do anything about this situation. I doubted she hid them in a place we would easily reach. I felt sad all of a sudden. Tifa began “Moving on, you kids are living here from now on. I’m not taking no for an answer. But I have to go to the store, so just enjoy yourselves until I get back or Cloud comes home, ok? He should be here any minute.” She moved the board, then left and pushed it back in place after she went outside. I grumbled “No..! Dang it… I really did it now… They took our weapons, even. How are we gonna get back to Mother like this? And Big Brother Sephiroth, too… they’re probably worried sick about us…” Kadaj was also worried “I cant do anything without my souba… you don’t think they trashed our weapons, do you?” I turned back to Kadaj “I hope not. Let’s look around, and stick together. We need to get out of here before Cloud shows up. If he beats us to it, then we really are stuck here. We’re no match for him…” Loz shook his head “Big Brother wasn’t kidding when he said he’s dangerous… He even outmatched my strength. What is he, anyways? No one’s even come close to beating me like that.” I replied “It doesn’t matter what he is. What matters is we avoid him as much as we can until we grow up enough to stand up to him effectively. We arent even close to strong enough to beat him in battle right now; it’s the only choice we have until we’re old enough to handle taking him out. For now, let’s just go downstairs and find our weapons. We need to stay as quiet as possible to listen for anyone showing up.” They both nodded in agreement, and we went downstairs and began searching the basement for our missing weapons. I studied the area, and saw two empty tables with chairs pushed in around them, along with another long counter with shelves behind it that were lined with stuff that seemed to be for making meals, but I didn’t see anything that looked suspicious. Kadaj was investigating the other side of the room that had several packed up boxes stacked in numerous rows. I ran to her and asked “Do any of these look funny to you?” She paused, examining the boxes, then replied “Not really… they all seem exactly the same. But this is the only place Cloud could’ve hidden our weapons.” Loz groaned “Ugh! Again?! Why do they always have to make everything so hard for us?” I turned back to Loz and said “Calm down. All we need to do is take these apart until we find what we’re here for.” Kadaj asked “Right, but how? Loz would probably break everything inside. He’s too strong to do this safely.” I shook my head “We’ll have to do it ourselves, then. There’s no other choice if we want to get them back before Cloud shows up.” Suddenly, I had a flashback; I saw myself locked up in Shinra Headquarters, and remembered the materia I had used to help us escape. I said “Wait, we still have something else. That materia I used to help us escape Shinra, remember?” Kadaj asked “Yeah, but doesn’t it make you really tired when you use its powers?” I replied “It does, but it’s our best bet if we wanna be quick enough to avoid Cloud. I know it’s really powerful and super dangerous, and could even set this whole place on fire if I lose control of its power, but I have to try or I’ll never be strong enough to pull off meteor for Big Brother. He said it would be impossible for me to do it without dying, but… I wanna practice using it enough to do the real thing—not just weaker variants like I did the last few times. Maybe then I can help Mother and the rest of us if I get strong enough…” Kadaj was worried “Yazoo… are you sure about this?” I nodded at her “Trust me.” She understood and stepped back, and I clenched my fist and hardened my focus. Seconds later, what looked like lava lit the seams where the box was sealed, burning it open; the same happened with the rest of them shortly thereafter. When I finished, I fell to my knees, gasping for breath. I was already feeling exhausted. Kadaj said “It worked! Great job, Brother!” I replied “Thanks… See? No problems, right..?” She helped me up and asked “Are you ok, Yazoo?” I nodded “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.” Loz cried “Wow, that was awesome!” We each went and shuffled through each of the boxes, and before we had to do a lot of searching, Loz shouted “Found them!” He pulled out my revolver from a box and gave it to me, then got Kadaj’s souba and gave it to her. Kadaj happily cried “Yes! Now we can get out of here before Cloud arrives!” I agreed “Right, let’s get going! I don’t think we have long!” I led us back upstairs, and Loz moved the board out of the way for us. We ran outside, and Kadaj said “Phew… that was close… I’ve never been so scared in my life.” I added “I know. I’m really sorry, Sister… and Brother. If I didn’t bring us to New Shinra, we wouldn’t have gotten caught in the first place… I don’t know what to say for myself… We could’ve been killed.” Loz replied “I don’t blame you for any of this, Yazoo. I don’t think Kadaj does either. It was an accident. But… where are we anyway? I don’t recognize this place.” I studied the area and said “I don’t know either, but it’s obvious we’re still in Midgar. No flowers or plants, just dirt and waste. As for our precise location, I’m also uncertain…” Kadaj asked “Then what do we do? Should we ask around?” I shook my head “No. That’s too risky. We’ll have to leave the area and find a way back to the surface so we can find Mother and Sephiroth. The longer we stay here, the greater our odds become of running into Cloud. If he really does live there, I don’t wanna wait around for that. We need to keep going and just figure something else out.” I continued leading us through the town, looking for a way out. I saw an open area that looked like a way out and led us to it. But something knocked me back when I reached the open area, and I cried “What the heck..?!” Kadaj shook me and grew fearful “Yazoo…” I got up and asked “What’s wrong?” Kadaj pointed ahead, and I saw what she was talking about. Cloud was the one who pushed me “No way! How..?” Loz was crying “Stop it… I don’t wanna play anymore! I want Mother..!” Cloud said “Your Mother isnt coming. She wouldve been here hours ago if she knew I had you guys. Get back in the house. I don’t want to force you three to, because you wont like it.” I hardened my expression and cried “As if!” I turned the other way and began running, and Kadaj and Loz followed me. I didn’t even look back; just blindly ran forward, expecting there to be another way out on the other side of town. But I ended up stopping before long; I came to a dead end. I angrily cried “Are you kidding me?! Now what..?!” Kadaj was crying now too “Why..? Why are they doing this..? We didn’t do anything to them..!” Cloud came up behind us and I turned back to him “Goddang it, you! Why?! Tell me why you want us so desperately!” Cloud ignored my words “Then tell me why you think I’m the bad guy here! I’m not lying! I’m really trying to help you three!” I kept my glance hard on him “Hmph! Tell me why you arent the bad guy. You hid our weapons in a pile of identical boxes that were all sealed up. You punched me unconscious, along with my Brother and Sister in New Shinra; kidnapped us, and did what you could to force us to stay in your stupid house. What about all of this isnt bad? Answer me that, big brother.” Cloud sighed, then said “Look, I know you think I want your powers like Shinra, but I don’t. Just stop it and get back in the house. If you don’t, I have no choice but to punch you again like last time. How else was I supposed to get through to you when you act so stubborn like that?” I heard a man’s voice some ways away shout “Don’t you dare!” Loz and Kadaj stopped crying, and I also calmed down. Cloud turned around and cried out in shock “Wha… Sephiroth..?!” I saw Big Brother Sephiroth standing several ways ahead of us, angrily staring at Cloud. He began walking this way, carrying his masamune. Cloud mumbled “And I was supposed to avoid this… how am I supposed to…?!” Sephiroth warned “If you so much as take one step closer to my young siblings, I will kill you where you stand. How dare you target children who cant defend themselves against a big man like you!” Cloud protested “No, you have it all wrong… I wasn’t trying to kill them, I swear!” Sephiroth got into his fighting stance, and quickly slashed his sword at Cloud, barely missing his body. Cloud flinched but didn’t speak. Sephiroth said “I asked you a question, Cloud, and I expect a satisfactory answer. What are you doing with my family?” Cloud hesitated “I… I was just, you… it was an accident! They just happened to be here, and I…” Sephiroth sneered “Hmph… of course you would lie. Move.” To my surprise, Cloud obeyed, hurrying out of the way so Sephiroth could reach us. He lowered his sword and approached us, looking at each of us to make sure we werent hurt. He turned back to Cloud, who immediately ran away without a word. Sephiroth shouted “Hey, stop! I’m not done with you!” He sighed and shook his head before turning back to us “He can wait. I need to get you three out of here before anyone else shows up. I’m afraid my killing him will have to wait yet again…” Loz began crying and ran into Sephiroth, holding onto him “Big Brother..! I was so scared!” Kadaj also started crying and followed. I also felt sad and shook my head “What have I done..? This whole thing is my fault… Big Brother, I’m sorry—I should’ve..!” I felt tears fall from my face again. Sephiroth sighed “I’m just glad none of you are hurt. And Yazoo, while you did suggest what you’re thinking of, I don’t blame you for things going awry. Your heart was in the right place, and for that reason, I cant be angry with you, but… You really could have been killed. But I cant punish children who only wanted to help our Mother. That would be wrong of me. Let’s go back to that forest together. Everything will be ok.” I nodded and forced myself to calm down, and Kadaj and Loz let go of Sephiroth. He lead the way out of town, and the three of us kept close behind him. Loz asked “Where’s Mother? Is she ok too?” Sephiroth replied “She should be outside of the city waiting for us. She decided to stay behind for backup in case things got worse. But what has me confused is why Cloud ran away from me back there. Something is very suspicious about that.” I agreed “He did seem awfully shaky when you showed up… is he your worst enemy or something?” Sephiroth answered “Correct. In the past, it was always him who would go after me obsessively until he managed to find and kill me. I hated him, and he also hated me; we clashed numerous times. So why he escaped is simply unthinkable.” Kadaj suggested “He acted strange around us, too… and he was talking about stuff that didn’t make any sense. He said you were trying to destroy the world…” Sephiroth said “Don’t listen to him. He knows nothing.” I reassured him firmly “Don’t worry, we know that.” Sephiroth replied “Good. I expect no less of my siblings. But his cons aside, this is concerning. I need to investigate why he is avoiding me instead of challenging me as I remember. Why he would hold the three of you hostage and then take off when I show up is extremely vexing. I cannot understand any of it unless I find out for myself what he’s up to. And to think he hid you children in sector 7 as well… the same sector 7 that was obliterated when the plate dropped several years ago. How did they rebuild so quickly..?” I remembered New Shinra and said “You know what, New Shinra was also back not that long ago… almost as if their HQ was never destroyed. Sephiroth, what in the world is happening..?” Sephiroth paused, then suggested “Even I am uncertain, but if something is wrong with the lifestream, it may be connected to all of this. An even slightly unbalanced lifestream can cause unusual things to manifest… and so can horrifically powerful beasts.” I asked “Like that thing we saw in Shinra HQ you said was called Ultima Weapon?” Sephiroth nodded “Yes, but Ultima isnt strong enough to warp things like that. Loz, when you reached the lab in the upper levels of New Shinra, was the beast still inside the specimen tank?” Loz shook his head “No… the tank was completely destroyed. And the lab was also empty. Not a single person on that floor. Everything else was normal, though.” Sephiroth gasped “No..! Even they couldn’t possibly be so foolish…!” I asked “What’s wrong?” Sephiroth explained “Shinra has a long reputation and history of creating monsters and doing dangerous experiments on them and people. If they were performing experiments on Ultima, we might have a bigger threat at hand than Cloud.” I have to find out what they were planning to do with it.” Loz said “But if it wasn’t there, doesn’t that mean it escaped and they don’t have it anymore?” Sephiroth replied “It does, unless they moved it somewhere else. I have a bad feeling about this…”
To Be Continued…
I woke up sometime later, but don’t know how long I was unconscious. I slowly sat up and studied the area. It looked like I was taken to some kind of old-looking house that seemed like it used to be a small bar or something, but I didn’t see anyone nearby except Kadaj and Loz. They were also lying motionless. I quickly remembered what happened before I was knocked out and cried “Kadaj, Loz! Are you alright?” I hurried to them to make sure they werent hurt. Loz woke up and looked around “Uh oh… where are we? What happened..?” I replied “I don’t know, but the last thing I remember is… trying to protect you and Sister from that man with the big sword. After that, I think he punched me and then everything went black all of a sudden… but, how are we alive? Something isnt right here.” Kadaj moaned and got up last, and turned to me. I helped Loz to his feet. Kadaj was confused after studying the area “Where are we…? How did we survive from that guy..?” I shook my head “I don’t know the answer to that, either… I guess he let us live? But the question is why…” Loz grumbled “Ohh man, Mother’s gonna be really mad at us now… We really did it this time…” Kadaj disagreed “No, this isnt our fault. Even if we didn’t listen, ending up wherever this is was still an accident… if we hadnt ran into Cloud, we would’ve had that core for sure. But, he destroyed it… and then I think he kidnapped us by the look of things.” I agreed “Right. It doesn’t matter that we had an accident. The important thing now is to find a way out of here before he comes back. Look around, you two; see if you can find a safe way out. I don’t want to escape through the front door unless that’s the only way to get out of here.” They both obeyed and went separate ways. I chose to stay put and think about what was going on. Cloud had showed up as if he knew we were there. Was everything that happened at New Shinra another setup? I sighed and shrugged, choosing to wait before I decide to confirm anything. I shook my head “This cant be good… was all of it another trap? But something doesn’t add up. How would the enemy have had a way of knowing our activity after we’d left Midgar and gone far away from it for several days? It doesn’t make any sense.” Kadaj and Loz came back, and I asked “Anything?” Kadaj sighed “Nothing… there doesn’t seem to be any way out downstairs. And the only windows there are… are in this room.” Loz added “Same thing here. This place is pretty small, and the only ways out are the windows up here and the front door.” I grumbled “Great. Here we go again. We cant just sit around and wait for him to come back. There’s no telling what he might do to us, or what his plans are having knocked us all out and leaving us here an unknown time later. In a worst case scenario, he might have caught us in order to lure Mother and Sephiroth right to him.” Kadaj worried “Oh no… we need to get out of here!” Loz agreed “Right, I’ll break the door down!” He went ahead of me, but I stopped him “No, wait. If you break the door, anyone who’s out there will know we’re here. We have to stay quiet, even if we are going through the front.” I approached the door and turned the nob, then tugged several times, but it wouldn’t budge. I grew frustrated “Lovely… looks like the enemy has exterior locks on this door. Judging by the minimal results when I pulled, I’ll bet they’re very strong. I feared this would happen, but still… what a drag. We have no choice; Loz, break it open.” I went behind Loz, and he armed his dual hound, striking the door with his full strength. He hit it several times, until it finally wouldn’t crack anymore and gave out, leaving an open path for us. Kadaj was relieved “Phew, thank goodness we have Loz! Without that strength, we’d be stuck here forever!” She laughed under her breath, and I felt a strange emotion rush through me. I wasn’t angry, but I wasn’t happy, either; it felt like a mix of love and jealousy at the same time. I moaned, and shook my head, trying to shake the feeling away. I returned my focus to our escape mission and nodded “Um, right… let’s get going before anymore enemies show up and find out we escaped.” I led the way, and Loz and Kadaj followed behind me. But I didn’t get far before I’d stopped. I saw a woman with long black hair wearing black fighting gloves along with a top and skirt standing just ahead of us. She said “Oh no, you don’t. Get back inside.” I was confused and asked “What? Who are you?” She answered “It doesn’t matter. I said get back inside, and I expect you to listen. You’re too young to be going out on your own.” Loz complained “Hey, what’re you talking about? We’ve been on the streets since birth, stupid! We arent new to the rough life!” Kadaj agreed “Exactly. I cant argue with that at all…” The woman refused “You arent on the streets anymore. I’m giving the three of you a proper home. It’s too dangerous for you kids to be running around Midgar by yourselves. Where are you parents?” I sighed “They… had an accident. And didn’t make it back…” The woman understood “Very well. Then I’ll be your mother instead for your sake. Go on, back inside. Get in there.” She gently pushed us back into the house, and reached for a large wooden board to cover the opening where Loz had destroyed the heavily locked door. I felt suspicious about this woman. Something told me that she knew us and wasn’t showing it. Loz groaned “Argh! This is so dumb! We didn’t wanna come here in the first place!” Kadaj shrugged “At least she doesn’t seem like she wants to hurt us… I think…” I turned back to her and decided to speak up “Who are you? No sense in trying to hide anything. When we woke up and tried the door, it wouldn’t move a bit. So much that it was as if it was barred shut from the other side. Moreover, it took my Brother here several attacks to break it. Several—not the more common one. Its loud and clear you and one certain somebody know about his supreme strength. People don’t bar their doors unless they know something or someone is strong enough to break through it. How dumb do you think we are?” She looked at me immediately behind the long counter and replied “My name is Tifa. It was my best friend that brought the three of you here. His name is Cloud, but I think you already know that part. He didn’t leave you kids here as a trap or setup of any kind; he left you here with good intent. I want to teach you three right from wrong so you don’t grow up behaving the same way you do you now. Do you really want to grow up leading a violent life of crime and killing people the way you do now? Does that seem right to you, to live like that, taking lives away from other families forever?” Loz sighed “I mean, it’s not like we care about defending ourselves or none of that, but it does get tiring…” Kadaj looked downward and added “Good point… peace and quiet would be nice. But what about Mother? We cant just betray her like that…” I hardened my expression and kept silent, my angry and steely gaze locked on Tifa. I refused to listen to anything she had to say. If I die here, I want to at least die fulfilling the duty Mother left me with. Tifa took notice to my hardened display “Wow, you really are thicker than your two siblings… Cloud wasn’t kidding about you. You’re awfully brave for a little boy, Yazoo.” I replied “Of course I am. I’m the leader of the three of us. Not only that, but I’ve also been fighting since birth. What else do you expect from a person who’s seen the truth about this Planet?” I reached for my revolver, then gasped “What the..?” I felt again for it, but it was no good. I felt anger building inside myself and sighed “You’re smarter than I thought… even took our weapons, didn’t you?” Tifa replied “Yeah, except for Loz. He’s not as smart as you and your Sister, so I decided he wasn’t as much of a threat if he kept his. Plus, someone’s gotta fight if you three are in a bind.” Loz groaned “Uggh! Shut up, stupid lady! You don’t know anything about me!” Now I really didn’t know what to do. Without my weapon, I was powerless to do anything about this situation. I doubted she hid them in a place we would easily reach. I felt sad all of a sudden. Tifa began “Moving on, you kids are living here from now on. I’m not taking no for an answer. But I have to go to the store, so just enjoy yourselves until I get back or Cloud comes home, ok? He should be here any minute.” She moved the board, then left and pushed it back in place after she went outside. I grumbled “No..! Dang it… I really did it now… They took our weapons, even. How are we gonna get back to Mother like this? And Big Brother Sephiroth, too… they’re probably worried sick about us…” Kadaj was also worried “I cant do anything without my souba… you don’t think they trashed our weapons, do you?” I turned back to Kadaj “I hope not. Let’s look around, and stick together. We need to get out of here before Cloud shows up. If he beats us to it, then we really are stuck here. We’re no match for him…” Loz shook his head “Big Brother wasn’t kidding when he said he’s dangerous… He even outmatched my strength. What is he, anyways? No one’s even come close to beating me like that.” I replied “It doesn’t matter what he is. What matters is we avoid him as much as we can until we grow up enough to stand up to him effectively. We arent even close to strong enough to beat him in battle right now; it’s the only choice we have until we’re old enough to handle taking him out. For now, let’s just go downstairs and find our weapons. We need to stay as quiet as possible to listen for anyone showing up.” They both nodded in agreement, and we went downstairs and began searching the basement for our missing weapons. I studied the area, and saw two empty tables with chairs pushed in around them, along with another long counter with shelves behind it that were lined with stuff that seemed to be for making meals, but I didn’t see anything that looked suspicious. Kadaj was investigating the other side of the room that had several packed up boxes stacked in numerous rows. I ran to her and asked “Do any of these look funny to you?” She paused, examining the boxes, then replied “Not really… they all seem exactly the same. But this is the only place Cloud could’ve hidden our weapons.” Loz groaned “Ugh! Again?! Why do they always have to make everything so hard for us?” I turned back to Loz and said “Calm down. All we need to do is take these apart until we find what we’re here for.” Kadaj asked “Right, but how? Loz would probably break everything inside. He’s too strong to do this safely.” I shook my head “We’ll have to do it ourselves, then. There’s no other choice if we want to get them back before Cloud shows up.” Suddenly, I had a flashback; I saw myself locked up in Shinra Headquarters, and remembered the materia I had used to help us escape. I said “Wait, we still have something else. That materia I used to help us escape Shinra, remember?” Kadaj asked “Yeah, but doesn’t it make you really tired when you use its powers?” I replied “It does, but it’s our best bet if we wanna be quick enough to avoid Cloud. I know it’s really powerful and super dangerous, and could even set this whole place on fire if I lose control of its power, but I have to try or I’ll never be strong enough to pull off meteor for Big Brother. He said it would be impossible for me to do it without dying, but… I wanna practice using it enough to do the real thing—not just weaker variants like I did the last few times. Maybe then I can help Mother and the rest of us if I get strong enough…” Kadaj was worried “Yazoo… are you sure about this?” I nodded at her “Trust me.” She understood and stepped back, and I clenched my fist and hardened my focus. Seconds later, what looked like lava lit the seams where the box was sealed, burning it open; the same happened with the rest of them shortly thereafter. When I finished, I fell to my knees, gasping for breath. I was already feeling exhausted. Kadaj said “It worked! Great job, Brother!” I replied “Thanks… See? No problems, right..?” She helped me up and asked “Are you ok, Yazoo?” I nodded “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.” Loz cried “Wow, that was awesome!” We each went and shuffled through each of the boxes, and before we had to do a lot of searching, Loz shouted “Found them!” He pulled out my revolver from a box and gave it to me, then got Kadaj’s souba and gave it to her. Kadaj happily cried “Yes! Now we can get out of here before Cloud arrives!” I agreed “Right, let’s get going! I don’t think we have long!” I led us back upstairs, and Loz moved the board out of the way for us. We ran outside, and Kadaj said “Phew… that was close… I’ve never been so scared in my life.” I added “I know. I’m really sorry, Sister… and Brother. If I didn’t bring us to New Shinra, we wouldn’t have gotten caught in the first place… I don’t know what to say for myself… We could’ve been killed.” Loz replied “I don’t blame you for any of this, Yazoo. I don’t think Kadaj does either. It was an accident. But… where are we anyway? I don’t recognize this place.” I studied the area and said “I don’t know either, but it’s obvious we’re still in Midgar. No flowers or plants, just dirt and waste. As for our precise location, I’m also uncertain…” Kadaj asked “Then what do we do? Should we ask around?” I shook my head “No. That’s too risky. We’ll have to leave the area and find a way back to the surface so we can find Mother and Sephiroth. The longer we stay here, the greater our odds become of running into Cloud. If he really does live there, I don’t wanna wait around for that. We need to keep going and just figure something else out.” I continued leading us through the town, looking for a way out. I saw an open area that looked like a way out and led us to it. But something knocked me back when I reached the open area, and I cried “What the heck..?!” Kadaj shook me and grew fearful “Yazoo…” I got up and asked “What’s wrong?” Kadaj pointed ahead, and I saw what she was talking about. Cloud was the one who pushed me “No way! How..?” Loz was crying “Stop it… I don’t wanna play anymore! I want Mother..!” Cloud said “Your Mother isnt coming. She wouldve been here hours ago if she knew I had you guys. Get back in the house. I don’t want to force you three to, because you wont like it.” I hardened my expression and cried “As if!” I turned the other way and began running, and Kadaj and Loz followed me. I didn’t even look back; just blindly ran forward, expecting there to be another way out on the other side of town. But I ended up stopping before long; I came to a dead end. I angrily cried “Are you kidding me?! Now what..?!” Kadaj was crying now too “Why..? Why are they doing this..? We didn’t do anything to them..!” Cloud came up behind us and I turned back to him “Goddang it, you! Why?! Tell me why you want us so desperately!” Cloud ignored my words “Then tell me why you think I’m the bad guy here! I’m not lying! I’m really trying to help you three!” I kept my glance hard on him “Hmph! Tell me why you arent the bad guy. You hid our weapons in a pile of identical boxes that were all sealed up. You punched me unconscious, along with my Brother and Sister in New Shinra; kidnapped us, and did what you could to force us to stay in your stupid house. What about all of this isnt bad? Answer me that, big brother.” Cloud sighed, then said “Look, I know you think I want your powers like Shinra, but I don’t. Just stop it and get back in the house. If you don’t, I have no choice but to punch you again like last time. How else was I supposed to get through to you when you act so stubborn like that?” I heard a man’s voice some ways away shout “Don’t you dare!” Loz and Kadaj stopped crying, and I also calmed down. Cloud turned around and cried out in shock “Wha… Sephiroth..?!” I saw Big Brother Sephiroth standing several ways ahead of us, angrily staring at Cloud. He began walking this way, carrying his masamune. Cloud mumbled “And I was supposed to avoid this… how am I supposed to…?!” Sephiroth warned “If you so much as take one step closer to my young siblings, I will kill you where you stand. How dare you target children who cant defend themselves against a big man like you!” Cloud protested “No, you have it all wrong… I wasn’t trying to kill them, I swear!” Sephiroth got into his fighting stance, and quickly slashed his sword at Cloud, barely missing his body. Cloud flinched but didn’t speak. Sephiroth said “I asked you a question, Cloud, and I expect a satisfactory answer. What are you doing with my family?” Cloud hesitated “I… I was just, you… it was an accident! They just happened to be here, and I…” Sephiroth sneered “Hmph… of course you would lie. Move.” To my surprise, Cloud obeyed, hurrying out of the way so Sephiroth could reach us. He lowered his sword and approached us, looking at each of us to make sure we werent hurt. He turned back to Cloud, who immediately ran away without a word. Sephiroth shouted “Hey, stop! I’m not done with you!” He sighed and shook his head before turning back to us “He can wait. I need to get you three out of here before anyone else shows up. I’m afraid my killing him will have to wait yet again…” Loz began crying and ran into Sephiroth, holding onto him “Big Brother..! I was so scared!” Kadaj also started crying and followed. I also felt sad and shook my head “What have I done..? This whole thing is my fault… Big Brother, I’m sorry—I should’ve..!” I felt tears fall from my face again. Sephiroth sighed “I’m just glad none of you are hurt. And Yazoo, while you did suggest what you’re thinking of, I don’t blame you for things going awry. Your heart was in the right place, and for that reason, I cant be angry with you, but… You really could have been killed. But I cant punish children who only wanted to help our Mother. That would be wrong of me. Let’s go back to that forest together. Everything will be ok.” I nodded and forced myself to calm down, and Kadaj and Loz let go of Sephiroth. He lead the way out of town, and the three of us kept close behind him. Loz asked “Where’s Mother? Is she ok too?” Sephiroth replied “She should be outside of the city waiting for us. She decided to stay behind for backup in case things got worse. But what has me confused is why Cloud ran away from me back there. Something is very suspicious about that.” I agreed “He did seem awfully shaky when you showed up… is he your worst enemy or something?” Sephiroth answered “Correct. In the past, it was always him who would go after me obsessively until he managed to find and kill me. I hated him, and he also hated me; we clashed numerous times. So why he escaped is simply unthinkable.” Kadaj suggested “He acted strange around us, too… and he was talking about stuff that didn’t make any sense. He said you were trying to destroy the world…” Sephiroth said “Don’t listen to him. He knows nothing.” I reassured him firmly “Don’t worry, we know that.” Sephiroth replied “Good. I expect no less of my siblings. But his cons aside, this is concerning. I need to investigate why he is avoiding me instead of challenging me as I remember. Why he would hold the three of you hostage and then take off when I show up is extremely vexing. I cannot understand any of it unless I find out for myself what he’s up to. And to think he hid you children in sector 7 as well… the same sector 7 that was obliterated when the plate dropped several years ago. How did they rebuild so quickly..?” I remembered New Shinra and said “You know what, New Shinra was also back not that long ago… almost as if their HQ was never destroyed. Sephiroth, what in the world is happening..?” Sephiroth paused, then suggested “Even I am uncertain, but if something is wrong with the lifestream, it may be connected to all of this. An even slightly unbalanced lifestream can cause unusual things to manifest… and so can horrifically powerful beasts.” I asked “Like that thing we saw in Shinra HQ you said was called Ultima Weapon?” Sephiroth nodded “Yes, but Ultima isnt strong enough to warp things like that. Loz, when you reached the lab in the upper levels of New Shinra, was the beast still inside the specimen tank?” Loz shook his head “No… the tank was completely destroyed. And the lab was also empty. Not a single person on that floor. Everything else was normal, though.” Sephiroth gasped “No..! Even they couldn’t possibly be so foolish…!” I asked “What’s wrong?” Sephiroth explained “Shinra has a long reputation and history of creating monsters and doing dangerous experiments on them and people. If they were performing experiments on Ultima, we might have a bigger threat at hand than Cloud.” I have to find out what they were planning to do with it.” Loz said “But if it wasn’t there, doesn’t that mean it escaped and they don’t have it anymore?” Sephiroth replied “It does, unless they moved it somewhere else. I have a bad feeling about this…”
To Be Continued…
