What was lost can be found (Shade and Fury)

Fury was shaken awake by Dusty. He looked down the long barrel of his anti-material rifle and out of the tall sultan’s tower. They were in the ruined city of Zanarkand, the city of dreams. Fury couldn’t help but feel a sense of dejavu as he pulled out the picture of Drake. He studied it and then handed it to Dusty. He brought the scope of his rifle and scanned the crowd of men in front of Shade. Only, it wasn’t just Shade this time. Standing on the roof of that old hotel was Shade, Jayda, Brix, Serenity, Alivia, his father, his mother, and his crew. They were all standing in a line across the front of the building, each one staring at him. Standing behind all of them was the man he had seen summon the monster that had knocked his father off the cliff."Dusty, we have one shot, we can’t miss this.”

Raven saw the man slowly pull a small disk from his jacket. It was the same disk he had used to summon the monster before. Fury looked up from his scope and nodded to Dusty.

Dusty put his eye up to the scope of the spotter’s scope and began to do the calculations."Wind six mph left to right. Humidity: 0%. Distance: 1.8 miles. You are cleared to fire."

breathe...

breathe...

"Spotter ready.”

"Shooter ready."

"Send it."

Fury, slowly squeezed the trigger.

CRACK!!!

The bullet travelled through the air. I travelled past all of the people he fought for. I flew right past Jayda and Shade, brushing their hair aside as it did and continued towards the man. It struck him right below the nose. It tore through his teeth and ripped his lower jaw off. A split second after, the napalm ignited and the explosion ripped the man’s upper body apart. His lower body stayed standing for a second longer and then dropped to the ground.

Fury nodded to Dusty and began to stand. They did it, everyone was safe. But Fury couldn’t help but feel like he was forgetting something. Something that happened in that mission that was important…

Suddenly, the tower they were in began to explode. That was it! The tower was rigged to explode! There was no time; they had to get out of there. Fury and Dusty leapt out of the tower and began to free-fall. They fell for what felt like an eternity before the ground rushed up to meet them and the world went dark again.

Fury could hear hushed voices, but they were angry. His eyes slowly opened as he heard the last bit of the argument between Brix and Shade. He lay there until Brix walked out of the room before he moved. He knew what she was doing to herself was wrong, but he also knew she could take care of herself. If he said anything now, it would just cause an argument. So, Fury began to move like he had just woke up. He sat up in the bed, swore multiple times, and then began pulling all the wires and gadgets that were hooked up to him out. He looked over to Shade and said, ”You look like shit.”

Hearing her brother's movements, Shade's hooded eyes slid a glance to see that Fury was actually beginning to wake up. Hearing the faint profanity hissed through his teeth only confirmed he was fully conscious now. Funny how some quirks within the DNA tend to copy themselves within siblings, as Shade was also trying to rid herself of the medical tubes and wires her own body was connected to. It was then she found the marks Brix had warned about.... The odd crimson hieroglyphics weren't as bold through the skin just yet, but noticeable enough like a bad burn

Narrowing her eyes down at her arm, Shade then looked around the room for her clothes. Through the bathroom door, she saw a mound of garments piled on the counter and recognized the leg of her pants and a part of her jacket showing. With a faint growl of irritation within her throat, she sat up carefully just as Fury spoke. Shade paused for a moment while leaning her weight against her left arm, finding it strikingly odd that through her screaming muscles and fatigue, just hearing her brother's voice gave her added strength. Shade simply answered him with a grunt while pushing herself to sit completely up and swing her legs over in attempts to stand.

Everything they had endured that day came flooding through her mind all at once, making it difficult to place events in order. But one sole thought stood out.... what all they did would have an effect on what dimensions they were ripped into. Shade could only hope the purpose of their rift travel was to change things for the better. Then another thought flashed through her mind.... one that brought a sickening lurch to her stomach. None of the rifts they were pulled into showed themselves older than what they were now.... She quickly shook off the burdening thoughts and turned her head enough to speak over her shoulder. "As do you, Fury...but then again, that's no different than you look on any good day of the week..."

Once Shade was confident that her legs would hold her up and move, she carefully staggered towards the bathroom and closed the door. Getting dressed wasn't as much effort as she thought, but the lump in her pants pocket did bring back to mind her intentions when she stood at the beach before all this happened. She didn't need to reach for it as a heavy sigh escaped her before braving the door again and opening it.

With her eyes kept downcast, and her jacket hiding the marks over her arms, Shade quietly approached Fury's bed with her right hand now in her pocket. She said nothing as she pulled out the item and set it on his bed beside him. "I never knew... or understood what this was until you came to me with that file...." She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze as her voice struggled to remain steady, clearing it with a nervous cough before continuing to speak. "When I saw the name.... your birth name... it hit me so hard..." Finally, she moved her hand to reveal a small silver ornament in the shape of a basic angel's silhouette with Fury's name engraved in the middle. "Mother always had this hanging from her window.... would never tell me about it no matter how many times I asked.... Said she would explain when I was older...." With a slow intake of breath, Shade turned away for the door. "It was one of the few things Cid and Edea found after the destruction of the Fringe, so they kept it safe for me.... it should be yours Fury. At least so you know they never once forgot about you..."

Knowing how her brother found personal moments just as uneasy as she did, Shade staggered out of the room and headed out of the Infirmary to leave him to his own thoughts just as her own began weighing her down.