Taming the Fates Amidst Chaos

'Internal thought'

'CHAOS SPEAKING'

~ (Time and/or story focus shift)

Chapter 40

As Sephiroth left the room, Yazoo turned his gaze to Sin, watching as the slave slowly stood. Was his mind playing tricks on him or did the collared man seem to be hesitating for some reason? "What are you doing Sin? If you don't hurry, Sephiroth will hurt you and the others even more. Go!"

The dark eyes flashed and the slave opened his mouth to say something but stopped and simply nodded his head before turning to leave. He froze at the doorway for a moment, his human hand pressing against the nearby wall. His eyes suddenly turned a brilliant gold and red energy flowed over the wall before he disappeared into the dark tunnels.

Now Yazoo was officially stunned. Sin had voluntarily let Chaos out and rather than fighting to keep control, the demon had apparently simply altered the mark on the wall. Rather than the eye disappearing after a moment, it continued to show the Remnant what was happening in the cavern with the Mako pool. Had the slave and demon been working together? Red-tinted shadows appeared within the mark and Yazoo focused his attention on the images. 'Perhaps Chaos figured it would be best for me to see what was happening. After all, we're all in this together.' His eyes widened slightly as he heard faint noises coming from the mark. 'He made it so I could hear too? He's growing weaker. Why use the extra energy?'

~

Sin briskly followed the silver haired man, keeping his head down but his cold eyes watched the black clad figure closely. Sephiroth seemed to have not noticed his earlier pause for he had not turned to address him since leaving the small cavern. The normally eerily calm slave was riddled with conflicting thoughts and emotions. 'We must get our controller from the false Master. We cannot continue to ignore our true Master.' Anger and shame grew within him and he could do little to stop it, unused to the turbulent emotions as he was. 'He will pay for daring to touch Master.'

'Calm yourself Sin.' Vincent spoke softly, wary of setting the slave off further. 'Remember, the bracer is the true problem at the moment. As long as Sephiroth holds the bracer, there is little we can do against him. You know what happens if we even lay a hand on it.' The gunman shuddered at the memory. Soon after Hojo had finished creating the collar and the controlling device, he had ordered Vincent to hold the bracer, to teach him what would happen should he ever try to take it. The feedback between the collar and bracer had grown stronger with each second until his ears had bled and he fell unconscious. The burns on his arms had lasted for weeks.

Mentally shaking himself free of the memory, the gunman focused on the hated man only a few steps ahead of them. 'There has to be a weakness. Something that we can use to get that off of him.' No ideas were forthcoming though, even Chaos had fallen strangely silent.

Sin stopped quickly as Sephiroth turned to him, a cool smirk on his face as he studied the slave, "It is time we move further along, my pet. Release the demon."

"Yes Master."

As Sin vanished, condescending jade eyes were soon met with rebellious gold. Harsh growls left clenched pointed teeth with each breath, Chaos refusing to lower his gaze or stance despite his shaking legs barely holding him up. This body had lost too much blood, had too little time to heal and his energy was getting dangerously low. He was so hungry. He could smell the blood pulsing in the silver-haired man's veins, the richness beckoning him. The rare times that he had broken free from his host, he had managed to regain only a quarter of his energy. Now, with the constant drain from Sin forcing him to replenish his host, he was dropping too fast with no hope of feeding. 'I WILL...FIND WEAKNESS. IF WORKS...TELL SHINGA-CHI...SHINGA-CHI CALL MY NAME...WHEN BRACER GONE.'

Vincent suddenly grew wary at the demon's words. 'Chaos, what are you...'

"Not so talkative now, are you?" The amused tone caught Chaos' attention, the growl building in his chest at the swordsman's mocking laughter, "Do you realize how pathetic you are, demon? Snarling and drooling on yourself, so weak you can barely stand. Little better than a dog really." Sephiroth moved closer until he was standing mere inches from the winged creature. "If you want, I will let you feed. All you have to do is kill the puppet."

The former General easily moved out of arm's reach as Chaos swung a clawed hand, "Kill you...first half-breed."

"Ah, so you do still have a tongue. I was beginning to wonder if you had eaten it in desperation." The silver-haired man stepped forward once more, "The fact that you think you have a chance at beating me even now makes me believe the hunger has begun to drive you mad." There was a strange softness in the madman's voice as he raised his hand to caress a steely gray cheek, "How long has it been since you had a full meal, Chaos? I bet Valentine has not allowed it so that would mean about thirty-five years, correct? I promise, hunger will never be a problem again if you only submit to me and obey."

Vincent could not help but feel worried about the demon's answer. He could feel the sheer hunger now coursing through Chaos and was shocked that the demon had the energy to stand, much less fight Sephiroth's soft-spoken offers. However, the anger building in the demon told the gunman that there was still plenty of fight left in him.

'THIS...WILL HURT. STAY STRONG, HOST. FIGHT UNTIL...NO HOPE. IF WE LOSE...SHOW SHINGA-CHI...MERCY...QUICK DEATH. KILL BEFORE...HALF-BREED BREAKS HIM.'

The finality in the demon's tone scared the gunman. 'What are you about to do Chaos?' There was no reply and Vincent's fear grew as he felt Chaos' energy gathering. Even the small trickle that had been feeding him was cut off with a final pulse. When a barrier formed around him and Sin, he knew that whatever the demon was doing, it was going to be dangerous.

Fierce determination burned within the golden gaze as Chaos focused nearly all the energy that he had left. He moved quickly, using all of the speed he could summon in his weakened body as he took hold of the bracer on Sephiroth's arm. Metal screeched on metal as the claws attempted to find purchase on the smooth steel. The electric feedback began immediatly but Chaos held tight, even as the flesh on his arms began to smolder.

"Now I know you have lost it, demon. Release me at once!"

The winged demon ignored the order, instead focusing on the surface beneath his hands. Just as the electrical current reached a feverish pitch, he felt the metal shift slightly. 'THERE!' His feelings of victory were cut short as a gloved hand struck across his temple. He released the bracer and felt his breath leave him as a large boot collided with his chest, sending him crashing into one of the walls.

"You will pay dearly for daring to touch me, demon."

A low chuckle shook the muscular form, even as Sephiroth summoned Masamune. Chaos no longer cared, he only needed to do one more thing before he fell to the madness building in him. After that, it was up to the others, he had done what he could. Concentrating the last of his energies into his hand, he launched himself at the silver-haired swordsman.

Sephiroth easily sidestepped, watching as the winged demon crashed to the ground, "You missed," he taunted.

'So he thinks.' Vincent smirked, watching as the eye mark flashed once under Chaos' hands before disappearing. He only hoped that Yazoo would understand and one of them could find a way to use the discovery. 'Thank you Chaos.' The gunman whispered sadly into the void as the demon's mind finally fell to the hunger.

~

Yazoo blinked as a stream of golden energy threaded through the mark, forming a single word, 'HINGES', before fading along with the eye. He knew that whatever that message meant, Chaos had used the last of his energy to send it and probably could no longer maintain the connection of the eye. The pain-filled roar that shook the stone walls caused the Remnant to cringe, tears streaming down his face as the tunnels soon fell deathly silent. 'Please let them be alright.'

Footsteps soon approached and he sat up, wiping away the tears. When Sephiroth appeared at the entrance, Yazoo felt his blood run cold at the cruel gleam in his eyes. A movement just behind the man caught his attention and his eyes widened as he saw Chaos swaying. The demon's wings were broken, snapped at the shoulder blades and barely hanging on. A low growl came continuously and the golden eyes had dulled, appearing nearly lifeless. A gloved hand grabbed the dark hair and practically threw the demon into the room. Sephiroth chuckled as Yazoo edged away from the winged creature, "Sin, return. I would rather not have the puppet eaten quite yet. He still has his uses."

The growls ceased and the slave raised to his knees before responding, "Yes Master."

Sephiroth nodded once and tossed a bundle of black clothing toward the slender Remnant, "I will return for Valentine in an hour. Heal your wings, Sin."

"Yes Master."

With that, the former General left. Yazoo watched as a purple glow surrounded the collared slave and soon the broken appendages appeared unharmed. The Remnant was surprised when Sin turned toward him and knelt, pulling Death Penalty from its holster to lay it at the younger man's feet. When Yazoo turned a curious gaze back to the slave's face, he found determined scarlet and amber staring back, "I will give you this choice only once, Yazoo. Our chances are slim but Chaos gave his all to make sure we had one. You can either end this now and go peacefully or you can fight. Sephiroth will show no mercy and will break you if we do not win but at least we will try."

Yazoo shook his head, "There is no choice Vincent. I may be weak, but I am not a coward."

He was gifted with a small smirk from the gunman, "Get dressed and then rest. We have little time and will need all the strength we can get."

The Remnant nodded and watched as the warm eyes faded, replaced by the dark eyes of Sin. He watched carefully as the slave moved away, curling against the wall to sleep. Surely Sin knew what was going on, but he was making no indication of fighting it or betraying them to Sephiroth. 'Whose side is he on?'

____________________________________________________________________________________

SapphireDog
hehe, I make myself giggle.

Lovely chapter as alway my dear XD And OMG!!!!! SIN!! I LOVEEEEEEE YOU! OMG YOU ARE SOOOO MY HERO!! WOOT WOOT! That ending was awesome! And as I said before, MAJOR trouble is a brewing~ Im going to love yet hate the next chapter, aren't I? :O No matter!

And weee for story :D Can't wait to see it :D


ok. Im done :D

For now... MWAHAHAHAHAHA...ha
Frizz: I am so glad that people are starting to love Sin...I know they hated him at the beginning but I wanted to build him up a little from that. And yes, some serious trouble is brewing.

Kuragari
*head desk* man, Sin's a grabby little guy, loved yazoo's shock at the lie. Though i myself thought that they were screwed when Sephiroth asked Sin. love the visual I got of Chaos 'sitting' on Sin... may have to draw that as well. ^^ can't wait for more!
Frizz: I would love to see that pic, it is just too funny of an idea. Glad that you like Sin's little lie. I can just see the WTF look on Yazoo's face at that scene.

Kerianya
"Private training session" *is glued to laptop*

Have I mentioned you are a FANTASTIC AUTHOR?
Frizz: I think I have heard that once or twice. Sorry that this session wasn't smexy, but I need to start getting my boys away from the evil god Sephiroth.

viva_rose
*gives pie* of course i did!
Frizz: Oooo...is it fudge pie??? I LOVE fudge pie.

The Game
I read the first 20 chapters,this story is dark,engrossing,and sensual.And in Ch. 18 Cloud sums it up best "will any of us ever find peace in this life." My purpose as yours may also be,is to continue these stories and deny them that peace,good luck. :)
Frizz: Yes, that line truly works. We just love to torture these boys too much. Hope you enjoy the last 20 chapters as well.

AnimeFanGrrl-4-Life
Oh my freaking GOD!!! This fan-fiction is written by a Goddess of Creativity. Excellent balance of drama, suspense, torture, angst and a small mixture of yaoi. I crave this story like an addict. POST NEXT CHAPTER SOON!!! Chibi Vinny and my other boys are waiting (yes I have chibi Seph, Vinny and Cloud :D)

Fan-of-u-4-life
Frizz: Goddess? well I wish I was that cool but...eh, glad you think I am. Hopefully this will help your craving. Sorry it took so long.

Anonymous Sister of the Author
damn RIGHT i'm not nice!!! you are NOT #1, mr. cocky!!!!!!!!!! grrrrrrrrrrr! i WILL fight you in unconventional WAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! do NOT make me MAD, MR. COCKY!!!

frizz: i'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry!!!!!!!!! i missed a chapter!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! why, oh WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! soooooo sorry!!! sooo sorry!!! soooooooooooooo SORRY!!!!!!!!!!

*clears throat* YAY!! my baby is the master!!! *reno and chibi cheer in the background* go yazoo!!! GO YAZOO!!! *DOES A LITTLE (read embarrassing) DANCE* AND sin lied to SEPHIROTH!!!!!!!!! go SIN!!!! woot WOOT!!! YAY!!!

i will await your next installment with bated breath! (don't make me die from lack of air)

oh! and frizz?? can i kill your fiance for proclaiming to be your #1 fan??? pretty please?? i can make it look like an accident, i swear! *hand over heart*

SAPPHIREDOG: how are you doing? i haven't talked to (read threatened) you in a while!

with loving anime hearts surrounding my head,
ASOTA
Frizz: As I told him before, I am not going to protect him from the trouble his mouth gets him into. I am glad to see that you are alive and well hun. I missed you last chapter and I am glad that you enjoyed that little twist with Yazoo being the master. Didn't see that coming did you?

ofoa
meow
Frizz: Woof!

ofoa
wow asota your kinda cute when your vicious thats right its me 1#fan MR COCKY in all my arrogance you know I like it when you get riled up Im kinda a fan of your post so I set out to rile you up and honey no I dont want you to be nice your competing with me for 1# are you up for it little girl
Frizz: Oh no...*runs as far away as possible* I don't want to be around when ASOTA explodes. No amount of peace offerings will cover you on this one.

SapphireDog
Honestly ASOTA :O I though you had died on us all. *smacks top of head with flat side of paperclip* Bad girl! D:< Had us worried.

And I'm fine. >->

Tired as hell though.
Frizz: Yeah ASOTA! *adds her own smack with the Spatula* LOL good to see all of my fans are still alive and well