Previously....
After confronting JENBU and attempting Reverse Reunion on him, JENOVA and the rest of her guard focused on what appeared to be the final battle. Having broken free and resisted Reverse Reunion, JENBU was not intending to go down without a fight. Determined to stop the madness once and for all, Loz focused on giving his all to protect JENOVA and his brothers and sisters who were by his side to save JENOVA's legacy and her kingdom.
Chapter 21: Sudden Death
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) I stood gasping for breath, my steely gaze locked on the traitor who stood before us. I could hardly believe this man was our father. He certainly didn't act like a dad towards us. He was staring at all of us with an evil grin on his face. I felt frustration build up inside of me. JENBU laughed and began "Did you fools really think defeating me would be that easy?" Mother firmly replied "Don't call my children fools, JENBU. They're smarter than you think they are!" He cackled, then asked "Why not show me that?" I groaned angrily, unable to control my frustration any further and shouted "You shut up, you big fake! Don't talk to Mother like that!" He laughed some more, then said "Always backing her up, aren't you, Loz?" I answered "And why shouldn't I? She deserves the throne more than an imposter like you could ever hope to!" Tifa grabbed my arm attempting to hold me back, but i pulled away from her. JENBU flashed another evil grin but kept silent. I paused in silence, then started "Is this even your real form? You can't possibly be Mother's look-alike!" Suddenly, his eye widened and he gazed at me in both shock and frustration. Unable to believe what i said, he panicked "What..?! How did you...?!!" Mother laughed and said "Loz may seem a bit childish at times, but he saw right through you. You can't call my children stupid now, can you?" Now JENBU was building a lot of rage: he was screaming in frustration and the a powerful tremor started. I also saw a thick cloud of darkness envelope his entire being which completely obscured his appearance. Mother gasped, then shifted her lifestream to guard us from harm. After what seemed like forever, the ground stopped shaking and i opened my eyes to see JENBU's true form: he had two shiny blue eyes and what seemed like a sapphire in the middle of his forehead. His hair was as long as Sephiroth's, but his entire being itself seemed like a complete shadow. He was growling, and I saw fangs in his mouth followed by thick saliva that seemed thick enough it was more like glue. Oddly enough, he still had his katana and both wings he had before. I suddenly realized JENBU entered Feral Form in reaction to extreme rage: just like Big Brother did during the fight against Perfect WEAPON. Yazoo began "That's his Feral Form, isn't it, Mother?" Mother nodded and said "Correct, my son." Yazoo continued "When Big Brother lost control at the JENOVA Stratos Tower, he was unconscious after capturing WEAPON.... does that mean JENBU is at the same risk or worse if he stays like this too long?" Mother paused, then answered "Its very likely. However, since JENBU himself is a strong progenitor of my cells like me, it will take much longer to stall him enough for that to happen. Regardless, I like your idea, Yazoo." I added "So thats it? We just hold out until he exhausts?" Mother turned around to face me and smiled. I knew what that meant. She answered "It might be the best way to weaken him since he grew enraged enough for this to happen. However, since he is a progenitor of our cells like me, Reunion is significantly faster for him... if we dont act quickly enough to seal him with Reverse Reunion, we'll have to start the fight from square one." Sephiroth stepped forward and asked "How much faster is that?" Mother paused and i saw a tear fall from her eye. She answered "With my lifestream just above us, we won't have much more than 10 minutes to erase him... I could lock him in sleep, but that doesn't change his high recovery." Yazoo sighed and added "Anyone have a better idea? Reverse Reunion seems impossible against him." Suddenly, WEAPON flew in front of us and said "You idiots! Dont you remember everything that's happened up until now?!! There's more than one way to seal him!" Little Sister sighed and said "WEAPON, this isn't a good time to give the family your attitude! We have to respect each other!" I added "I'd never talk like that! Who do you think you are?!" Tifa punched me and i cried "Ow! What was that for?" She answered "Just listen to him. Don't start a useless agreement." I knew she was right and kept silent. WEAPON began "If we can't take him down with JENOVA's powers and our own, then SAKUI may have what we need to keep JENBU from recovering." I gasped and said "Wait.... what are you talking about?" WEAPON continued "Yazoo, do you remember those things he implanted in Kadaj and your son?" Yazoo answered "How could i forget it? Those things are nasty." WEAPON went on "Recall the research Rufus reported to you on those." Yazoo seemed to stop in silence, then suddenly stammered "Wait... are you saying we should have SAKUI surprise him and use those on him?" Yazoo's eyes were widened a bit. WEAPON laughed and answered "Bingo! How could you forget the simplest of solutions?" Sephieroth stepped forward and began "Your idea is genuine, WEAPON. But if JENBU is afflicted with those, he will be unthinkably violent towards all of us. More than he already is!" Mother added "You're right, my Young Hero. However, we may have no choice but to accept WEAPON's idea. Those devices block the function of my cells completely which would hinder or even prevent him from recovering at all. It is dangerous, but its the best bet we have if we hope to activate Reverse Reunion and successfully seal him in my lifestream forever. His Reunion potential is too strong for us to get a decent opportunity here. The only alternative is to get those stuck in him so he cant regenerate." I sighed and yelled "Have you lost your mind?! What if we get infected from those?!" Tifa punched me again and firmly said "Stop it, Loz. I know you're better than that at a time like this. Don't ruin this for us." I suddenly felt the strangest emotion sweep over me and gazed in silence at Tifa who stared at me angrily. I tried to shake it away but it was impossible. Trying to forget about it, i turned back to Mother and said "How can we reach him, though? You can only communicate telepathically with your family..." Mother approached me with a smile and answered "That may be so, but i can tie my cells to anyone i seek out regardless of such. Do you remember how i used our traitor Cloud as a puppet?" Without speaking further, i smiled at Mother and kept my gaze on her. Mother gently placed two fingers on my forehead and softly said "Make her smile, Loz. Don't disappoint, my son." After letting go, Mother turned around silently and walked some ways ahead of me. She seemed to be trying to locate SAKUI, but suddenly said "They're already here." Sephieroth added "What? Who is--" She didn't finish her sentence. Out of nowhere, I saw Brother Sulbio ambush JENBU with a strong jab from his sword. Sulbio was laughing as he struck him hard. Then, on the other side, SAKUI appeared out of nowhere from a shadowy wormhole. Sulbio used his sword and high physical strength to keep JENBU pinned down, and SAKUI revealed a collar with a red jewel that seemed to penetrate both sides. Before long, he forced the device on JENBU with ease; JENBU screamed in pain before effortlessly shoving both Sulbio and SAKUI off himself and flying in place, roaring a violent, vicious cry like he was some kind of monster. Sephiroth warned "Watch out, everyone: here he comes!" His blue eyes were now red and the sapphire in his forehead also turned blood-red. I suddenly realized whatever SAKUI put on him purely contained the virus that was ailing Brother Vincent and causing him to lash out. I knew that virus was of SAKUI and very dangerous, but this time it was to our advantage. I suddenly forced my fears aside and said "We can do this, Tifa." She got into her fighting stance and giggled. Sephieroth shouted "Things are about to get hectic!" I knew that was loud and clear.
To be continued...
After confronting JENBU and attempting Reverse Reunion on him, JENOVA and the rest of her guard focused on what appeared to be the final battle. Having broken free and resisted Reverse Reunion, JENBU was not intending to go down without a fight. Determined to stop the madness once and for all, Loz focused on giving his all to protect JENOVA and his brothers and sisters who were by his side to save JENOVA's legacy and her kingdom.
Chapter 21: Sudden Death
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) I stood gasping for breath, my steely gaze locked on the traitor who stood before us. I could hardly believe this man was our father. He certainly didn't act like a dad towards us. He was staring at all of us with an evil grin on his face. I felt frustration build up inside of me. JENBU laughed and began "Did you fools really think defeating me would be that easy?" Mother firmly replied "Don't call my children fools, JENBU. They're smarter than you think they are!" He cackled, then asked "Why not show me that?" I groaned angrily, unable to control my frustration any further and shouted "You shut up, you big fake! Don't talk to Mother like that!" He laughed some more, then said "Always backing her up, aren't you, Loz?" I answered "And why shouldn't I? She deserves the throne more than an imposter like you could ever hope to!" Tifa grabbed my arm attempting to hold me back, but i pulled away from her. JENBU flashed another evil grin but kept silent. I paused in silence, then started "Is this even your real form? You can't possibly be Mother's look-alike!" Suddenly, his eye widened and he gazed at me in both shock and frustration. Unable to believe what i said, he panicked "What..?! How did you...?!!" Mother laughed and said "Loz may seem a bit childish at times, but he saw right through you. You can't call my children stupid now, can you?" Now JENBU was building a lot of rage: he was screaming in frustration and the a powerful tremor started. I also saw a thick cloud of darkness envelope his entire being which completely obscured his appearance. Mother gasped, then shifted her lifestream to guard us from harm. After what seemed like forever, the ground stopped shaking and i opened my eyes to see JENBU's true form: he had two shiny blue eyes and what seemed like a sapphire in the middle of his forehead. His hair was as long as Sephiroth's, but his entire being itself seemed like a complete shadow. He was growling, and I saw fangs in his mouth followed by thick saliva that seemed thick enough it was more like glue. Oddly enough, he still had his katana and both wings he had before. I suddenly realized JENBU entered Feral Form in reaction to extreme rage: just like Big Brother did during the fight against Perfect WEAPON. Yazoo began "That's his Feral Form, isn't it, Mother?" Mother nodded and said "Correct, my son." Yazoo continued "When Big Brother lost control at the JENOVA Stratos Tower, he was unconscious after capturing WEAPON.... does that mean JENBU is at the same risk or worse if he stays like this too long?" Mother paused, then answered "Its very likely. However, since JENBU himself is a strong progenitor of my cells like me, it will take much longer to stall him enough for that to happen. Regardless, I like your idea, Yazoo." I added "So thats it? We just hold out until he exhausts?" Mother turned around to face me and smiled. I knew what that meant. She answered "It might be the best way to weaken him since he grew enraged enough for this to happen. However, since he is a progenitor of our cells like me, Reunion is significantly faster for him... if we dont act quickly enough to seal him with Reverse Reunion, we'll have to start the fight from square one." Sephiroth stepped forward and asked "How much faster is that?" Mother paused and i saw a tear fall from her eye. She answered "With my lifestream just above us, we won't have much more than 10 minutes to erase him... I could lock him in sleep, but that doesn't change his high recovery." Yazoo sighed and added "Anyone have a better idea? Reverse Reunion seems impossible against him." Suddenly, WEAPON flew in front of us and said "You idiots! Dont you remember everything that's happened up until now?!! There's more than one way to seal him!" Little Sister sighed and said "WEAPON, this isn't a good time to give the family your attitude! We have to respect each other!" I added "I'd never talk like that! Who do you think you are?!" Tifa punched me and i cried "Ow! What was that for?" She answered "Just listen to him. Don't start a useless agreement." I knew she was right and kept silent. WEAPON began "If we can't take him down with JENOVA's powers and our own, then SAKUI may have what we need to keep JENBU from recovering." I gasped and said "Wait.... what are you talking about?" WEAPON continued "Yazoo, do you remember those things he implanted in Kadaj and your son?" Yazoo answered "How could i forget it? Those things are nasty." WEAPON went on "Recall the research Rufus reported to you on those." Yazoo seemed to stop in silence, then suddenly stammered "Wait... are you saying we should have SAKUI surprise him and use those on him?" Yazoo's eyes were widened a bit. WEAPON laughed and answered "Bingo! How could you forget the simplest of solutions?" Sephieroth stepped forward and began "Your idea is genuine, WEAPON. But if JENBU is afflicted with those, he will be unthinkably violent towards all of us. More than he already is!" Mother added "You're right, my Young Hero. However, we may have no choice but to accept WEAPON's idea. Those devices block the function of my cells completely which would hinder or even prevent him from recovering at all. It is dangerous, but its the best bet we have if we hope to activate Reverse Reunion and successfully seal him in my lifestream forever. His Reunion potential is too strong for us to get a decent opportunity here. The only alternative is to get those stuck in him so he cant regenerate." I sighed and yelled "Have you lost your mind?! What if we get infected from those?!" Tifa punched me again and firmly said "Stop it, Loz. I know you're better than that at a time like this. Don't ruin this for us." I suddenly felt the strangest emotion sweep over me and gazed in silence at Tifa who stared at me angrily. I tried to shake it away but it was impossible. Trying to forget about it, i turned back to Mother and said "How can we reach him, though? You can only communicate telepathically with your family..." Mother approached me with a smile and answered "That may be so, but i can tie my cells to anyone i seek out regardless of such. Do you remember how i used our traitor Cloud as a puppet?" Without speaking further, i smiled at Mother and kept my gaze on her. Mother gently placed two fingers on my forehead and softly said "Make her smile, Loz. Don't disappoint, my son." After letting go, Mother turned around silently and walked some ways ahead of me. She seemed to be trying to locate SAKUI, but suddenly said "They're already here." Sephieroth added "What? Who is--" She didn't finish her sentence. Out of nowhere, I saw Brother Sulbio ambush JENBU with a strong jab from his sword. Sulbio was laughing as he struck him hard. Then, on the other side, SAKUI appeared out of nowhere from a shadowy wormhole. Sulbio used his sword and high physical strength to keep JENBU pinned down, and SAKUI revealed a collar with a red jewel that seemed to penetrate both sides. Before long, he forced the device on JENBU with ease; JENBU screamed in pain before effortlessly shoving both Sulbio and SAKUI off himself and flying in place, roaring a violent, vicious cry like he was some kind of monster. Sephiroth warned "Watch out, everyone: here he comes!" His blue eyes were now red and the sapphire in his forehead also turned blood-red. I suddenly realized whatever SAKUI put on him purely contained the virus that was ailing Brother Vincent and causing him to lash out. I knew that virus was of SAKUI and very dangerous, but this time it was to our advantage. I suddenly forced my fears aside and said "We can do this, Tifa." She got into her fighting stance and giggled. Sephieroth shouted "Things are about to get hectic!" I knew that was loud and clear.
To be continued...
