The sound of he elevator and Cloud snapped Tsuna out of his fang trance. The temptation to continue held onto him with a lingering look, but then he remembered the scientist. That could be much more fun. With a final punch to the down SOLDIER for good measure, Tsuna raced back and Paris, grabbed her up, and slung her over his shoulder. We knew she wouldn't bother running, there was special precautions to keep her safe, but this was far more fun for him. Moving into the elevator, Tsuna looked to Cloud then to Leveche, “Why's it seem that you two try to ruin my fun?” Tsuna smiled mischievously.
Instinctively he twisted his body sideways and took a step back, just a few short moments before Cloud flew past him with lightning speed, and then quickly dispatched their enemies with a devastating flourish. Leveche faced his friend and shook his head from side-to-side with a wry smile, before turning his attention to Tsuna. “I don’t know,” Levy replied with a cool tone of voice as he easily brought the gargantuan greatsword to rest upon his right shoulder. ”maybe you just don’t like to share your food?” With that he turned and casually made his way over to the elevator. Once everyone was gathered within Levy ordered the elevator to start its descent, and bringing them one step closer to their intended destination.
The elevator ride was silent and quick, the tense nature of the descent under the sea floor paired with the unknown aspect of what they would find in the lower levels of the facility enough to unsettle the entire party. Cloud watched as the doors opened revealing a nearly identical small lobby, with three passages leading from in. The fluorescent lights flickered between light and darkness giving the lower levels a eerie atmosphere. It was quiet, though the vibrations of some machine could be felt barely. ” I don't like this. ” Cloud said as he exited the elevator. He looked down the corridors, which every few seconds were plunged into almost complete darkness as the lights flickered. ” Look! ” He suddenly shouted as the lights revealed the body of a fallen SOLDIER, his crimson blood smeared across the metallic wall which he rested against. The SOLDIER was motionless, leaning with death's gaze against the wall of the corridor the lead to their right.
Tsuna knew Leveche's comment was meant to be a joke, but he cast a dark veil over him. Hefting Paris up over hiis body so Leveche could see her, “She knows how much I hate that.” Memories of the scraps of food being given to him…and some fiend. The typed varied, but they were always hungry. Killing the monster and making sure the food wasn't eaten was tiring, and sometimes he lost. The sword called out to him as he thought, but knew he had to shake it of or lose control.
The elevator doors open and seemed to take the dark aura off of him. “That explains why the SOLDIERs seemed confused. They weren't after us.” Walking into the lobby, Tsuna looked over the body, already knowing it was fresh. Moving Paris around to see all three corridors, Tsuna then looked her in the eye, “Which way to our data and please don't tell me it's that one?” Tsuna motioned towards the one with blood. Meaning someone else was there and if his luck continued on, they were after them.
As the elevator doors parted the heavy, iron smell of blood assaulted his nose. Outside of the elevator the fluorescent lights flickered repeatedly in the darkness, but all the same he easily saw the gore that decorated the walls—and the corpses of the fallen that the splatter had originated from. It was a grotesque and ominous scene, which only served to make the hair on the back of his neck stand straight. Levy took a step out of the elevator, then made his way over toward one of the fallen SOLDIER to examine the scene in closer detail in the hopes of finding a clue as to who was responsible. “I shouldn’t have to say this,” Leveche began to say, still searching for some clue as to who was responsible for this. “but this can’t be a coincidence. If we follow the trail of bodies we’ll probably find the lab—and whoever is responsible for this.”
Cloud slid behind Leveche, following closely behind as he moved down the corridor towards the corpse. The ominous flicker of the lights set the atmosphere as they reached the body, slumped over in a pool of crimson which had smeared down the corridor wall as his body had come to a rest at it's base. Cloud followed the smear of blood upwards stopping, letting it all set in. Written in carmine the letters jumped from the wall 'When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end” reflecting in the wet shimmer of blood as the lights shuttered. ” We go on from here alone. ” Cloud said cooly, a shutter in his voice, as he looked at Tsuna. ” We can't take her where we're going. ” He ended as he compulsively reached out a smeared the still wet blood in a downward streak from the 'world's end'.
Giving Cloud an angry look then relenting, Tsuna looked Paris in the eyes as if staring into her soul, “You have lost your worth you. Your group would have killed me if I had lost me.” Tossing her towards the elevator with ease, he walked towards the bloody hallway, “Think about who the real beasts are.” Tsuna pointed to the bloody message then never looked back at her then looked to both Leveche and Cloud, “They wanna see some beasts, let's show them.”
Leveche slowly rose up as he took notice of the blood-scrawled letters upon the wall. How it had escaped prior notice was beyond him, but all the same the bloody prose upon the wall made it painfully obvious who was responsible for the carnage about them. Just then Cloud suddenly declared that they couldn’t take the female scientist any further, while Leveche hesitantly reached for the wall and lightly slid his fingers across the bloodstains upon the wall. They weren’t very far behind him now. “You two should leave as well,” Leveche announced as he drew his weapon from its holster, and brought it to rest upon his shoulder. ”not that I think you’ll listen.” Levy turned to face his comrades and offered them a half-hearted smile that did nothing to hide the melancholy in his sky blue eyes. Without saying anything more he merely shook his head from side-to-side before he started after the trail of bodies, picking up his pace with every step, intent upon following the trail of carnage to the one responsible before he had the chance to escape. ”Genesis…!” Leveche snarled under his breath, and grit his teeth in an attempt to hold back his anger—and to steel himself in an effort to dispel the fear of the coming encounter.
The words cut Cloud to the bone, the ache of their meaning enough to shake the confidence of any man. He was not surprised to hear Leveche's words, it was the duty of a SOLDIER to put himself before others, and something told Cloud that perhaps this fight was personal. However he could not let Leveche go on alone, and he knew that Tsuna wouldn't heed that warning either. ” You're right, we're obviously coming with you. This involves us as much as you after all. ” Cloud said in response as he started down the corridor behind Leveche, freeing his blade from its holster as he moved, knowing that he would need it where they were going. Cloud's boots echoed heavily through the passageway, their heavy thud on of sync with his racing heart. The lights continued to flicker, revealing the crimson splatter that led the way with each illumination, the trail left by Genesis for any brave enough to follow. The corridor turned to the right, opening into a wider hallway in a taper, the walls now sporting a series of metallic doors evenly spaced on each wall. The doors were closed and the corridor led onward. Ahead another SOLDIER lay in a heap, blood still pumping from his wounds rhythmically, his body still clinging to life. As the lights shuttered Cloud's eyes connected with his, there was nothing that could be done to save him, his eyes were vacant, accepting his fate. Ahead one of the doors was open, the darkness from inside spilling out.
Tsuna followed behind the two looking at the mayhem left behind. “Sloppy” Tsuna said under his breath. Their opponent had power, sure, but cared nothing of pride. The blood may have been a way to frighten them, but still jus sloopy.
Tsuna watched the SOLDIER dying due to not being killed entirely, another case of sloopiness. Bending down beside the SOLDIER, Tsuna spoke to him as he looked in his eyes, “I hate your Organization, but no prey deserves to linger. You are not my kill, but I will do my best to make this painless.” Raising his right hand high, Tsuna punched with all his strength at the heart of the SOLDIER. The body jolted up at the punch than no more sound or movement remained.
Tsuna stood up and looked at his two allies, “We sure this is Genesis?” He then looked specifically at Cloud, “Remember Banora, everyone gone and what about Kali and Amelia? They were turned into his deformed soldiers. Why was he left behind?” Tsuna continued walking because it didn't matter who they faced, they were going the same place.
Leveche didn’t dare to turn his gaze away from the carnage as they pressed forward, instead taking everything in to feed his anger. Every member of SOLDIER was taught to use their emotions as a source of strength, to break beyond their limits, and to accomplish their duty. When they chanced upon a fallen SOLDIER, who somehow managed to just barely cling onto life, Leveche came to a complete stop as he stared at the scene before him. “It’s anything but sloppy—this is what happens when you challenge someone so far beyond your ken, and if we don’t tread lightly this will be us.” Only a short time afterwards Levy watched, speechless, as Tsuna crouched down to finish off the SOLDIER in brutal fashion. It summoned forth a colossal tide of anger as he stared daggers at his would-be comrade, but all the same he said nothing; there was no point in wasting the effort when a far more serious problem lay just ahead. When that was done Leveche answered the question before Cloud could speak: he doubted that even Cloud would understand why it could be no one but Genesis. “When the war of the beasts brings about the world’s end, the Goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting.” Levy began to make his way forward once more, toward the darkness that spilled forth from the path ahead of them. . ”That's the opening of ’LOVELESS’. If he were to send a message, that's how Genesis would do it… doubt it if you want, it won't change anything.”
Cloud felt as if Leveche's words and his life itself had been sucked into the darkness that spilled ahead of them. The sensation of fear was boiling in his gut, he grimaced at the thought of passing through that threshold, his subconscious fully away of what lay beyond. His thoughts raced, images of Kili and Amelia passing through his mind's eye, finally settling on Zack. He knew what Zack would do, and to honor him he would have to do the same. ” We're going in with you. ” Cloud finally spoke, feeling as if ages had passed with his thoughts. ” We owe it to the friends that we have lost along the way. ” He continued to speak as he stepped past Leveche towards the darkness, doing what Zack would do to protect his friends. Cloud's boots echoed greatly as he crossed the threshold, the light from behind seemingly absorbed. He could tell it was a large room by the way the sound traveled, though he could see nothing from within. He shuttered as he took another step forward, bringing his blade up in reflex, grasping the hilt with both hands ahead of him. ” I thought you might come. ” A voice cut through the darkness like a knife, reverberating through the large chamber, it's origin point unknown. ” The work of the Goddess has brought you here, as it has me. ” The voice continued, each work bringing more darkness.
Tsuna follow not responding to Leveche, the look as he ended the SOLDIERs suffering. It was apparent grew up in different circumstances and those views were never changed. His monster die began to hotter and hotter, so hot that most would find it unbearable. He began to throb a bright red, the color escaping out the top of his coat. Proving that Leveche was right about it being Genesis.
The voice in the darkness was probably to intimidate, but Tsuna just smiled and chuckled, “I'd hate to argue with another man's faith, but what “goddesss” brought us here? ShinRa always did strike me as a feminine name, but they are certainly no deity.”
As the words hit his ears he felt all that rage boil over, all those bottled up emotions come spilling out. ”Genesis…!” Leveche could barely manage to snarl the words out as he furiously searched the darkness for some hint of the man. When he found nothing he brought his weapon to bear and wildly swung it through the air in the hopes of landing a lucky blow while taking care not to hit his allies. Yet he felt no contact, part of him had known he wouldn’t, and so he decided to play along with Genesis for now. ”Infinite in mystery is the Gift of the Goddess,” Levy started to say, barely able to stifle his rage as he spoke up. ”is that it?” Levy paused as he once more searched the darkness for some sign of the betrayer. ”If I were to hazard a guess… you think you’re playing out LOVELESS, don’t you? In a sick and twisted way.”
” I'm afraid not. ” His cold calculating voice cut through the darkness, piercing Cloud deeply. ” Jenova brought us all here, my Goddess and yours. Her power surges through our veins, even you SOLDIER first class. ” He continued to speak, his voice powerful and steady, his words flowing with belief. Cloud clenched the hilt of his blade as he listened to the disembodied voice reverberate through the dark chamber, the way it echoed giving it size and body, only making it seem more powerful and heavy. He tried to pin down the location, but found it too hard in the darkness, the size of the room making it nearly impossible. ” But why? Why all of THIS!? ” Cloud found himself erupting with emotion, the words clawing their way out of his mouth. ” Why harm SO MANY?!. ” He continued, loosing control of his emotions, unable to quell his growing rage. The heavy sound of Genesis boots click clacked through the darkness, the sounds dancing around them, merging into a unintelligible clatter. He seemed to sigh, as if he was expecting more. The sounds slowed then stopped, all way quiet for several moments. ” Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest. ” He spoke rhythmically in verse. ” Within us she guides us, her gift our power. You may ignore her calls, but I hear them. I will find her, and together we will purge this world of it's cancer. ” Genesis' voice grew in volume as he spoke, irritation clear. ” You will all join me, whether you LIKE IT or not. ” He said in a final commanding tone.
Tsuna's building hatred began to erupt. The idea that someone was going to be controlling him was too much for Tsuna to handle. His right hand reached to his back and took out the sword on his back. CM-3 took a few steps forward and addressed Genesis, his voice taking on a deeper tone, “You shall control NOTHING! ShinRa took enough of my life away, a time I still don't know.” CM-3's rage seemed to form an aura around him as he reached for his die. Holding a “2″ in his hand, a fireball appeared. Throwing the fireball down the room to enhance his night vision, CM-3 rushed the would be puppet master. “This ends here.”
“I don’t care about any of that…!” Levy angrily cried out, his voice faltering slightly near the end of his declaration. “What the hell happened to your pride as a SOLDIER? To your honor? Even I–” Before he could finish the thought Cloud cried out, drawing a troubled stare from the ex-SOLDIER. As they continued with the conversation they were all slowly losing their composure, which made him very uneasy. Levy took a deep breath, then another, and another until he could feel the storm of emotions within him begin to calm. Just a moment later he heard Tsuna bellow in rage, before he cast a fireball into the darkness and started forward. Without a word Levy burst into motion and moved ahead of his friend in a split-second before thrusting his left arm forward with an open palmed blow meant to send Tsuna stumbling backwards. “Do you want to die that badly?!” Levy snapped, clearly upset with the sudden outburst. “You don’t have even the faintest clue as to how far beyond your ken—or mine—he is, do you? You wanna die? Fine, but I won’t let you play into his hand to do it!” Now that the immediate risk was over he returned his attention to Genesis, whom lurked somewhere in the darkness. ”You were my hero once, Genesis, I would’ve done anything to be just a bit more like you. I wasn’t alone in that thought either—but you cast that away, along with your pride and your honor… and for what?”
The fireball illuminated the massive room, revealing it to be Hollander's lab, a huge chamber filled with dark machines and workstations. Metallic tubing twisted and reflected the fiery light as the ball of flames passed, the shadows dancing around the flames as they traveled the distance of the room striking the far back wall and quickly extinguishing. Darkness returned. Cloud felt himself pulling inwards, a unshakable feeling of dread overtaking him. It pierced the haze of his mind revealing scenes of his and Zack's torment in a place much like the room they occupied. He grasped at his head, shaking away the scenes, trying to regain his own inner calm. ” I cast nothing away, no the truth is I was cast away. A failed experiment just like these fools you will fail to protect. ” Genesis threw his voice though the darkness, it's bitterness palpable. ” You have come to know what you are, yet you still resist vengeance on a world that would put you through so much. ” He continued, calling to Cloud and Tsuna, trying to tug at their emotions, his words paired with the haunting cavernous laboratory so suggestive. Cloud fell to his knees, feeling the cold metal floor on his palms as his blade tumbled from his grasp with a echoing clack through the lab. His emotions swirled like a maelstrom, a torrent of mixed and a conflicting instinctual magnetism. He lifted his arm, clenching his hand into a fist and brought it down hard against the floor. Inside he screamed, he could feel the pain of the experiments, he could see Zack's eyes, hollow as he lay dead.
A concussive shock suddenly and violently shook the lab, the creaking groan of metal buckling roared through the undersea reactor, twisting and turning through the corridors. The vibrations shook Cloud, a fear response shaking his mind clear. A second wave hit, again the lab and entire undersea reactor seemed to move. A burst like gunfire drew Cloud's attention, he felt water on his back. Cloud jumped to his feet, the realization of imminent doom at hand. ” Sephiroth! ” Genesis' voice boomed with rage. Cloud felt his heart thump, as he reached down for his blade, flailing in the darkness until he felt it against his fingers. The stream of water continued to spew from overhead as more groans and grating sounds of deforming metal reverberated around them, the vibrations shaking up his legs. ” We have to move! ” Cloud summoned the words from somewhere within. ” You will not! ” Genesis called back, his silhouette sliding in front of the lab's only exit.
Finding nothing in front of him, CM-3 listened close for Genesis' voice. Casting an angry looking at Leveche which was lost in the darkness. Genesis' words caused CM-3 to laugh with malice as Cloud fell apart, “You child! When I was young I thought the same, but I grew wise. The world did NOTHING to you. ShinRa is the enemy, if you can't see that then you are as bad as SHINRA!”
The moving of the building could not get through CM-3's anger. He would go down with this building if it meant this fool would go away, but he had not shown himself till they tried to move. Smiling as he tightened his grip on his sword. “You will never stop us!” CM-3 charged at full speed towards Genesis hoping to drive his sword deep.
Snow had spent long enough on the Highwind recovering from the incidents back at Icicle Village. Bored and frustrated, she wanted nothing more than to be fighting alongside the others. She wanted to avenge the death of her sister. Sitting up from her bed, she squinted at the sharp pain that jolted through her waist. Shards of glass had embedded themselves into her side from a previous explosion and were causing her much grief. “I have to do something.” Moving over to the trunk at the back of her room, Snow chose to get suited and follow after Cloud, Tsuna and the new guy, Leveche. Dressed in a fitted pencil skirt with an appropriatley sized slit in each side, plum turtleneck sweater and knee high black heeled boots, Snow felt ready to face the day again. “Nothing like haute couture to mend your wounds.” She flicked her long, wavy, auburn hair back behind her shoulders and fixed her fingerless fighting gloves onto her hands. Smiling at her reflection, she picked up her Twin Viper and called out to Cid, “Cid, I'm popping out.” Moving through the laboratory was a nightmare but she was able to keep hot on the heels of her friends. “Godammit, guys, I hope these bodies aren't on your hands.” Soon, she reach a large, open room where she could see her friends. “Hello boys. You didn't think you'd be having all of the fun without me, now, did you?” OOC: I apologise if I make any continuuity errors!
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