QUEST FOR THE FALLEN
Chapter 1.
Sector 7. Midgar.
7th Heaven.
No one could have seen this one coming.
The war that is.
Whether it started yesterday or 30 years ago, it made little difference to the man sitting at the table. From his dour expression, he looked like an individual who had spent his whole life fighting for something important, only to discover that it had been all for naught. The glowing Materia spheres sitting quietly in front of him could not easily dispel the desolation he felt through the entire core of his being, nor could the quiet solitude of his bar– 7th Heaven. Narvis felt acutely aware of every loss that AVALANCHE had suffered so far, fighting Shinra's attempts to control something that even his own intelligence network couldn't fully uncover.
All he knew of Shinra's plans was of something discovered at a place that one of his operatives referred to as the 'Temple of the Ancients.'
Not much was known of the place, since it was discovered by an archeological team from Bone Village nearly ten years ago, as it had been buried by vegetation and other overgrowth.
He should've known what kind of trouble it would have spelled for everyone in the future, since its earth shattering discovery.
But how could he have known that Shinra would have taken such a deep interest in the now unearthed construct, and gone to great lengths in order to secure its secrets?
A loud knock on the door distracted the man from any further thoughts.
"Yes?" He answered distractedly, gathering up his Materia and dropping them in a special pouch, where they clinked like glass crystal. He cinched it shut and then pocketed it.
The door opened and two people entered.
Narvis recognized the well dressed pair as not only his best men, but close family friends as well.
"Valerie. Gordon." He said quietly, leaning back in his chair, before tugging down his own worn leather jacket, acting like the events of the past few days didn't happen.
The pair walked in, Valerie closing the door behind her as she went. She had a noticeable, jagged scar on her forehead that didn't quite heal when the three of them encountered a creature later to be determined as a Bomb. Despite their best efforts against it and the three Cockatrices that had tagged along for the ride.
Using a couple of rounds of Bolt magic took care of the pesky monsters before they could use its own Petrify abilities. But the magic had little effect on the Bomb creature which grew in size with each hit.
Before anyone in the party could use any Ice magic or launch another attack, the damned thing exploded, catching Valerie in its wake– whom had been the target of the thing's attack.
Though seriously injured, the woman recovered, but was left with a reminder of last month's encounter.
Gordon was the first to speak up.
"You look like hell, my friend." He joked lightly, seeing how terrible he looked, sitting with a pasty expression on his face. "Forget to set the alarm clock again?"
Valerie elbowed him a bit in the ribs.
"Knock it off, Gordon. He hasn't been sleeping well." The woman cast her hazel-colored eyes towards her friend and the current leader of AVALANCHE. "Isn't that right, Narvis?"
Narvis sighed a bit, before nodding. "Partly." He answered truthfully, if not cryptically.
Gordon looked around the bar, half expecting to see Obi, Yale, and Marlena lounging about, playing cards or sharing a drink.
"Where are Obi, Yale, and Marlena?" He asked. "Weren't they supposed to be at Nibel Mountain, taking care of the reactor?"
Narvis looked down at the table.
"They didn't make it," the man said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
This announcement stunned the pair.
"My god…!" Valerie said.
"Impossible!" Gordon fired back. "They were one of our more experienced infiltration groups around! How could this have happened?"
Narvis raised his head. "Somebody outside AVALANCHE tipped off Shinra and they had several squads of soldiers and a Dragon waiting for them."
This bit of news crushed the pair's spirit.
"That mean's there's only five of us left…" Valerie moaned.
Gordon was steamed and disgusted. "That doesn't give AVALANCHE much leverage, Narvis. Five members is barely enough to run the organization! Obi was the tactical genius of our group for God's sake! Marlena was our top weapons' and armor specialist! And Yale had my only Time Materia!"
Valerie gave him a knowing look. "Because you accused him of stealing it."
"He did!" The other man protested. "I had it on my night stand and when I woke up, it was gone and Yale wasn't in his bed!"
"He told me that you either misplaced it or lost it somehow. He suggested to me then that you should have looked under your bed."
This bit of news surprised the man. "You mean it might have fallen off the nightstand, rolled under the bed, and got mixed up with the rest the stuff I have under it?"
Valerie shrugged. "Probably. But when I checked Yale's stock before he left three days ago, he didn't have any Time Materia."
Gordon stared at the mirror behind the bar, seeing how that could be an acceptable possibility.
"I will when I get back to Rocket Town." He told her, inwardly voicing silent forgiveness to his departed comrade-in-arms for attacking his trust and credibility.
He looked at Narvis and asked, "So what are we going to do? Recruit new members?"
"In a week or two." Narvis promised distractedly. "Right now, we have to complete their mission and shut down the Nibel Reactor before it goes on-line again in the next couple of days."
"You think that's the reason for the increase in monsters around here?" Valeria questioned.
"Possibly. But I can't be too sure without further investigation into the matter. All I know, is that somebody outside our group tipped off Shinra and I want to nail the asshole responsible for their deaths." Narvis vowed darkly. "Then we'll take care of the reactor."
Sounded like a good plan.
"So where do we start?"
"I think the Wall Market would be a good start. Talk to what's his name…?" The man said, trying to think of what it was.
"Don Corneo?" Valerie suggested helpfully.
"Yeah. That's him. Don. The fat bastard who loves to pimp." Narvis said with a growing smile. He looked over to Gordon. "Grab our gear, man. We're going to go pay him a visit."
Gordon nodded. "Right on it, Boss."
Chapter 2.
Wall Market was unusually crowded this early in the late morning.
People were bustling about, with tense looks on some of the patrons' faces.
Gordon shifted his gaze from around from his vantage point from the Item Shop.
"Either they're having a fire sale on various items, or I'd say something's got them worried."
Narvis agreed, as did Valeria.
"Something doesn't smell right here."
"Maybe old Donald farted?" Gordon joked slyly. "That would explain a great many things."
"Wouldn't put it past him," Narvis answered with a smile on his lips. "But I suspect that something else is afoot."
Sure enough, coming from the north of where Don's place would be, was a small group of Shinra soldiers.
"Shit!" Gordon squeaked in alarm. "You're right!"
Narvis nodded. "So the fat bastard has those assholes on his payroll, eh?" he rubbed his hands gleefully, eager for a bit of payback for his fallen comrades. Shinra wouldn't miss these jokers. Not by a long shot. They were expendable and replaceable. Always popping up like daisies when you least expected it.
"You guys ready?" He queried his two associates, pulling out his sling blade– a special sword that absorbed and directed lethal amounts of energy. Sometimes, it could also do the same for certain types of magic.
Valerie placed on her favorite gloves, one with metal spikes. Hell, she didn't need any weapon. She was the weapon!
"Ready." She chimed in.
Gordon unslung a special particle beam cannon and charged its cells, waiting for it to come to full power.
"Check." he answered, as soon as the weapon beeped its own readiness.
One of the guards spotted them and raised the alarm for his fellows and the two groups of combatants charged en mass.
Narvis got in a quick strike with his sling blade, taking out one of the soldiers cleanly, but two pummeled him mercilessly from the side and from behind. He went down just as another took aim with his auto-cannon and shot his partner instead of him.
Stupid fuck! The man thought with some amusement, even though some of the guards were still trying to take him out with either their fists or the butts of their own weapons.
Narvis was glad that he had some good armor on underneath his clothes. Otherwise, he would've been toast by now in so many ways.
Gordon saw Narvis fall, but he knew that the older man was playing possum. He discharged his weapon again, firing lethal bolts of energy into the tightly packed crowd of soldiers, mowing them down like flowers. Further to his right, he saw bodies flying this way and that like out of some old cartoon he had once seen as a child. Valeria may look meek and shy to some on the outside, but get her into a fight and you could kiss your life insurance goodbye.
Then he saw her body start to glow strangely and he knew that she had reached her next limit break.
Three seconds later and half the group was taken out in what she called her patented Hundred Fists (a flurry of hits, followed by a rising punch) coupled with her Sky Kick (a solid spin kick that first sent any opponent straight into the air before she pounded them into the ground like an arrow) and her last one, Star Fury (this one allowed her to concentrate all of her energy for a brief moment and release it into one gigantic blast through both fists, using a nearby galaxy as a backdrop).
That one he liked the best, because it put on such a nice cosmic show, before the end came in a massive explosion that reverberated all around Wall Market.
Gordon's wasn't coming for awhile, because he hadn't killed enough enemies. But he had his Chain Buster and Dawn of Thunder.
But when his came, he used his Dawn of Thunder to successfully destabilize his enemy with a loud explosion of sound energy that caused serious damage to the group before him before he put them out of their misery with standard particle beam fire.
Narvis on the other hand managed to get back up after his group left to assist their comrades. The man unleashed his limit break, Earth Shock. Whipping his sling blade up and around majestically– and trailing light energy as he went– Narvis held the sword up for two seconds, bringing all of his power to bear and brought the weapon down with such force that– when in contact with any solid surface– it caused an immediate earthquake in the area around them. The buildings swayed back and forth as a result, and the soldiers before him lost their footing– each of them fell either face first or flat on their ass.
A quick slice here and a dice there afterwards, felled the remaining soldiers. Gordon and Valeria cleaned up by picking what items they found after the guards had vanished into the thin air.
Just like every other enemy they defeated since returning to Sector 7.
"Everybody okay?" Narvis chimed in.
Gordon nodded. "I'm fine. I took some damage though."
"Heal yourself." The other man said. "That's an order." Glancing over at Valerie, he added, "You too."
"What about you?" The woman questioned, taking a tiny potion from her person and slipping it into a special dispenser on the underside of their wrist gauntlets; the tops containing Materia slot chambers. She had a Fire, Ice, and Lightning, plus Cure magic.
Narvis nodded, feeling a bit winded. Not to mention tired
"I can probably use three of those potions myself. That or a good bed."
"Bed." Gordon voted instantly. "You go ahead. Valerie and I will check out fat Don's place."
The man sighed. "Make sure that the fat bastard doesn't pull any tricks."
Valerie gave her boss a predatory smile. "Don't worry. He won't. If he does, I'll change his religion the hard way."
Gordon winced. "Ow."
Narvis chuckled and went to find the hotel across the street. The day hadn't turned out so bad, but he still needed to find out who was responsible for selling out AVALANCHE.
* * *
Gordon and Valerie made their way through Wall Market without any further incident, though the woman commented on the smell of food wafting out of the nearby eatery.
"Smells good." Then she heard her stomach growl. "Damn." she complained.
"Haven't eaten?" Gordon chimed in.
"No. Not since yesterday. I was busy."
The other man stowed his cannon on his back and said, "Then let's go and get something to munch on."
"What about Don Corneo?"
"Corn Hole can wait." Gordon insulted silkily. "Eating first is more important."
Valerie smiled gratefully. Business was business. But pleasure was, well, pleasure.
There was no arguing that ideal.
They went inside.
The tiny restaurant was crowded, with a small lounge pushed off to the side, filled with chatty patrons and a bar island filled with famished customers. The smell of exotic foods wafted past both of them and both Valerie and Gordon managed to find a spot in the front with not much trouble.
The cook smiled at Gordon and Valerie and then asked, "What'd ya'll have?"
"What's good?"
"Chef's Special," he said. "And that's all I have at the moment. Karl's making up a new menu in the back…" he leaned closer. "Unless of course you guys feel a bit adventurous and wanna try some of the leftover morning grub that I got sitting in the cooler."
The two traded looks.
"Will it kill us?" Valerie queried.
The portly, but muscular cook shrugged. "Depends. Do you have an antidote?"
Gordon's face drained of all its color.
Seeing this, the cook broke out in laughter.
"Don't worry, son. I was jes messin' with ya. The food's fine."
The man could only swallow, but he nodded– albeit weakly.
"Man, you shouldn't be doing that to us." He managed to protest outright.
"Do what?"
"Mind games!"
The cook chuckled. "Got'cher blood goin' didn't it?"
Gordon nodded again, hand over his heart. Then he breathed out an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah."
The cook smiled before saying, "Hang tight. I'll be back with your order."
"Sure." Valerie spoke up in her companion's place. "No problem."
The two of them watched the cook disappear behind the large commissary island and into the back area, which began as a tiny hallway lit only by a single light bulb with a string attached.
Gordon leaned against the counter for a second. "Man, that guy's gonna be the death of me one of these days. Either his food, or his lame ass attempts at humor."
Valerie grinned. "He got you didn't he?"
"Yeah."
"So quit your bitching. Farrell just likes to yank a lot of people's chains these days. Keep's his mind sharp."
Gordon grunted somewhat, just as the cook came back with a couple of plates, walked over to the bar island where they were, and placed them down– both coverings steaming.
Gordon regarded his dish with suspicion. "What'd ya do? Nuke it?"
"Microwave actually. I don't use Fire spells here. Too messy."
"Nice." The woman returned in approval, before lifting her Cling-wrapped dish.
Farrell nodded. "Dig in kids."
The two didn't need any further encouragement, Valerie least of all.
Chapter 3.
There was something to be said about the allure of a soft bed. The way its fluffed satin-covered pillows begged to be cuddled and cherished as the most treasured item in the whole world, or maybe it was the thick and cool cotton covers, with their individual color schemes of patchwork squares which finally called forth a particular tired soul to its inviting embrace.
Namely Narvis's.
The man sighed heavily, feeling the weight of this particular day lift off of him like any good cure spell would.
Sitting down on the soft bed, he pulled off his boots and then his socks. Then he stood up and stripped off his clothes, staying only in his striped boxers, but feeling old nonetheless. The ongoing battle with Shinra had left more than its share of gray hairs on the man's head. Untold scars and other old wounds were also present on his body in various places, each telling a story of its own.
Thirty-three years old and I'm no where near finished with my fight with Shinra and its goons. A fight that my dad started when he was young and his father before him. Narvis thought to himself, knowing that this new war was different– would be different– than any other battle fought thus far.
This would be the fight for the Planet itself. He reflected, wondering if that old geezer up on Cosmos Canyon's Observatory was actually telling the truth about the whole thing; that sooner or later, a reckoning of sorts would be had and only then would everyone finally know the truth about what the Life Stream and the Planet really meant.
Puzzles and riddles. He mused, while washing up in the spare bathroom and then going back into the bedroom, where four beds presented themselves for his choosing.
But he had already chosen. Pulling back the covers to one bed in particular, he quietly slipped inside its cool grasp and covered himself up, instinctively assuming a fetal position which was the most comfortable for him.
In seconds, Narvis Garamond was asleep.
* * *
With the final bill paid, Gordon Whiles and Valerie Harper stepped out of Farrell's establishment with full stomachs and clear minds.
They now knew what they had to do next and the task before them was incredibly simple and easy.
Nothing could stop them from accomplishing their task.
Especially Shinra.
The pair walked up the path that would lead them up to Don's mansion, past the clothing shop, and into the next area, where there was a junkyard, a wrestling ring, a weapons shop, and lastly, another restaurant– small time as it was, complete with its own bar.
However, neither of them wanted to stop in for an afternoon nightcap (as Narvis fondly called them), since they were so close to their goals.
But once they got inside the mansion parameter, the two noticed just how lame and tacky things were and Valerie felt like she either wanted to run or throw up on cue.
Whichever one would make her stomach feel better.
"I guess that cheesecake surprise didn't agree with me." The young woman complained quietly to her traveling companion.
"You're the one who wanted a double helping." Gordon pointed out, trying not to smile at the same time. Antagonizing the pretty fighter was the last thing he wanted, especially given the circumstances of which she could be so easily aroused at any given moment.
"You're an ass." The young woman retaliated sweetly. "But you're right. That was my fault. I shouldn't have overindulged."
Gordon let out an inward sigh, thinking that this time, he was wrong.
And spared of any backlash for the time being.
They made it to the front steps before being intercepted by a single body guard, while his companion was sitting off to the side, seven cards in hand.
His toothy appraisal of Valerie just made the woman's skin crawl.
She did her best to keep her mind and body focused at the task at hand.
"No one goes in without the Don's permission, or that of his son's."
"Which Don?" Gordon asked. "Senior or junior's?"
"The youngest." The guard said, looking over Gordon's tall and well-stocked profile. "And he doesn't like men."
Gordon smiled at him.
"Hey man, I wasn't asking if the little shit head was into men. My lady friend and I are here to pay your fat boss a visit."
The guard remained unmoved. "Like I said," he repeated sternly. "The Don isn't into men. He likes women though."
Valerie flashed the guard her most chilling smile. "You can tell that asshole that the only way he's having sex with me is through a plastic straw."
The guard's composure faltered. "I'll pretend that I didn't just hear that remark. Don Corneo is a very powerful figurehead around here and would appreciate it if you gave him the proper respect that he's entitled."
Valerie brightened for a second. "You mean to tell me that Gil sniffing oinker isn't around?" She ventured cagily.
"That's right. He isn't. But like I told your male friend here, his son is."
Valerie then flipped the guard the bird. "Here's my respect. Now let us in."
His other companion got up, sensing that there was going to be trouble.
"We can't. Not unless you get permission from either Don or his son, Don, Jr."
Gordon sighed.
"And just how do we go about doing that?"
"Only rules is that women of pretty caliber are allowed in. And unless you are a girl, pal, you can't waltz in," he flicked an appraising gaze upon Valerie though, sizing her up like she was a piece of prized meat. "Though your traveling companion is the only exception. However, there must be three present. One just simply isn't enough I'm afraid."
Gordon sighed loudly. This wasn't going to do at all. Not one bit.
"So what are we supposed to do?"
"Get a couple of chickies together and we can all have ourselves a marvelous party." The guard said with a malicious grin.
Valerie's suddenly bright mood went interminably dark in the space of only a few seconds. The next thing either three men knew, she charged the two of them with lightening quick speed and literally smashed the first guard up against the door so hard, the wooden paneling splintered; crunching loudly as it broke.
"Listen up you sniveling sorry excuse for a prick," she whispered in the most deadliest of voiced tones. "I just lost some of my best friends to power hungry dork wads like your fat bastard of a boss and his degenerate offspring! I intend on marching my butt inside this place and personally explain my position first with fists and then with the bottoms of my boots, as they each make first contact with his right and left butt cheek!" She pressed her forearm against the man's throat a little bit harder, squeezing what little air was left in his tortured lungs. "And there is nothing that you can do to stop me. Do you read me Roger Ramjet?"
The man nodded weakly, while still clawing at her arm, but unable to break her hold. Just as the light went out in his world, the woman released him suddenly; satisfied that she had made her point.
Turning around, she speared the other guard with a cold, hard look, just as he was advancing on her.
"You wanna try me to, sweetie? I'll make sure that you never have kids…again."
The second guard wisely backed off.
Valerie reached down and hauled up the first bruiser by the scruff of the neck and promptly threw him in the direction of his comrade.
"If I were you, I'd go back to playing cards. It's a lot safer than having to tangle with either one of us." The young woman said, after watching the first guard eat dirt the hard way.
Gordon was impressed with Valerie's gutsy tactics.
"Way to go, hon." He teased. "Will you be teaching our kids the same way?"
Valerie's serious demeanor was instantly replaced with a knowing smile.
"Mmm…if you want me to, baby." She returned silkily. Pushing open the door, the two went inside.
Chapter 4.
Breaking in was perhaps the best thing for the both of them, which completely surprised the guy at the front desk, whom wasn't expecting any visitors today.
Looking at the two of them, the man stammered, "I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry, but you can't come in here!"
Gordon silenced the man's lame protest with a well placed shot from his cannon, which obliterated the sign right next to him, showering the sniveling weasel with its remnants.
"Go cry me a river and tell me if I give a shit." The man responded coldly. "Now, if you would be so kind as to produce your boss, we can be out of here."
As if filled with a reservoir of courage, the man said simply, "I can't do that. It's against the rules. Don Corneo's rules, of course."
The other man sighed and nodded to Valerie, whom charged up the stairs while he kept the desk clerk under the gun and his watchful gaze.
The woman checked the room on the far right and found nothing.
She went over to the basement entrance and didn't see anything of consequence and leaned over the railing to give Gordon a thumbs-up gesture.
"Good." The man murmured, seeing that the central door was left unguarded and unchallenged.
He looked at the clerk once more. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get your scrawny ass out of here."
The man looked at him and then at the woman, who inclined her head thoughtfully towards the exit.
"Trust me, you don't want to be a part of this." She told him.
The nameless man left his post and bolted out the door in a dignified hurry.
Gordon secured the exit and then ascended the stairs smartly to join Valerie.
"Shall we?" He proffered with a wave of his particle beam cannon.
"Let's." Valerie responded with a playful smile, then with her companion covering her, she knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" A tiny voice spoke from behind the closed doors.
"Room service!" The woman said airily, before sniggering softly. Gordon shared a smile with her, seeing how much she was enjoying this charade.
"Don't want any! Tell Zales that he's on break!"
Valerie stepped back and kicked in the door.
The handsome blond-haired man behind the desk looked up and found himself staring into the face of one determined young woman and a man with a cannon.
His open-mouthed expression told the pair all they needed to know.
He had been sufficiently surprised.
"Zales is currently unavailable at the moment. If you would like, we could sub in for him."
"What the hell– ?" the young man sputtered in frank disbelief.
"It's not nice to swear," Valerie scolded him up front. "Especially in the presence of a lady."
The man reached over and hit a button on the small intercom. "Intruders! Help!"
Hidden panels in the wall opened and a small group of men emerged, all dressed in the red garb of Shinra soldiers and carrying guns. All equally dangerous.
"What's going on, sir?" One of them ventured.
"Take care of these riffraff!" The younger Don ordered before vanishing into the back room.
The six guards advanced on the pair slowly, then opened fire at point-blank range.
Valerie fell instantly into a pre-attack pattern, first by dodging the incoming projectiles, then setting upon the first guy within range, bringing her fists into play, rocking the guy with a couple of quick jabs and then a right hook, which stunned the guard. Then she picked him up and threw him out the door.
A thud! was heard, but neither combatant would spare the energy to look to see where he had landed.
One of the other guards quickly lobbed a grenade into Valerie's general direction and the woman saw what was coming and ran for the door, grabbing Gordon on the way out.
"Run like hell, run like hell, run like hell– !" She urged.
Just as the two leaped off the first floor, an explosion rippled outwards, consuming everything in fire.
Picking themselves up off the floor, Valerie found herself shaking her head to get rid of the pounding in her head and the ringing in her ears.
"That one's gonna leave a mark." She quipped, looking around herself first, then found Gordon still face down. Going over, she shook him gently.
"Gordon! Say something!" she said with growing worry, thinking the worst.
The man opened his eyes, drool pouring out of his mouth for a moment. Sucking in the remnants, he moaned a plaintive "Ow…"
"Think you can get up?" She asked, seeing the other guard still lying face down, but not gone.
This was new. They usually disappeared. Maybe something about the red uniform had something to do with it. Or perhaps they were a lot stronger than they looked.
In that case…she mused with a heavy heart and looked up, her worst fears confirmed.
Guns were pointed down at their position.
"Um, Gordon?"
"Y-yeah?"
"Can you get up?"
"Sure. I've been through worse before."
"You might just want to rethink that."
"Why?" The man asked, getting up on his own finally, brushing himself off and retrieving his particle beam weapon. Afterwards, he looked around and said, "Oh." then added some more, "Oh. I see. Yes, this is going to get very interesting."
"Think we can take them?" Valerie said with confidence, her gaze still locked on the group above their position.
There was a noticeable pause in the other man's reply.
"Gordon?"
"How good are you with that Life spell?"
"I've only practiced it a couple of times," the woman said. "Why?"
"I think we're going to need it."
Valerie spun around and gasped.
There were four Mighty Grunts and a company consisting of 8 Soldier 3rds behind them.
"This isn't going to be pretty." She finally muttered, wishing Narvis was here to back them up. But he needed to recover from the earlier altercation with Shinra's goons.
Gordon made a decision. "Go and get Narvis. Now!"
"But– "
"I'll hold them off the best I can. We're going to need him."
"But you'll die!" The woman said fearfully.
"Been there, done that." The other man said in a nonchalant manner. "Now get going!"
Valerie hesitated, just as the enemy started to close in. Then she made a decision, one that she hoped she could live with.
She ran.
The Mighty Grunts moved in to block her path to freedom, but the woman whipped out her left hand and called upon her Fire Materia to bail her out.
Four spheres appeared, whipped around both hands majestically, then joined her physical body. Hands glowing with a heated rage, the woman launched a couple of quick bursts in their direction, driving them back and open a hole in their ranks. One that she took full blown advantage of.
She slid between the legs of one Mighty Grunt and leaped up, still in a dead run. The now open exit was a welcome sight and an inviting one and she took its silent invitation wholeheartedly.
Plunging out into freedom, she heard the tell-tale whine of Gordon's particle beam cannon amp up, some fire being exchanged rapidly and then a thunderous explosion followed suit: one that reached out from the building and successfully slapped the fleeing woman down where she kissed the ground the hard way.
"Gordon…" she whispered sorrowfully. "My love…no…"
But there was nothing that she could do except to keep running for her life, tears streaming down her face, first in loss, then in anger.
Somehow she would make those Shinra bastards pay. She swore on her parents fallen memory, she would make them pay. Now it was Gordon's turn as well to take up her plight.
And once Narvis came back with her, the two of them would raise hell or high water doing it as proud members of AVALANCHE.
Shinra will pay!
Chapter 5.
Narvis woke up after a three hour nap, feeling like there was something wrong.
The whole atmosphere inside the room just went dead with tension and worry and the leader of AVALANCHE couldn't figure out why.
A glance over to his immediate right and he found Valerie sitting on the edge of the bed, intense worry plastered all over her face.
"What's wrong?" He said with a rasp in voice, and then set about clearing his throat, taking a few moments to get rid of the crap lodged down there. Nothing like a few lung cookies to spice up things after a refreshing nap.
But the lingering ache in his back told him that he would still be feeling it. He checked his life point numbers on his own wrist gauntlets and found them to be sufficiently recharged. His magic points were back to normal, so he set about getting dressed, mindful of his current state of dress he was in.
Looking around some more, he found one thing amiss.
"Where's Gordon?"
Valerie looked away from him.
"The last thing he said was to come and get you and come back. But I don't know if he is still alive." She said softly.
Narvis froze in mid-dress, his shirt hanging loosely around his neck.
"W-what?" He stammered. "What happened?"
"Shinra soldiers and some Mighty Grunts came to pay us a visit at Corneo's place. I managed to drive them back with my Fire spells, but I don't know what happened after that. A huge explosion slapped me around like a kite caught in a violent crosswind, but I picked myself up and kept going; believing that Gordon was gone."
Narvis picked up the pace and got dressed in record time, snagging his sword lying face down and across the night stand table next to his old bed.
Slipping it into its custom made hip scabbard, he belted himself up, and took out his Materia from his pouch. This time he stuck in his three Fire Materia– to signify the level he was at. It took him two years to get this far, though he hadn't been able to find the legendary fire spell, Ultima, that Bugenhagen had spoken of– Old Man Bug as Valerie called him once.
"You have your Life Spells on hand?"
"Only the first one, yes," the woman said with some uncertainty. "But I haven't had much success with it and I haven't reached a level for the second Life spell."
"Only one will be sufficient." Narvis consoled her gently.
"But I don't know if I can do it." Valerie countered. "It's been several years since I've used it."
"You don't need to worry. I know you can do it."
That bit of morale boosting appeared to have the desired effect on the woman. Her spirits visibly improved somewhat.
"Okay." She said. "Let's do this."
* * *
Lucky, lucky, lucky. Gordon repeated over and over, managing to dodge the next shot that the last two remaining Grunts managed to send his way. He was virtually spent from fighting Shinra's soldiers, glad that he had managed to wipe them all out with a few well-placed Bolt 2 spells.
Now it was just having to do a dance with the devil and survive this awful mess.
But the Grunt to his right had other plans and nailed him with a bracketing salvo from its gun arm.
Gordon took the hit right in the chest, throwing him backwards and onto the floor. A waft of smoke rose from his chest and he felt a burning sensation.
His armor had taken the hit, but his life points were becoming severely depleted– as attributed to the soft bleeping noise from his gauntlets.
Great. The man moaned softly, eyes rolling back slightly in his head. The pain would be a delicious feeling, if he weren't going to die in the next few seconds.
The heavy shaking of the floor, metal against wood, snapped his world back into focus.
Try as he might, he couldn't find the necessary strength to rise to his feet. Not at first anyway.
With shaking hands, he managed to grab a couple of Potions and stick them in the chamber, listening to the quiet hiss of contact and the flood of life-nourishing fluids coursing through his veins, seeping into every pore of his body, but leaving him with a feeling of overwhelming nausea.
Ohh god…he thought disjointedly, feeling every fiber of his body ache and cry out with unrelenting pain.
Gordon could only imagine that he had a few broken bones. The armor he wore was good, but not good enough.
Sensing a presence, he looked up and stared into the impassive faces of the Mighty Grunts.
They made no sound, only pre-programmed machinations– part human, part cyborg, developed by Shinra's Science Division, headed by an elusively secret individual going by the name of Hojo.
Gordon smiled up on them as they opened fire, thus ending his life in a split-second.
No fanfare, not even a goodbye.
Just a directive.
Eliminate AVALANCHE.
Narvis and Valerie arrived only seconds after the Grunts took out Gordon, and the woman let out a blood-curdling scream that shook the place down to the core, before she launched herself directly at the two remaining Mighty Grunts, not even caring for her own safety.
She wanted nothing more than to pay back those Shinra bastards for everything they had done to her and to every other member that graced AVALANCHE's modest sanctuary that is the 7th Heaven.
She dropped the first Mighty Grunt with a combination straight punch/flip kick which blew apart the thing's armor, only to reveal an inhuman thing beneath.
The second– not even touched by anyone– also self-destructed, its armor coming apart like a shell.
That's all there is of these creatures. Nothing more than a covering for whatever these things are. The woman realized, wondering just how in the hell Shinra could be so fucking cruel to people, as to put them through this kind of pain and torture, and still come out on top smelling like a bunch of roses.
No more. Valerie vowed, sizing up her opponents, while Narvis went to check up on Gordon, sizing him up.
"He's dead." The man said, his voice cutting through the woman's own anger, and allowing her to see clearly again. But not enough to cool her raging emotions.
These things were responsible for her lover's death and she was more than happy to pay them back in kind.
And eye for an eye. She vowed, praying for all the strength that she had and launched herself into the fray once more, just as the first Grunt charged her, trying to come at her with a slashing move– one that she dodged and then snap-kicked the thing in its face.
That is, if it had one. There was no telling what these black shaped humanoids had.
Could it breathe? Did it talk? Could it think? The thoughts constantly rebounded inside her head, desperately vying for her attention, even as she put the first one down and out of its misery.
It vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a Grenade in its wake.
In an effort to scoop it up and still remain in the fight, the second Grunt successfully dealt the woman a blow, which staggered her a bit and sapped some of her life points away.
This pissed her off to no end, and despite the smarting pain in her upper back, she managed to turn around and get the jump on the guy, even as it tried to retreat– a coward's way out, she saw.
And there was no way in hell that she was going to let him get away with this.
She pulled the pin on the Grenade and threw it, where it landed just in front of the escaping Grunt and it exploded with raw fury, sending the thing back to whatever oblivion it had been spawned from.
In its passing, another Grenade was dropped, which the woman went to go pick up, and pocketed it, believing that it would come in very handily against their fight with Shinra.
"If you're done kicking ass, would you terribly mind coming over here and using a Life spell on Gordon?"
The thirst for blood satiated, Valerie felt herself come back from Cloud Nine (and her senses), before she realized that one man was still dead and needing her help.
She still held reservations about her own abilities as a field medic turned martial arts expert. It was her father's doing of course, always wanting her to follow in the footsteps of Nibelheim's greatest fighter of all time.
But she loved Gordon, had always did, since the day she had laid eyes on him when he joined AVALANCHE only two years ago, on the very day that she had left her hometown to join the mercenary group in its fight against Shinra.
But she had no choice in the matter. They had no Phoenix Downs readily available and the ones in the neighboring Item Shops were hellishly expensive. Much more than any of them could afford, even on a good day of fighting monsters out in the wilderness areas surrounding Midgar.
"Quit dawdling and come on!" Narvis hissed abruptly, tearing the scared woman out of her own personal reverie. She had no idea that she had been hesitating, lingering back really, unsure of the whole thing.
Then she sighed, feeling hope quietly taking flight, as she cast fate to the winds themselves and promptly walked over to where Narvis and Gordon were– the latter on the ground, bloodied and lifeless like a rag doll.
Pursing her lips, she dug into her pouch and cradled a pink-colored Materia sphere, then exchanged it with her Ice magic, and did a lot of praying as she placed both hands on her dead lover.
Come on. She whispered to the Materia sphere. Give me one last chance, one last reason to believe that we still work together as a team. Let me heal the one person that I would like to spend my life with than any other man in the world. Give me the power to bring him back to life, give me the opportunity to feel his arms around me and his lips upon mine…
In response to her silent pleas, the Materia in her wrist gauntlet glowed painfully bright, and for that moment, time itself seemed to stand still.
A gentle light enveloped the man and Gordon suddenly gasp and inhaled at the same time, the color swiftly returning to his cheeks.
"Urk!" He croaked, before he took in another breath of that sweet-smelling air.
Narvis looked at Valerie in amazement. "I guess you still got the touch." He praised softly, glad to see that the three of them were back together.
Valerie nodded, deeply grateful that the spell worked after a long and inactive four years.
Checking his gauntlet, the woman saw that his life points were dangerously low (though not quite in the yellow), and called upon her Cure 3 magic to do the rest.
In a few seconds, Gordon was cured, but his mental state was another matter entirely, one that he pointed out by saying, "Man, I do not want to have to go through that again."
Valerie let out a great big sigh. Neither did she.
But Shinra wasn't out of the clear just yet. A lot of blood-debt had to be repaid first. And the more damage AVALANCHE caused in the long run, the better.
Nothing like a few monkey wrenches thrown into the works. She mused, before reaching down and giving her battered lover a great big hug and a kiss– to let him know how wonderful it felt to have him back again.
For the moment, Gordon couldn't do anything, as he was presently being ravished by the young woman.
"I know there's a room at the inn with at least a couple of hours left, if you guys should ever need it." Narvis hinted playfully.
Valerie pulled away and then helped Gordon back up to his feet.
"I could certainly use the time off." The resurrected man said in defense of what he had just experienced.
Valerie gave him an enticing look. "Maybe later," she cooed, before her face hardened with grave determination. "Right after I take care of some personal business with Corneo's son. That asshole owes me a life."
No one was going to argue that point.
"Lead on, warrior princess." Narvis prodded jokingly.
"Hey!" Valerie retaliated, then slugged him one in the shoulder for good measure. "I told you not to call me that!"
Gordon laughed, feeling at ease with himself, despite the callously dangerous situation.
Any break in the storm was a welcome one, even in their line of work.
Chapter 6.