Dec 12, 2009 11:15
For the second time, Rika found herself waking with a start. She blinked at the grey light streaming through the windows, and looked across the room. Anise was still asleep. So. I'm still here. Let me just check...Rika put on her slippers and walked over to the desk, checking the drawer and breathing a light sigh of relief. Good, the knife was
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rika,
raine,
kirk,
s.t.,
meche,
tenzen,
tsubaki,
xigbar,
yuna,
anise,
kamiya kaoru,
leonard,
teisel,
beelzemon,
sam winchester,
indiana jones,
forte,
utena,
allen,
naminé,
asch,
luke fon fabre,
euphemia,
taura,
hayes,
luxord,
lunge,
shinichi,
ruby,
raphael,
prowl,
mello,
brainiac 5,
ange,
the flash,
roxas,
albedo,
anthy,
usopp,
remy,
tsukasa,
heiji,
mele,
yuffie,
ritsuka,
the scarecrow,
ayumu,
lockdown,
tyki,
kratos,
zack,
yukari yakumo,
l,
haseo,
shinji,
kakashi,
sechs,
tony stark,
ronixis,
endrance,
kenshin,
asuka,
haine,
bella,
scott pilgrim,
dias,
kaito,
dahlia,
ritsu,
hanatarou,
sora,
jason,
leon (so2),
lockon (neil),
renamon,
keman,
hokuto,
dist,
roland,
joshua,
cissnei,
dean winchester,
tim drake,
sho,
argilla,
hanekoma,
guy,
alfred,
emmett,
heat,
kvothe,
venom,
nigredo,
kibitoshin,
allelujah,
souji seta,
sam,
kuhn,
lelouch,
jun,
ratchet,
yomi,
cloud,
sai,
aerith,
rolo,
aidou,
edward cullen,
mccoy,
scar (tlk),
hime,
loz
She sat bolt upright, fingers probing at the aches, her breath shuddering. Right shoulder, right arm, sternum, throat, cheek. Nothing terrible; the last one the list was patched up with a big ol' band-aid, and a few cursory pokes told her that it hadn't been stitched. But her throat…!
It didn't even occur to her, not until she was sitting slumped in a chair in the cafeteria with a plate of waffles and a cup of OJ in front of her, that she felt like herself again. Everything she had was focused on the horror-show from last night. Stupidity, desperation, hopeless-helpless; everything she hated and everything she tried to avoid. The scene didn't even have the courtesy to be a blur! It ran through her mind in hi-def, from the first meeting with 'Blake', right through to Cloud's voice registering, dim and angry, on the edge of her consciousness.
Cloud"Oh, man," she breathed, her voice a bruised rasp. Groaning, the girl-and ninja once again-buried her face in her palms. The aches ( ... )
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Cloud hadn't been happy to wake up back in his bed, and he'd questioned his nurse angrily only to be told that Hannah was fine and he'd see her at breakfast. He didn't understand it (What had knocked them out?) but catching sight of the girl sitting alone had assuaged some of his fears. While the nurse had insisted he fill his tray before going to sit with her, he'd made his way over as soon as possible.
She was injured. It wasn't bad, but it still caused a pang of anger in Cloud's gut to know she could have been killed if they'd arrived any later than they had. He couldn't really blame Kenshin for wanting to grab allies, but that didn't make the situation any better.
"Or are you going to call a nurse to shoo me away again?"
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At the sound of Cloud's-Cloud's; it was so jarring to think that he was back-voice nearby, Yuffie peeked through her fingers, but avoided meeting his eyes. "I'd tell you to sit your ass down and drink your goddamn tea, but that's not my line. And you don't have any tea." Yuffie kept her voice low and quiet, kept her breathing perfectly even. It wasn't too painful, that way. "Was that you last night?"
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"It was. Me and that red-headed friend of yours, Kenshin. And his girlfriend." He frowned, not liking the missing piece of memory between then and now. "What happened after we showed up? It's like I blacked out." There hadn't even been any impact to the back of his skull, or any disorientation this morning that would indicate he'd been knocked out by force. He'd just... woken up. As if the night before had all been some sort of incredibly lucid dream.
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She let her elbows hit the table, resting her weight on them. "Thought I heard him, too. Kinda fuzzy," she replied, still quietly. "And that - it, um, it happens every night. No matter what you're doing and where you're doing it; you can be an hour's drive outta town and they'll still drag you back." A dark little snicker escaped her. "Lucky it happened, this time."
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There was always a means of escape. It was just a matter of finding it.
"I was told you've been here for maybe two weeks or more." He didn't know how he could have helped her sooner, given the manner of his own arrival, but that didn't make him feel any better. "I'm sorry I couldn't be around for you before now." Even if 'being around' meant he was just as trapped as she was.
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And that wasn't all, was it? Cloud had a lot to catch up on; more than Yuffie really had it in herself to explain. "Makes Hojo look like a paragon of angelical virtue, actually. And - not that I'm…. er, y'know. Not glad to see you. Alliance or not, being surrounded by Turks isn't my idea of a picnic." She'd missed AVALANCHE, more than she could ever-or would ever-be able to admit.
For the first time during the conversation, Yuffie turned in her seat to look at him. To actually, really look, almost ( ... )
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She wanted to believe him so hard that it almost hurt. In some ways, it was worse than that day three years ago, when she'd fell into step with AVALANCHE and followed him down into the crater. Knowing damn well what was waiting for them down in the depths, and that there was only a chance and a wish that all of them would make it out alive again by the end. Optimism alone could only take you so far; it was faith that'd taken her there.
Cloud was Cloud; he might be a little different, but he was still her friend and the leader of AVALANCHE. Somebody to trust and respect, in her own style and fashion. Somebody she needed, no matter how her mind shied from the thought. After all this time without her old comrades, it was… Somehow, she needed to find that old strength and faith again. Teams were like families; hard work, but more precious than anything. Well. Almost anything, when there actually was a Wutai around to weigh them against ( ... )
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But now for the hard part. "...Such as what Rude meant when he spoke of a 'time issue.'" Meaning basically 'why do you look older than sixteen?' but that went without saying. If she really knew the answer, as her own response to him saying when he'd come from would suggest, then he wouldn't need to say anything more. He was going to have to be willing to accept the impossible, it seemed. That they'd been dragged here in the first place was impossible enough, yet here they were. "Just tell me whatever you need. I'm willing to listen."
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That was just fine with Yuffie. She stayed right where she was, waffles untouched, and her muscles stiff with a tension that'd been with her for days. "Yeah, there is that one. You might've noticed already, but I look older than you remember. Say, like, by a couple of years? Try three. When these guys got me, it was 0010. Reno said he's from 0009, and…" She shook her head, just a little, with a disgruntled little snort. "I dunno. I don't know how they do it, but they snatch people from time and space. Cloud, most of the people here have never heard of Gaia. No Wutai, no Midgar, or Junon. No airships, Shinra, materia, or AVALANCHE.
"It's usually better not to think 'bout it too hard, 'cuz I know I can't explain it. And you learn to expect weird stuff, like, say, seeing people who should be dead." Yeah, that was another kicker. This place was one gigantinormous huge kicker all on its own, really. "It gets weirder, too," she added, making up her mind. "Sometimes, people disappear. They get killed, or ( ... )
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The blond tried not to let his bafflement and disbelief show in his face, because that wasn't what she needed right then. She needed him to be there for her - to be able to help her through this mess. And it was definitely a mess. A mess beyond messes, if any of this was to be believed. Rude believed it, or he was playing along. Reno too, apparently.
But that there would be people from other worlds, other planets outside their own... It wasn't totally unbelievable, he supposed. Cid would have wanted to be able to travel there himself. They all seemed human, though - not like Jenova, the so-called Calamity from the Skies. But then, Jenova had taken on the ( ... )
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Yuffie trailed off, one leg swinging loosely under the table. He wasn't taking it badly, all things considered; he didn't believe her, but that wasn't what really mattered. He was making an effort, and he'd get it eventually. "Talk to Kenshin again, sometime. He's one of the ones from that Earth place, and he's a good guy." High praise, coming from the ninja.
"Anyway, that's only the start of it." She cocked her head slightly. "We're cool on the whole 'infested with monsters' thing, but there's a few to watch out for. Like that-that thing from last night; they pretend to be loved ones 'til they've got you, and then they chow down. I'll give you my list tonight, or something.
"The stuff that can really get you is the mindfucks. They do, um, psychological torture, like making you relive somebody's death like it was your own, scientific experiments, and brainwashing. They call that one Special Counselling. You get your stuff back, you get needled and drilled, and then you're sic'd on the ( ... )
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The hand on her shoulder squeezed. He wasn't going to ask about it. She didn't need the matter dragged back up into the light. He willed the anger down as well. It would end up being directed at the wrong people. The nurses would just be pawns. "I said I would listen, but if you'd rather not talk about it, you don't have to."
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This Cloud, he really was… All of a sudden, the little ninja laughed, a soft little snicker to spare her throat. The damage wasn't too bad, but breathing too deep sent sharp pinpricks through her nerves, and it made her chest ache where she'd been punched. Last time she'd seen him, really seen him, he'd been so dour and dreary and emo. Almost like every day and every word was an excuse to kick himself silly on the inside. It'd been like guilt had parked itself on top of him, wriggled its way into every nook and cranny, until he was diluted with it.
Now, this, this was Cloud. This was the Cloud she'd robbed blind in all those forests. This was the Cloud who'd chased her through Wutai and waved aside her life-history to demand his materia back. This was the Cloud who'd she'd seen fit to follow all that way, and if anybody could help her tear this place to its component atoms, it was him ( ... )
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"Any questions, huh?" Where do they keep the weapons? might have been one, followed by What part of the building do you think would burn the fastest? But he knew it wasn't as simple as that or Yuffie would have been long gone. Perhaps there was one... "Your friend last night - he was dressed differently. I don't know if you saw. He was also armed. The clothes aren't so much an issue, but I know I'm not the only one without a weapon that could use one." Him, his roommate, and there had to be others like them. Kenshin's 'friend,' who he'd ( ... )
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