The Visions Have Changed

[Skarlia Kara Strife]

Arxbi shrugged with a half smile. "You don't seem that close to the Organisation," he replied. He glanced at Ayla and Kara. "Erm... oops."
Kara twitched slightly as the last of the pain left her body and Rildax's eyes narrowed.
"You leave and come back with your sister unconcious?" He grinned suddenly. "Still full of surprises, then?"

Skarlia twitched in her sleep as Axel walked in. Her face showed some sort of pain and she kept twitching every so often. He sat down on the end of the bed, surprised she didn't wake up. He remembered what a light sleeper she usually was.
Skarlia was dreaming. Or more having a nightmare. She saw experiments taking place, people literally ripped apart, their souls shattered. She saw the snow stained with crimson blood and she saw her friends trapped in a fire.
And she could do nothing about any of it.

[Masina]

"Not that close? I can't stand Axel." Vexa hissed. Ayla rolled her eyes. At Vexa and Rildax.
"Yeah, Rildax, I guess so. It also appears the surprises are not under my control still." She said lifelessly. She wasn't looking at Rildax. Her eyes had averted his earlier. He was the only person she had never been able to look in the eye and lie to. She could even lie to her brother.
Vexa looked at Kara cautiously. "What are you going to do? They will be expecting her and, Skarlia,"Vexa paused as she said the name, "back at the resistance. You haven't been back there since that mission you and, erm." Vexa cut off.
"The mission that me and Yuffie were sent on by them." Ayla finished for her. "The one Yuffie was killed in." She glanced over at Rildax before looking back to Vexa. "I am not sure. And I am aware of that thanks."

[Skarlia Kara Strife]

Rildax watched Ayla silently and looked away again. Whatever was running through her mind she didn't seem willing to share.
Arxbi sighed. "Well, I suppose I should get moving," he said. "There's stuff I need to do and... stuff." He smiled at Vexa. "Well, see ya." He began to leave the area down an alley.

Axel returned to the room with Skarlia's stuff from Sarxial's room, placing it on a desk quietly. Skarlia was still twitching in her sleep. Axel sat on the bed again and was surprised when Skarlia's eyes suddenly flashed open.
"You ok?" Axel asked her.
Skarlia glanced at him and, realising she had curled into a ball in her sleep, sat up, her legs crossed.
"Yeah, I guess." Skarlia replied sleepily.
"You didn't seem to be too good."
Skarlia looked at Axel with saddened eyes. "I haven't slept in a while. The nightmares..."
Axel sat closer to Skarlia, his arms around her protectively.
Skarlia decided not to admit that it was Axel who had caused these nightmares to develop so much.

[Masina]

Ayla looked at her sister cautiously. Reno huh? She thought sarcastically.
"You can't go back there can you? It's okay if you can't." Vexa told Ayla.
"Vex, you're my nobody, not my mother, shut up." Ayla rolled her eyes. "Urgh. Okay, I love her to death but Vexa, you try keeping your big sister who is like thirty something years old upright for over ten minutes. When your twenty-five."
"I'm only about eighteen, I would collapse." She joked.
"By the way your right. I can't go back there."

[Skarlia Kara Strife]

Rildax smiled. "Need some help?" He asked. "I'm stronger than I look, honestly."
Kara twitched slightly as she tried her best to awaken, but there was almost a wall that prevented her from doing so. She tried her best to break through it, but she couldn't at all.

Skarlia glanced at the neat pile of her stuff on the desk. "How did you get all that?" She asked.
"Sarxial has a handy ability to access others and control their actions for a little while," Axel told her. "Not a huge amount of time, but it's helpful."
Skarlia nodded. "Thank you," she said. "And I'll thank Sarxial too later..."
Axel nodded. There was a silence before Axel finally spoke.
"Are you comfortable being here?"
Skarlia was silent as she thought how to answer.
"If you mean being with you, then yes," she said. "If you mean being away from everyone else, then not so much."
Axel nodded again and stood up. He glanced back at Skarlia.
"Want to come?" He asked. Skarlia leapt off the bed and the two walked from the room, casually walking along the long corridors.

[Masina]

"You look pretty strong to me." Ayla smiled at Rildax playfully.
"Ave, stop flirting." Vexa laughed.
"Ah." Ayla hissed through her teeth. Her hand that had orgionally been holding her sisters hand on her shoulder zipped to her head. She bit down on her lip hard before placing her shaking hand back on Kara's. Her blue eyes drifted to the ground.
"Could you Rildax?" Vexa said carefully. Her eyes drifted slowly from Ayla to Rildax. "Ave isn't in the right state right now. I doubt she will be for a couple of days now." Vexa explained to him. Her gaze flickered between them. Then fell to the black and silver watch on her wrist. "Crap. I need to go. I promised Fexier I'd help him train." She said the name bitterly. Ayla looked over at her. "Don't worry, I'll give the idiot exactly what he deserves for doing what he did to you. You should get Kara to Elle. She has healing abilities right? And can see people's dreams."
"Yeah." Ayla's gaze fell back to the floor as Vexa dissapeared. She coughed slightly before going totally still.

Vexa appeared in the castle in the sky. She began to walk through the corridors toward the training room. Her hands in her pockets and her gaze at the floor as she did.

[Skarlia Kara Strife]

Rildax took Kara carefully from Ayla and picked her up on his back. He glanced at Ayla softly.
"Come on," he said. "You can take a rest too."

Axel stopped as he saw Vexa. Skarlia suddenly looked at the floor as she saw her.
"Hello again," Axel said to Vexa. "Had fun?"
Skarlia looked up at Axel briefly, avoiding his gaze.

The shadows faded away as a light came from the open door, casting them away from the man who stepped from the pub. For once he wasn't drunk. He hadn't touched one drop of alcohol.
He walked along the street, hands in his pockets.
Then his eyes fell on the group. He dashed towards them, shock streaking through his mind.
Reno skidded to a halt and gazed around at everyone. "Wh-what?" He stuttered. "I thought you were all dead!"

[Masina]

Vexa tore her gaze from her feet for a moment as she looked up at Axel and Skarlia. Her blue eyes fell back to the ground as she shrugged. "Not particularly sir." She said lifelessly. "I have to go and fight Fexier. He said he wanted a decent fighting partner. Do I have permission to knock him out?" She smirked slightly.

"Reno!" Ayla span around. "She scowled slightly as she clutcched her chest. "I'm fine." She whispered to Rildax. She obviously wasn't as almost immediatly after she said that she fell over clutching her head as her eyes changed from cat-like to blue and back again, and the pettern carried on until Ayla was out of breath.

[Skarlia Kara Strife]

Reno dashed over to Ayla to help her back up. "Come on," he said quietly. "I haven't got a clue what's been going on-" he glanced at Kara. "-but anyway, whatever. You look like you're going somewhere."
"Indeed we are," Rildax said. He adjusted Kara's position on his back. "Are you coming? We can explain more on the way."
Reno took a glance at Rildax's new outfit. "Sure," he said. "Ayla? Ok with you?"

Axel smiled slightly. "Be my guest," he said. He began to continue walking past Vexa, Skarlia glancing at her briefly before she caught up with Axel.
"So what do you have planned now?" Skarlia asked.
Axel carried on looking ahead of him. "Well first, I'll let you know what I've been doing in the three years," he said. "I've not just been blowing stuff up, you know."

[Masina]

"You don't want to know." Ayla dusted off her skirt. She glanced over at the alley for no particular reason and saw she had dropped her dagger. She held her hand out and the dagger zipped into it. She cringed as she caught it. "I need to stop doing that for now." She mumbled. She stood up and looked at Reno. "I don't mind." She smiled. Her eyes still changing from one colour to the other. She turned to Rildax. "Take her to Evalaine's. Herutsu can take her back later." Ayla's mind had appeared changed, that she would take Kara to the resistance. She was far from it.blockquote]

[Skarlia Kara Strife]

Kara felt speech appearing on her tongue, but she fought them back, scared that the speech that would fall out would not be the speech she was hoping for.
She knew what the word was. She kept it back, knowing that by saying it she would give the wrong impression entirely.
Reno nodded. "Still interested," he said. "I know my once so pleasant Nobody has gone on a psycho rampage and Rude and I weren't allowed to come back. I only just got away from Shinra and to be honest I think I'm going to be murdered when I get back."

Axel stopped suddenly as Skarlia glanced at Axel.
"What is it?" He asked, his dark eyes seeming to seduce her, drawing the answer from within her.
She shook her head. "It's nothing important," she said.
"How many times did I use to hear that?" Axel rounded on Skarlia and a chill ran down her spine. He stopped and sighed. "I know I won't get the answer though."
Skarlia watched him as he continued to walk, quickly walking after him. She caught the coldness in his expression again, and yet everything about him drew her towards him, no matter how much she wanted to run away.

[Masina]

Ayla glanced at Rildax quickly before fixing her eyes on Reno. "Rufus and Rude are okay?" She asked, her tone sounded both surprised and relieved as she spoke. "Uh, Herutsu or Rildax could explain everything thats happened better. I have adopted my old habit of staying away from people." She half-smiled through the pain she was feeling. "Unless they need my help." She added hesitantly. She smiled properly and held her hand out to Reno. "Want a lift?" She asked..

[Skarlia Kara Strife]

Reno nodded. "Thanks," he said, taking Ayla's hand.
Rildax glanced at Kara as she twitched quickly, a sudden jerk as though flinching in pain.

A boy, about teenage, stood on a rooftop, casting a shadow against the glare of the moonlight. He had eyes of a wolf stalking prey as he leapt to the ground, his red hair bobbing slightly as he dropped, but otherwise staying in shape.
He rounded on Kara, his eyes growing cold.
"And so we finally meet," the boy said softly...

Rildax smiled briefly at Ayla before he and Kara disappeared in flames.

(f)