Crossed Fates

Chapter fifteen: Old friend, Old enemy.



Yawning softly, Karly opened her eyes. Squall's form was still curled tight against hers, in one ungloved hand he gripped the loose material of the hem of her shirt so tightly the knuckles were white. His eyes were squeezed shut and he shivered violently. Again his dreams were haunting him. "Peace. Sleep in peace Squall." She whispered as she stroked his head. His grip relaxed slightly and his body stopped shaking. He lay less heavily on her and sighed before slipping into a less troubled slumber.

She lay like that for an hour or so, finally he stirred and sat up. He looked back to her and whispered, "did I dream that?"

"No..."

"Okay." He paused. "Should we carry on with on with the search?"

"You're going to let it go as easy as that?"

"You explained it last night, didn't you? What was it?"

"Comfort."

"Whatever. Let's get going."


"We've searched twenty floors, battled god knows how many monsters and there's still no sign of him. Where the hell is he?" Zell moaned.

"I dunno." Cloud answered slightly weary of Zell's constant questions which usually consisted of 'When will you ask Tifa out?' or 'Do you swear you'll ask her?'

Zell stopped in his tracks as he heard a scuffling noise. He swung around, already in a fighting stance. "Did you..?"

"I heard it Zell."

Zell told Bahmut to get ready in his head, just incase.

A rusty squealing sound pierced the air like a gunblade. Something, the whatever it was that was making he noise rounded a corner and approaced. Then, before them a parody of tiny figure that Zell had seen in a videogame. It was a small black and white cat whose imitation fur was missing in some places and peeling away in others. The bare metal had turned red with the oxidation (rusting people) of the metal. Loose flakes fell away from it dropped to the floor like dried blood.

"Cait?" Cloud whispered. "Cait is that you?"

"Brzph." Was Cait's response. It lifted it's head and stared at Cloud with one eye. "Bzprhp arghfaf tardlie."

Zell stepped back as it stepped toward them.

Finally Cait Sith found his real voice, although it was a poor tinny representative of what had been. "Reeve says you've been naughty. Bye bye."

"And what does it mean by that?"

Cloud shrugged in response.

Cait lifted a detonater plunger, like in the saturday morning cartoons that Zell watched in the Garden with younger students or Cloud had used to enjoy alongside Marlene in the secret room at the seventh heaven. Pushing down on the bar, Cait smiled at them, a split second before the floor disappeared from under them. Cloud and Zell smashed through the weakend boards of the first few below. Finally, they hit metal. Zell felt his shoulder crack against the steel. There was a sickening crunch as Cloud landed beside him. A loud bang sounded as the lid was fitted on the cage. Zell lifted his head to see a cave moogle staring at him before through the bars before he blacked out.


"Karly?"

""Yeah Squall?"

"I'm sorry."

She turned to look at him. "Why?"

"I always screw things up." He said before adding sliently 'just like right now.'

"Squall..?"

"Don't."

"Finish my next sentence. I know, I know. You wouldn't believe me."

After a long moment of silence and walking Squall piped up "You said that there were many different destinies for each person.., didn't you?"

"That's right.

"Did you ever find anywhere that was er... memorable.?"

"There were a few memorable worlds... In one I came across a pair of fifteen year olds, twin boys who hated each other and yet loved each other. They both had dark hair and bright blue eyes, Ash and Evan if I remember rightly. One was really confident and easygoing, the other one was a complete opposite."

Squall nodded. He was a little dissapointed though, he had hoped to find out whether there had been any worlds where he and Rinoa had stayed together.

"Now what was their last name?" She paused to savour the moment. "Oh, yes. Leonhart. Ash and Evan Leonhart. Father, Squall. Mother, Rinoa." Squall looked a little taken aback. "I thought you wanted to know that?"

"Yes. It's nice to know that there was a hope for us."

"I also met a young girl with a scarred face. RJ Leonhart. I found young Raine-Julia in a different place. She looked a lot like you and her mother. Not all worlds were like that though." I have seen worlds with so much pain they were unbelieveable. I have even found worlds where you and Rinoa had swapped places. She had been the orphan and you were General Caraway's tearaway son."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. I found places you wouldn't even dream of." She stopped walking. "Like I told you in the Lifestream, this world and yours have struck me because they are filled with sadness. I spent so much time here and there in yours . That was why I was chosen for this task. I've watched Zell die, I've seen Seifer kill himself and I've seen you..."

"You've seen me what?"

"I've seen you die at the hands of a madman, to save garden students."

"Which one? I've known a few."

"The same one as here."

"Seifer, I should have guessed. Are we enemies in all worlds?"

She shook her head. "Not all."

He nodded. A seris of rythmic, hollow metallic sounds sounded through the air. "What.." He started.

"The hell?" Kiar-i finished as a light pink cave moogle dropped down through a hole in the ceiling. Tipping it's head to one side it looked at them for a second. It lifted a large black orb with a piece of string hanging from it. "It's a bomb." One end of the fuse was alight and it was rapidly disappearing. The mog lifted it and threw it.

It bounced several times, then rolled along the floor. It was no bigger than a football (SOCCERBALL for the American readers.) It reminded him of earlier years, playing sports with other Garden students although he had often seen it as a worthless use of time. He kicked it with the side of his foot and with precision, it hit the mog in the stomach. It rolled away from the three and dropped down through a hole nearby. The blast that ensued rocked the building.

"Reeve!" Karly shouted. "Stop this madness! We are not here to harm you!" The mog ignored her plea and found an energy weapon from somewhere unknown. Squall braced himself againgst the impact, lifting one hand up to his head and closing his eyes. The impact never came.

The white light was rebounding off another energy in the form of a shield that Karly held up with one hand. "What's going on?"

"Reeve think's we're here to destroy him." She used her other hand to send the attack directly back at the mog. It fell over backwards and the light went out of it's eyes. "Only the motor functions are down Reeve and those are repairable. I could destroy it, and you without even seeing you. I haven't. You can tell what I am, I know you have sensors in the lobby and elavators, as well as the staircases. Please, show yourself."

"So." A small, tinny voice emmanated from the metal mog. "This is an old friend of mine down here then?"

"Cloud? Is he okay?"

"He will be."

"And Zell?" Squall asked.

"His companion is fine too."

"SQUALL!" They heard Zell shout. "We're on the thirty-sixth floor."

"Shut up!" Reeve cried. It was followed by a shot and a cry of pain.

Squall's eyes became very wide. Karly nodded to the stairs.


Squall's chest burned as he forced his feet to fly. He kept on going although his body was screaming in protest. He heard Karly behind him.

After an eternity of moments, they burst through the door to floor thirty six. Reeve was glaring at a blonde man holding a small habdgun. He fell to his knees and looked disbelievingly as Cloud Strife lowered the pistol. "When I tell you who I am, I damn well expect you to belive me." He put the gun back into his boot. "I'm damn well glad I started carrying this thing."

"Hey Squall, Karly. What took you so long?" Zell asked from the iron cage. Cradling one arm on his lap, he was sitting cross legged in the centre.

"Can you get us out of here?"

Squall found a key for the lock as Karly offered Reeve an X-potion. The gash on his thigh where Cloud's bullet had glanced off him closed as he finished the bottle. "Sorry Cloud."

"Who did you think I was?" Cloud shouted as Squall helped him out. "If Zell hadn't kept a phoenix down hidden in his pocket, I'd have been a gonner. Got another one of those potions Miss Karly?"

"Sure, if you'll stop calling me miss. I feel like a school teacher." She threw him the bottle and walked over to Zell. "And what's up with you?"

"Bad shoulder." She cast Curaga/Cure 3 on him and the shoulder joint reformed. "Thanks." He said as he clenched and unclenched his fist several times. "Back to normal."

"What did you do to mog?" Cait Sith appeared. "You killed my mog you Bastards!"

"He'll be fine." Reeve turned to to look at Cloud. "I'm so sorry. Why have you come here Cloud?"

"Ask Karly."

"Is that you?" He asked as he turned to see the red head.

"Yep. You're in danger." She paused. "Your defences have slowed them, or stopped them from finding their way in here so far, but they don't work as well anymore do they?"

"No."

"They're getting closer, you can no longer stay here in saftey anymore than Cait and Mog can. We'd, I'd feel better about this if you were out there where I can keep an eye on you. There is a new danger threatening the world, greater than Sephiroth or Jenova ever were and I need your help." She went on to tell him a little about what had happened and what would happen if they did not succed in their fight.

"Will you come with us to Junon?" Cloud asked thinking 'I'll keep an eye on you out there, you've seriously lost it.'

"I haven't been outside this building since Sephiroth was alive."

"Really?"

"I swear. I'll go and fix the mog."

"At last!" Cait said.

"The worst thing I ever did was giving you artcifial intelligence." Reeve shot a comment at the cat. It looked hurt and hid behind Karly's legs, wiping a pretend tear from it's eye. Reeve left with his tools closely followed by a slightly angry looking Cloud Strife with one hand on his sword.

Karly bent down. "How are you Cait?"

"I'm great!"

"You look a bit beaten up right now. Here." She placed a hand on his head and reversed the deterioration of Cait's metal body. The rust disappeared and the fur reappeared.

"Wow!" He jumped up and down on the spot. "I'm beautiful again."

"Are you happy?"

"Of course." He jumped up into her arms and planted a kiss on her cheek.

After a while the mog bounded in, followed by Cloud and Reeve.

"Come on then boys, let's get going."

Authors notes.

Well well. I know I gave Cloud the gun but I thought "Why the hell not?" It's sort of reminiscent of Mulder isn't it, or is that just me????