Chapter 5: Cat& Mouse
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) After the JENOVA SOLDIER meeting at Mother's Church, I was finally able to come home and see Tifa. She smiled when she saw me return, and happily said "Loz! I'm glad you're home! Is everything going ok in JENOVA SOLDIER?" I shrugged and replied "Well, everyone is ok, at least. We've got enemy profiles on the loose, though. I caught them in the gang territory, the Forgotten City, and just when I pinned them down they got away before I could stop them... I had them right there, but I still couldn't stop them." Tifa said "Another war on it's way, yes? Peace really doesn't last... but who could possibly be the problem this time? SAKUI is Mother's intergalactical defenses, Father was cured of Crimstigma and fighting stopped after that. What's going on, Brother?" I answered "Vincent and Rufus have both been exiled, and are preparing to revive Shinra Company. How they plan to do that, we don't know. But if they really can, we can't let them do it. If Shinra returns, it puts Mother's legacy under the gun all over again... I can't let them do it! And I won't!" Tifa took notice to the tears that fell from my face and said "Calm down, Loz. I know you're scared, but don't give in. Get up and fight like a man! I know you can do it!" I smiled and said "Thank you, Sister. I'll give it all I've got, I promise! Just like our new Queen always said... nothing is impossible when you don't give up. I finally am seeing how right she really was about that... I should be the same way. That settles it... I know what I'm gonna do next. For Mother, and for her legacy..." Tifa smiled and said "Loz..." I continued, with a steely attitude "I'll become JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class! Just like Big Brother! I'll prove my worth no matter what I face... just for you, Mother. I know it's what you would want, and I can't help you come back if i don't give my all..." Tifa gave me a friendly slap on the back and said "That's it! Do your best, sweetie. I know Mother's death left you sad and scared, but if you get up and fight like the man I know you can be, then you won't suffer or have to be sad." I added "Right, I'll make all of this right and keep her kingdom safe--" I was interrupted by SEPHIROVA contacting me "Loz, we've got trouble! I need you on duty pronto!" I listened, and asked "What's going on?" SEPHIROVA continued "Rufus and Vincent are targeting Sephiroth and plan to use him to revive Shinra Company. If he is tormented to a dangerous extreme and they manage to catch him, we're in big trouble. I need you to move out and slow them down!" I agreed "I'm on it, Sister! I won't let you down!" I turned back to Tifa and said "I'm sorry, Tifa. We have an emergency and I have to get back on duty!" I ran to leave the house, and Tifa cried "Loz, wait!" but I left home before she could finish. I got on my motorbike and slammed the gas, going off at full speed. I called Sister and asked "Where are the enemy profiles located? I can destroy their route and keep the gang ahead of them." SEPHIROVA "They're close to your location, but I can't seem to figure out where they plan to go... for all I know, they might be out looking for you. If you encounter them, I don't think they'll go without a fight." I groaned, and complained "What?! You don't even know where they're going? Are you kidding me? Not funny, Sister!" She sighed and said "I have a hunch they're after Sephiroth as we speak, and he's on the move as well. Just focus on distracting the enemy for now. I'll find a good place to set up some bait in the meantime." I agreed "Got it. Hopefully I actually kill them this time so we don't have to play tag again." I heard her giggle but she kept silent. I kept my attention on the road ahead, smiling and doing a wheelie since there was nothing to attack anyways. I slammed the gas even harder, and laughed. Out of nowhere, I saw Vincent Valentine swoop down right in front of me, and I quickly hit the brakes as hard as possible, turning to help slow down. Something knocked me off my motorbike before I could slow down much, and I yelled "Hey! What was that for?" I got up, and glanced around to see where he went. But strangely, there was no sign of him anywhere. I readied my dual hound and cried "What kind of game is this?! Get out here!" Fortunately, it was easy for me to survive a fall like that without any major damage since I was brutal overall. I turned my attention to a cloud of purple stuff just in front of me that looked like some kind of shadow. Confused, I lowered my weapon and said "Huh..? What does that mean..?" I studied the area around me, and cried "Curses! It was a fake!" I heard Vincent laugh and say "Figured it out, huh? Not bad." Then he swooped down from somewhere, and said "I guess you showed up after all. But you won't win so easily this time." I got into a fighting stance and said "Oh yeah? We'll see about that when it's game over!" Vincent sneered and said "You annoying kid... you never change, huh? We'll see how much you're laughing when I'm done with you." I added "Bring it on!" And we engaged in another head-on skirmish. His gun against my iron strength that defied even bullets. I even moved faster than he could; a lot faster. He fired relentlessly, and I deflected his shots as I speedily closed in on him, warping behind him to strike from behind. However, he caught me and we clashed. My strength outweighed his, sending him to the far other side. He grumbled and said "You menace..!" I speeded towards him, and said "Call me whatever you want. I fight for Mother's cause, and your insults don't mean a thing to me!" We began clashing again, and Vincent said "Hmph... speak for yourself." The fight seemed to go on forever. I purposefully kept going head on like this as a strategy. With one final blow, I sent him to the far other side once more. Only this time, he was on the ground gasping for breath. I laughed and bragged "See? Try to get me as much as you like, but I will keep going, and going, and going, and going and..." Vincent scowled, saying "You annoying kid.. ! Why do you always fight... thinking this is all a game?" I replied "It doesn't matter. We both know Mother always wins, and that's my point." I smiled, then warped behind him to deliver one final blow with my dual hound. This time he was too weak to recover, and took the hit. He winced in pain, and i saw he was hurt bad despite his efforts not to scream from the pain. He gagged on blood, and barely made out his words "Heh, you got me again, dumb kid... but it means... nothing..." He tried to cackle but gagged and couldn't. Once again, I saw shadows envelope him and tried to stop him, and cried "No! You're not getting away again!" I warped attempting to break his path, but even I was once again too late; he disappeared on me another time. I angrily said "Gah, curse it all! He got away again! I can't let him get Big Brother!" I groaned and continued "It's that special power of his... there's no beating it! There must be some way to block his path... but how?" I reached SEPHIROVA and explained "Sister, I weakened Vincent again, but he got away. He used this dark power to make an emergency exit both times now... once when I fought him and Rufus, and this time he did it again. I can't keep letting him escape like this or we'll never finish them!" SEPHIROVA added "So that's how the enemy escaped... it's Vincent's special power that did it. I should've known..." I asked "How am I supposed to keep it from working? If we don't find a way to block him, we'll never get them!" SEPHIROVA explained "That ability you described is Vincent's power to breach various dimensions in order to travel over great distances quickly. This is why it got the enemy on the far side of the kingdom so easily. The only way to keep it from working is by intervening his path with the very same power he uses. In simpler words, Loz, you need to cut through his path to shatter it which would require the same ability as his. Otherwise, he can freely escape no matter what you do." I asked "Does anyone in JENOVA SOLDIER have the same power?" She giggled and answered "I can do it, and Sephiroth can too. However, we're the only ones powerful enough to do it besides Father JENBU." I added "Wait, but the Divine Materia Mother left me and Yazoo with... what about that?" Sister replied "Unfortunately, the powers that materia holds are only good when Mother is in physical form. The Divine Materia reacts to Mother's power and her physical presence, which makes its powers inactive until she comes again on Reunion Day--even with it already infused in the both of you." I added "So that's why it wasn't working..." SEPHIROVA said "Correct. I'm afraid we can't rely on those this time, Brother. Any sign of Rufus?" I shook my head and answered "No... I found Vincent, but Rufus doesn't seem to be anywhere." SEPHIROVA panicked "Oh no... they tricked my radar!" I cried "What? Impossible!" Sister added "I'm afraid it's true, Loz. I thought both of them were near you, but as you can see only one of them showed... I have a bad feeling about this!" I said "If Vincent even tricked your system, this is really bad... But I'll find the real ones, Sister! Just tell me what to do!" Sister asked "Are you sure you dont need backup? This might be a trap for us. More than likely, they're setting up false flags. If Vincent's power even goes as far as this, we might be in big trouble already." I replied "I'll be fine! Just lead me along to wherever you get enemy coordinates and I'll do the rest." SEPHIROVA said "Thank you, Loz. Your bravery is admirable. But I'll warn the rest of JENOVA SOLDIER about this for Sephiroth's protection." I agreed "No problem. I've got this, Sister." Then I went to my motorbike and got back on it, driving full speed through the kingdom. I smiled, and cried "Vrooom!" I heard Mother laugh, and felt her happiness envelope me completely. Mother's voice said "Loz, you silly boy... I love you, son." I calmed down, and tears fell from my eyes. I said "Mother... I'll help you come back, and I'll become JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class... I-I promise..!"
To be Continued...
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) After the JENOVA SOLDIER meeting at Mother's Church, I was finally able to come home and see Tifa. She smiled when she saw me return, and happily said "Loz! I'm glad you're home! Is everything going ok in JENOVA SOLDIER?" I shrugged and replied "Well, everyone is ok, at least. We've got enemy profiles on the loose, though. I caught them in the gang territory, the Forgotten City, and just when I pinned them down they got away before I could stop them... I had them right there, but I still couldn't stop them." Tifa said "Another war on it's way, yes? Peace really doesn't last... but who could possibly be the problem this time? SAKUI is Mother's intergalactical defenses, Father was cured of Crimstigma and fighting stopped after that. What's going on, Brother?" I answered "Vincent and Rufus have both been exiled, and are preparing to revive Shinra Company. How they plan to do that, we don't know. But if they really can, we can't let them do it. If Shinra returns, it puts Mother's legacy under the gun all over again... I can't let them do it! And I won't!" Tifa took notice to the tears that fell from my face and said "Calm down, Loz. I know you're scared, but don't give in. Get up and fight like a man! I know you can do it!" I smiled and said "Thank you, Sister. I'll give it all I've got, I promise! Just like our new Queen always said... nothing is impossible when you don't give up. I finally am seeing how right she really was about that... I should be the same way. That settles it... I know what I'm gonna do next. For Mother, and for her legacy..." Tifa smiled and said "Loz..." I continued, with a steely attitude "I'll become JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class! Just like Big Brother! I'll prove my worth no matter what I face... just for you, Mother. I know it's what you would want, and I can't help you come back if i don't give my all..." Tifa gave me a friendly slap on the back and said "That's it! Do your best, sweetie. I know Mother's death left you sad and scared, but if you get up and fight like the man I know you can be, then you won't suffer or have to be sad." I added "Right, I'll make all of this right and keep her kingdom safe--" I was interrupted by SEPHIROVA contacting me "Loz, we've got trouble! I need you on duty pronto!" I listened, and asked "What's going on?" SEPHIROVA continued "Rufus and Vincent are targeting Sephiroth and plan to use him to revive Shinra Company. If he is tormented to a dangerous extreme and they manage to catch him, we're in big trouble. I need you to move out and slow them down!" I agreed "I'm on it, Sister! I won't let you down!" I turned back to Tifa and said "I'm sorry, Tifa. We have an emergency and I have to get back on duty!" I ran to leave the house, and Tifa cried "Loz, wait!" but I left home before she could finish. I got on my motorbike and slammed the gas, going off at full speed. I called Sister and asked "Where are the enemy profiles located? I can destroy their route and keep the gang ahead of them." SEPHIROVA "They're close to your location, but I can't seem to figure out where they plan to go... for all I know, they might be out looking for you. If you encounter them, I don't think they'll go without a fight." I groaned, and complained "What?! You don't even know where they're going? Are you kidding me? Not funny, Sister!" She sighed and said "I have a hunch they're after Sephiroth as we speak, and he's on the move as well. Just focus on distracting the enemy for now. I'll find a good place to set up some bait in the meantime." I agreed "Got it. Hopefully I actually kill them this time so we don't have to play tag again." I heard her giggle but she kept silent. I kept my attention on the road ahead, smiling and doing a wheelie since there was nothing to attack anyways. I slammed the gas even harder, and laughed. Out of nowhere, I saw Vincent Valentine swoop down right in front of me, and I quickly hit the brakes as hard as possible, turning to help slow down. Something knocked me off my motorbike before I could slow down much, and I yelled "Hey! What was that for?" I got up, and glanced around to see where he went. But strangely, there was no sign of him anywhere. I readied my dual hound and cried "What kind of game is this?! Get out here!" Fortunately, it was easy for me to survive a fall like that without any major damage since I was brutal overall. I turned my attention to a cloud of purple stuff just in front of me that looked like some kind of shadow. Confused, I lowered my weapon and said "Huh..? What does that mean..?" I studied the area around me, and cried "Curses! It was a fake!" I heard Vincent laugh and say "Figured it out, huh? Not bad." Then he swooped down from somewhere, and said "I guess you showed up after all. But you won't win so easily this time." I got into a fighting stance and said "Oh yeah? We'll see about that when it's game over!" Vincent sneered and said "You annoying kid... you never change, huh? We'll see how much you're laughing when I'm done with you." I added "Bring it on!" And we engaged in another head-on skirmish. His gun against my iron strength that defied even bullets. I even moved faster than he could; a lot faster. He fired relentlessly, and I deflected his shots as I speedily closed in on him, warping behind him to strike from behind. However, he caught me and we clashed. My strength outweighed his, sending him to the far other side. He grumbled and said "You menace..!" I speeded towards him, and said "Call me whatever you want. I fight for Mother's cause, and your insults don't mean a thing to me!" We began clashing again, and Vincent said "Hmph... speak for yourself." The fight seemed to go on forever. I purposefully kept going head on like this as a strategy. With one final blow, I sent him to the far other side once more. Only this time, he was on the ground gasping for breath. I laughed and bragged "See? Try to get me as much as you like, but I will keep going, and going, and going, and going and..." Vincent scowled, saying "You annoying kid.. ! Why do you always fight... thinking this is all a game?" I replied "It doesn't matter. We both know Mother always wins, and that's my point." I smiled, then warped behind him to deliver one final blow with my dual hound. This time he was too weak to recover, and took the hit. He winced in pain, and i saw he was hurt bad despite his efforts not to scream from the pain. He gagged on blood, and barely made out his words "Heh, you got me again, dumb kid... but it means... nothing..." He tried to cackle but gagged and couldn't. Once again, I saw shadows envelope him and tried to stop him, and cried "No! You're not getting away again!" I warped attempting to break his path, but even I was once again too late; he disappeared on me another time. I angrily said "Gah, curse it all! He got away again! I can't let him get Big Brother!" I groaned and continued "It's that special power of his... there's no beating it! There must be some way to block his path... but how?" I reached SEPHIROVA and explained "Sister, I weakened Vincent again, but he got away. He used this dark power to make an emergency exit both times now... once when I fought him and Rufus, and this time he did it again. I can't keep letting him escape like this or we'll never finish them!" SEPHIROVA added "So that's how the enemy escaped... it's Vincent's special power that did it. I should've known..." I asked "How am I supposed to keep it from working? If we don't find a way to block him, we'll never get them!" SEPHIROVA explained "That ability you described is Vincent's power to breach various dimensions in order to travel over great distances quickly. This is why it got the enemy on the far side of the kingdom so easily. The only way to keep it from working is by intervening his path with the very same power he uses. In simpler words, Loz, you need to cut through his path to shatter it which would require the same ability as his. Otherwise, he can freely escape no matter what you do." I asked "Does anyone in JENOVA SOLDIER have the same power?" She giggled and answered "I can do it, and Sephiroth can too. However, we're the only ones powerful enough to do it besides Father JENBU." I added "Wait, but the Divine Materia Mother left me and Yazoo with... what about that?" Sister replied "Unfortunately, the powers that materia holds are only good when Mother is in physical form. The Divine Materia reacts to Mother's power and her physical presence, which makes its powers inactive until she comes again on Reunion Day--even with it already infused in the both of you." I added "So that's why it wasn't working..." SEPHIROVA said "Correct. I'm afraid we can't rely on those this time, Brother. Any sign of Rufus?" I shook my head and answered "No... I found Vincent, but Rufus doesn't seem to be anywhere." SEPHIROVA panicked "Oh no... they tricked my radar!" I cried "What? Impossible!" Sister added "I'm afraid it's true, Loz. I thought both of them were near you, but as you can see only one of them showed... I have a bad feeling about this!" I said "If Vincent even tricked your system, this is really bad... But I'll find the real ones, Sister! Just tell me what to do!" Sister asked "Are you sure you dont need backup? This might be a trap for us. More than likely, they're setting up false flags. If Vincent's power even goes as far as this, we might be in big trouble already." I replied "I'll be fine! Just lead me along to wherever you get enemy coordinates and I'll do the rest." SEPHIROVA said "Thank you, Loz. Your bravery is admirable. But I'll warn the rest of JENOVA SOLDIER about this for Sephiroth's protection." I agreed "No problem. I've got this, Sister." Then I went to my motorbike and got back on it, driving full speed through the kingdom. I smiled, and cried "Vrooom!" I heard Mother laugh, and felt her happiness envelope me completely. Mother's voice said "Loz, you silly boy... I love you, son." I calmed down, and tears fell from my eyes. I said "Mother... I'll help you come back, and I'll become JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class... I-I promise..!"
To be Continued...
