Final Fantasy VIIIX
In less then 48 hours, everything had done straight to hell. What was supposed to be an easy kidnapping was turned into a massive shitstorm. The Prima Vista was badly damaged and had been put down in a cursed forest, which had petrified, trapping Zidane's friend, Blank, inside. And the knight, Rusty whatever his name was, wouldn't stop bitching about taking Garnet back to Alexandria.
"Um, Zidane," the young boy that was a certifiable Black Mage spoke up from beside him, "how soon do you think we can make it to a safe haven?"
"Not sure, but there should be some place that leads back just above the mist nearby." Zidane answered the young Black Mage.
"You should have thought of that before you kidnapped the Princess, you fool!" Zidane glared at Steiner, then directed his gaze at Garnet. Steiner got the point: the more he complained, the more danger she was in.
Garnet, Princess of Alexandria, sighed at the antics the captain of the Knights of Pluto had gotten himself in. It was one thing to be loyal to King (or Queen, in the case of her mother, or, more in line with herself, Princess Heir) and Country, but there was such a thing as taking things too far, which the Knight himself was doing. She didn't even want to stay in Alexandria, fer cryin' out loud, which is why she asked Zidane to help her escape!
…even though he was technically supposed to kidnap her.
Semantics aside, the point stood. "Steiner."
The leader of the Knights of Pluto stood at attention. "Princess!"
"We need to work together to get out of the mist. Can we please not fight until we're out of danger?" Garnet asked (or ordered).
"I… will attempt to be civil, milady." Steiner accepted the order reluctantly.
The black mage, Vivi, pointed towards what appeared to be fog coming from a cliff facing. A fog that was being caused by cold wind.
"Well… looks like our way out of here," Zidane commented, looking in the direction of the fog. "Let's go take a look."
The party approached the cave entrance, on guard for mistspawn monsters, though thankfully they encountered none on their approach. "Um..." Vivi started.
"What's up, Vivi?" Zidane asked.
"Have you heard of the Ice Cavern?" Vivi asked in return.
Zidane nodded slightly as he faced the mage. "I've heard of it. Think this is the place?"
Vivi nodded. "It's supposed to be close to Evil Forest, so maybe."
"I've heard of it: that it's a beautiful cave showered in ice." Garnet supplied.
Vivi took a bit to explain, "My granpa told me about it: it should lead us right back above the mist."
"Still… Master Vivi, will it be safe for us to traverse the Ice Cavern as we are right now?" Steiner asked the Black Mage.
Zidane summed up their situation. "Rusty, we either go into that cave and get to above the mist so we can head to Lindblum, or we can risk staying in the mist. Don't know 'bout you, but I ain't staying in this fog any longer then we need to."
Before Steiner could object, Garnet shut him up. "He is right, Captain. Speed is of the essence."
Dropping his head to face the ground, Steiner said, "Alright, Your Majesty, we'll go with that course of action."
The troup entered the cave, which was colder then a naked whore's tits in winter (Zidane's words, but Steiner was forced, reluctantly, to agree with the crude analogy) and slippy as all hell. Vivi nearly tripped twice. "We're going to need to get a move on, folks: hate to say it, but none of us are wearing anything close to winter gear." Zidane said from the interior of the cave.
"Yes, we need to go faster," Garnet nodded as she said that.
Steiner nodded as well, though he remained silent.
As they made their way into the cave, they encountered frozen monsters, but nothing that threatened them. "This is unnerving, but beautiful in a strange way." Garnet commented.
"They aren't as beautiful as you, Princess. Gotta remember that." Zidane brought up.
Steiner ground his teeth at the bandit's casual conversation, but remembered his oath to not kill the thief. Besides, he was complimenting her, not attempting to seduce her. 'Yet. You must protect her from this kidnapping scum!'
"What's gotten into you, Rusty?" Zidane asked, having taken a look at the Knight's face.
"Nothing you need concern yourself over." Steiner said.
Zidane shrugged as they continued their way into the cave. Garnet clasped her arms as the temperature started to drop again.
Zidane took notice of this, and asked, "Hey, is it just me, or is the temperature starting to get really uncomfortable?"
Vivi started shivering prior to collapsing, before Steiner attempted to tend to him, his armor providing more protection to the cold. But he succomed regardless, falling unconscious. Garnet was the second to last to fall, having used a spell to keep her body temperature as high as possible. She cast the spell under her breath to the entire party, preventing them from freezing to death. But it wasn't enough to keep them conscious, as she fell. "Damn it… so fucking cold…" The tailed thief fell to the icy ground, protected by Garnet's white magic.
Meanwhile, in a world similar, yet so very different from Gaia
"What's so funny, Aeris?" a tall blonde man with shining blue eyes (literally, they shine), wearing a purple combat uniform, and equipped with a blade the length of a Zweihander, asked his female companion outside a mansion.
The reason why they were outside a mansion? The owner of the mansion had 'acquired' a friend of the man's, a woman named Tifa Lockhart, and was going to interview her to see if she would be suitable to be his wife. The reason why the man cared? He was a childhood friend of hers.
The reason for Aeris Gainsborough's laughter? The man looked feminine enough to pass as a girl, and was going to be doing just that. By the time he realized it, his eyes widened in shock as to her… plan. "Oh, hell no. HELL no."
"You look stunning, Cloud!" The ex-SOLDIER looked at Aeris, who was smiling with her eyes closed. Presumably to protect herself from Cloud's murderous glare. Which HAS killed in the past.
"You have no idea how much I want to hurt you, Aeris. NO fucking idea." Cloud was livid, in easier to use language.
"But it's true!" the shop proprietor's daughter protested, almost causing the glare to be directed at her… if it weren't for the fact that the outfit was too constraining for his own good.
Cloud snarled as they approached the Don's mansion. The only reason he was doing this was for Tifa. If the Don did anything… unbecoming, death would ensue after getting the information he needed.
"I see you brought your cute friend with you," the guard at the door said, giving off a perverted smile.
'Urge to murder. RISING.' The guard smiled as they were cleared to enter, and Cloud resisted the urge to rip the man apart after he slapped his ass. He could do that later.
"What's gotten into you, anyway, Ku-chan?" Aeris asked innocently, causing Cloud to pause in step for a bit.
"…Ku-chan?" Cloud asked in confusion.
"It's one way of saying your name," Aeris answered, "as you are now… Ku is short for Kumo, in one case, which means Cloud."
"…What the hell are you ON?" Cloud demanded angrily.
"Pure happiness." Aeris replied happily.
Screw the guard: he wasn't sure Aeris was going to survive the next hour in his general area.
With little else to do, Cloud (*cough*Ku-chan*cough*) and Aeris walked into the mansion of Don Corneo, not expecting what will happen later that will change their lives.
Gaia
As they would say on Earth, IS FUCKING COLD! But Zidane knew nothing of that as he woke up. He didn't know HOW he could be awake when even the mages were unconscious, but he got up, hearing a bell ring. "What the hell?"
Walking forward to the source of the ringing bell, Zidane soon found himself in a clearing in the middle of the cave, near where he'd expect the exit to be. "Oi! Anyone here?!"
"You shouldn't be awake... How are you awake?" a gruff voice demanded of him.
Zidane looked upwards, seeing what seemed to be an older Vivi with… wings? He was ringing a bell in his hand.
"Who the hell are you?" Zidane questioned the knock-off of his friend.
"I am Black Waltz 1. And you are not… normal." the now identified Black Waltz 1 answered.
"I can say the same for YOU!" Zidane countered.
Black Waltz 1 chuckled gruffly at the comment. "You really are an interesting creature… you think you can defeat me?"
"Let's see about that!" Zidane drew his daggers, ignoring the cold. Light surrounded him as he prepared to enter Trance, while the mage summoned a sealion familiar/Eidolon.
"Come, my ally! Let us destroy this thief!" Black Waltz yelled. "After that, we will make off with the Princess!"
"Like… HELL!" Zidane flashed, his form changing as he entered Trance, roaring as the knowledge of a new ability entered his mind prior to unleashing it on the Black Waltz. The black mage attempted to shield himself, but this only served to pour more energy into the attack. His fatal mistake, as it caused a rift to form.
"NO!" The black mage's magical energy turned the rift from an unstable vortex into a stable portal. "Two and Three… AVENGE ME!" The screams were the last thing he said as his summon disappeared with him. A warm blast of air hit Zidane, which while a welcome change from FUCKING COLD, was NOT a good sign.
"Uh… oh… not good!" Zidane yelled, mere moments before the effects of the portal hit him as well, pulling him in with Black Waltz 1 and his Eidolon familiar.
Zidane stabbed the ice with his daggers, preventing him from getting sucked in until the suction event ended. Once it did, it attracted attention of a semi-welcome sort. "YOU!" If the thief were not tired, he might've told Steiner to shove it. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"
"For one thing, Rusty, the air in here suddenly grew warmer," Zidane answered. "For another… there's a tear in the fabric of Time-Space right behind me! All because the one to put us to sleep tried to block an attack that came from yours truly… sheesh, when are you ever gonna lighten up?"
The knight looked at the vortex, paling. "How in the name of the Gods did you-" Steiner almost finished that question.
"Trance, and a LOT of anger. Emo-powered attacks actually DO something, apparently." Zidane answered.
Vivi looked at Zidane and asked, "What do you mean by emo-powered?"
"...THAT'S a long explanation. But in any case, the cavern's clear, and I want to get the hell out of this cave!"
Back in Don Corneo's mansion
After finding Tifa in the dungeon, Cloud and Aeris were dragged up with the one they were looking for to meet with Don Corneo, which led to one of the most embarrassing things in the ex-SOLDIER's life… being the Don's bride for the night. After going in with the man to be 'married' to the man…
He tried anything, the Don would lose something important to him, and it wouldn't be his little 'kingdom'. And the moment came far too quickly. Cloud had had ENOUGH of this shit. It was time for the direct approach. "Now, my dear-"
Cloud leveled his fist to Corneo's face before leaping off the bed. "I think I've had enough of playing a girl."
"Wh-What? You're… a guy?!" Corneo demanded, just before Tifa and Aeris barged into the room. "A-And how did you two get in here?!"
"The door," Tifa answered, as if the question was one with an obvious answer.
"W-what do you want from me?!" the Don questioned.
Cloud, in his sickened state of being, replied, "Personally, I want your bleeding head on a pike, but before I do THAT, we want answers."
"Nuh-uh… I can't talk about it!" Corneo answered. "I'd lose my life if I talked!"
"Talk, or else…" Tifa started, before a rumbling was heard. "What was that?"
The western wall collapsed, bringing in a cold draft and throwing a cloak-wearing body into the room via a rift. "OK, FUCK THAT! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!" While unexpected, it was a boon to the allies.
"What did your assistants find out?!" Tifa started the interrogation.
"THEY'RE GOING TO DROP THE SECTOR SEVEN PLATE ON THE SLUMS! JUST DON'T HURT ME!" the Don pleaded with his life on the line.
"Who's going to drop the Sector Seven Plate on the slums?" Cloud continued the interrogation.
"Shinra, so they can take out that rebel group, Ava-something or other! I don't want to die! I want a wife!" The Don descended into sobs as the three glanced at one another. They had work to do. The Don-waste of skin that he was-could wait.
"Alright, let's get going," Aeris said, leading the group to the door, before pausing for a bit. "What do we do with the cloaked man?"
"Forget him; he's not even breathing." Cloud had the feeling, however, that this would not be the end of that. He was right.
Gaia
After a few hours of mind-numbing stupidity, coupled with enough insanity to drive the Joker back to normality, the party had disrupted a, for lack of better term, mage production line and hijacked an airship from… more mass-produced mages.
"How many more of them must we face?" Steiner asked.
"They're called 'waltz', right? That means there's only three… of… them… like that guy right there!" Zidane pointed in the starboard side direction of the sky above them for emphasis.
Steiner would have facepalmed and muttered son of a bitch, but this wasn't the right universe for that. The third and most powerful of the Waltz landed on the forepeak, looking VERY pissed off. "I will destroy you, then take the princess back to the castle. Surrender, and I may make it painless."
"My ass, Waltzy!" Zidane countered. "We'd be screwed either way!" Drawing his daggers out, he prepared to fight.
"W-W-Wait! I want to help!" Vivi exclaimed from where he was, rushing to Zidane's side.
Before the battle could begin, however, the mages crowded around the waltz. "Do you think you stand a chance against me?! BEGONE!" a powerful burst of magic sent the mages tumbling down off the ship, along with the ones in barrels. This distracted him long enough for Zidane to shove both his daggers into the mage's back, followed sharply by a sword supplied by Steiner, charged with electrical energy by Vivi.
"Gah!" the Black Waltz exclaimed in pain. "You'll pay for that!"
Vivi, at that moment, went into a Trance and cast a double helping of Fire on the Waltz. "You will pay for hurting my brothers!"
The energy kinda drove number 3 more then a little… insane as he was blown off the ship. "And STAY DOWN, asshole!" Zidane yelled at the mage.
"Zidane," the princess, who had changed her name to Dagger, spoke up from a side. "Why do I have the feeling that there's a maniac chasing us in the air?"
Zidane laughed almost sadly. "Because there IS a maniac chasing us."
Steiner looked at what the thief was staring at before screaming in horror. "Black Waltz 3! He's got an airship!"
Zidane rushed to the controls of the airship and moved it to speed up, hoping beyond all hope that they could get to Lindblum as fast as possible, without the mage right on their tail. "Hey, Rusty! Do we have an open gateway ahead of us?"
"Yes, but it's closing-You aren't-" Steiner shouted.
"No choice! Hang on for your lives!" Zidane countered.
The airship barely cleared the gates, but the Waltz was still on their ass, charging a Thundaga.
"Is he insane?! That will destroy everything inside the gate!" Steiner exclaimed.
The charging spell, thankfully, also set his airship on fire. If he could think about it now, Black Waltz 3 would be saying 'fuck me with a ten-foot pole'.
"Wait… where will he land at this point?" Zidane asked, curious to see if the mage was going to stop in the gate or not.
The answer to that was easy as the airship crashed into the closing gate, causing heavy damage to it.
"That… sucked. But we're in the clear." Zidane said.
"'IN THE CLEAR'?! We lost all the cargo, South gate is heavily damaged-"
"Steiner, shut up and listen to him." The knight froze at his lady's words. "There was no avoiding damage to the gate. Regent Cid will understand once we meet with him."
"Thank you, Dagger," Zidane nodded in the Princess' direction. Turning to look in the direction of Lindblum, he said, "Now that that's out of the way… let us be on our way."
Midgar Sector 7 slums
"GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE! SHINRA'S BLOWING THE PILLAR!" While the message was intended to ensure an evacuation, it also caused chaos of all kinds as the residents began running around like headless chocobos and getting into fights - fist fights - over who caused this.
"Tifa…" Cloud deadpanned at the woman who yelled out the evacuation order. "That didn't help at all."
"Oops…" the black-haired woman felt the urge to sweatdrop… if it were humanly possible.
"Everyone, please, stop fighting! We need to get everyone out of here! Assign blame AFTER you are safe!" The fights stopped as soon as Aeris' voice was registered. The residents began running like mad OUT of the slums, pouring into other sectors as fast as humanly possible.
At that moment, Wedge fell from the top of the support pillar station, having been shot to fall to the ground below… it would be a miracle that he survived.
"Wedge!" Cloud exclaimed, rushing over to the rotund member of AVALANCHE. "You all right?!"
"Oh… Cloud… I'm glad… you remembered my name…" Wedge said, barely alive as it were. "Barret's up top… help him… An' Cloud… sorry, I wasn't any help."
Cloud shook his head, before turning to the others. "I'm going up!" Looking Aeris in the eye, he said, "Aeris! You look after Wedge."
Aeris nodded at that, before Tifa ran up to her. "Aeris, do me a favor. I have a bar called '7th Heaven' in this neighborhood. There's a little girl named Marlene there…"
Aeris nodded at Tifa, saying, "Don't worry. I'll put her somewhere safe."
"Thank you, Aeris…" Tifa said, before she rushed off with Cloud to make it to the top of the pillar.
By the time they got up there, though, it was nigh-too late. The Turks had set up enough explosives to reduce the pillar to rubble, and Reno was about five milliseconds from pushing the button. "No!" The redhead scoffed at their protests, pressing the button and activating the timers. "There! Mission complete! Bye, Sector Seven slums!"
"Undo the explosives right now!" Barret demanded.
"Sorry big guy…" Reno smiled mockingly. "But I can't. Even if I wanted to, the explosives are set to go off once that button's pushed, and no force in the universe can stop them."
Barret, normally able to keep a more-or-less cool head, was livid at Reno. "You bastard! You'll pay for this!"
"Try me, big ma-" Cloud's buster sword missed Reno's neck by microns, but the force was enough to draw blood. "Holy shit, soldier, you wanna kill me that badly? Let's give it a shot!"
"Bring it on," Cloud snarled at the Turk, inviting the man to make the next move.
Before the battle could begin in earnest, a Turk chopper arrived. "Lucky me. Not so lucky you. Think you can save your slums in time?"
"You mean the population, or the slums in general?" Cloud snarked. "We got the first one already taken care of."
That was when they spotted an unwelcome sight in the chopper: Aeris.
"You sons of bitches; let her go!" Cloud roared.
Tseng, in the craft, shook his head. "I have orders from Mr. Shinra himself. She's coming with us."
Before they could ask anything about the situation, Aeris shouted from the chopper, "Tifa, don't worry! She's all right!"
Reno jumped into the craft, then waved mockingly as it flew away. "Happy trails!"
The pillar began to explode, and Barret grabbed both Cloud and Tifa. "I ain't leaving you foos to die here! Come on!" The leader of Avalanche grabbed a wire and swung them to safety, barely clearing debris en route.
As soon as they landed on the ground, Barret looked at the crowd of people who managed to escape the destruction of the slum. "Wait… who managed to get everyone out of the slum?" he asked, looking at the whole group.
"The others must've spread the word..." Cloud said.
A crackle caught their attention, as a weak vortex appeared. "That looks a lot like the thing that brought that guy in the cloak to Corneo's mansion." Tifa spoke up in shock.
Barret gave Tifa and Cloud a look of confusion. "The fuck you talking bout?" The vortex erupted with power, causing a vacuum.
Cloud stuck the Buster Sword into the ground to keep himself in the slums, but that was delaying the inevitable.
One by one, the citizens of the now-destroyed slums of Sector 7 were sucked into the vortex's vacuum, leaving Cloud the last one to be sucked in, especially with his blade.
The city of Lindblum has seen a LOT. This would be the strangest, as a vortex opened in the palace district, spitting out a crowd of people wearing strange clothes.
"Oww… what happened this time?" a man with spiky blonde hair, shining blue eyes, a ridiculously large blade and a purple bodysuit questioned.
A number of spears were pointed at the group, held by city guards.
"Cloud?"
"Yes, Tifa?" the blonde asked.
"I don't think we're in Midgar anymore."
"What do you mean, we're not in…" Cloud started, before he looked at the surrounding area. "…oh. There's a sky out above us."
"And men with pointy sticks, pointing the pointy sticks at us." Tifa pointed at the guards in question.
"How in the name of the Gods did you get here?!" Guard A spoke first.
"Are you agents of Alexandria? Speak!" Guard B demanded.
The one with the metal hand looked at the guards and yelled, "Who the hell is this Alexandria person you speak of?! We're citizens of what used to be the Sector 7 Slums of Midgar!"
Cloud facepalmed from the man's stunt. "Barret…"
"What the hell is Midgar?!" Guard C demanded.
"If you'll get the damned spears out of our faces, maybe I can explain." The guards looked at Cloud. "Alexandria's a country, yes?"
"Yes..." Guard D answered.
Cloud took that moment to explain, "We've never heard of it, and you've never heard of Midgar. Either we're all insane… or we've got a problem. We're going to need to speak with your leader."
"If you do that… then you'll need to leave whatever weapons you have out here, to make sure you don't… well, overreact," the first guard said, before he motioned for the group to do so.
"My… comrade's arm is a weapon. And he can't remove it." Cloud explained.
Barret decided to make his feelings on the matter clear, so he said, "And I ain't staying here!"
The guards looked at each other, before they relented. "Very well… anyone else that has that problem?"
"I'm a fist fighter." Tifa said.
"THAT we can solve."
"Did they HAVE to tie my hands?" Tifa asked exasperatedly.
Cloud glanced at Tifa and Barret, whose hands were tied. Literally. "I'm more dangerous with my buster sword then without it. You, admittedly, are dangerous unarmed."
"Yeah, I know, but still…" Tifa complained, before she saw the throne room up ahead. "Oh! Looks like we're about to see who's in charge here!"
A group wearing differing sets of clothes (one looked like the cloaked guy) were standing in the throne room, talking to… a bug. "What. The. Fuck."
Cloud bopped Barret upside the head for that comment. "There's a child in the group, Barret," he said. "Now… is the bug supposed to be the ruler? First I've heard of a sentient bug."
The girl of the group sighed. "It's a long story."
The bug made itself known as it spoke. "My wife is a witch, and she turned me into this when I cheated on her."
Cloud blinked. "That… wasn't a long story at all," he said. "How soon do you think you'll be back to normal?"
"Cloud, we're not here about that!" Barret yelled at the ex-SOLDIER… from right next to his ear.
"Barret, SHUT THE HELL UP so I can get the information we need WITHOUT demanding it." Cloud said to Barret.
"Ah, our… guests from the portal. I keep eyes and ears throughout the city. I know what happened, and I apologize for the actions of my guards." the ruler said.
"You know what happened to us?" Tifa asked.
The ruler said, "Of course I know! Magic vortexes happen every so often, but THAT one… it is clearly more powerful then any other."
With a droop of his head, Cloud asked, "When was the last recorded instance of this?"
"…about 15 years ago. We never knew the cause." the ruler admitted.
The cat tailed one spun around to look at Cloud. "Hey, if you caused that little vortex, you've got to be a mage!"
Blinking, Cloud asked, "Wait… when did I cause the vortex that happened just now?"
"Hey, from what I've heard, only mages can make them, and they're usually the only ones that get sent through." the tailed man said.
Flawless logic.
"I'm no mage, whatever those are. The only way I can use magic is by using materia." Cloud answered, even as he thought, 'And I don't HAVE my buster sword.'
"Should you really be sharing those kinds of secrets, Cloud?" Barret asked incredulously.
Cloud turned to Barret for a bit and said, "We're clearly not in our world. And the only way we're getting back is by trading information, and learning how the hell we can get through that thing without falling on our asses."
Barret was silent for a moment, before he sighed frustratedly and said, "Fine… you got a point there."
"Thank you for understanding, Barret," the one without his weapon nodded.
"And who are you lot?" the ruler asked.
"Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and Barret Wallace of Midgar." Cloud answered for the group.
"Alright, then," the ruler nodded as best as he could. "Now… we'd best research how to send you home. Before that, though, are you willing to stay for the tournament that will be going on?"
"What tournament are you referring to?" Cloud asked.
"Big tournament's held in Lindblum every year: festival of the hunt. You look like you could be a contender." the ruler explained.
"How does this festival work out, exactly?" Cloud asked, to make sure he knew what he was getting himself into.
"We release animals into the city, and the competitors hunt them down. Relax, son: the citizens never come to harm unless they accidentally anger the monsters." the ruler explained.
"Hmm…" Cloud thought about the risks and rewards. "How do I sign up?"
As the 'refugees' were settled in, the heroes began to introduce themselves. Cat-tail was Zidane Tribal, a member of Tantalus, the knight was Adelbert Steiner, the mage was named Vivi Ornitier, and the girl was freaking royalty: Garnet till Alexandros, heir to the throne of Alexandria. And once they compared notes… they realized that their missions had just become entwined.
"Let's see if we got this right…" Cloud said. "You're saying that it would've been better to keep the body of that Black Waltz with us, to prevent it from being reverse engineered, correct?"
"Not sure about that, but if this 'Shinra' thing is as bad as it sounds, we've got a lot more then one angry bitch-queen." Zidane said casually.
Steiner, although he wanted to shut Zidane up, was forced to agree.
"Well, time to add another atrocity to their list of crimes," Cloud said, with Tifa writing down a list of things that count as crimes that Shinra committed.
"That will be the least of our problems. Once Shinra figures out how to get over here, they're going to get to their usual crap and start killing the planet." Barret stated.
"How do they do that?" the ruler, who had been revealed to be named Cid, asked with morbid curiosity.
"Extract the planet's energy and begin killing it." Barret answered.
"They can do that?" Cid asked in shock.
"It's what they've been doing for years. The planet we're from is DYING because of it." Barret snapped out.
Zidane jumped to his feet. "Well, when we've got the time, I'm helpin' you guys out." Garnet nodded, much to Steiner's horror.
Barret nodded appreciatively. "Thank you," he said graciously. "I promise, we don't want Shinra to do anything to this world at all."
"One mission to come to this castle is enough, Princess! You have met with the Regent: we MUST head back to Alexandria. The Queen-" Steiner started to object.
"Rusty, correct me if I'm wrong, but she took something from the castle when she left." Zidane interrupted the Knight.
"To the best of-" Steiner objected.
"Something so freaking important, she shot an EXPLODING MONSTER at her own daughter. I'd say, in the queen's mind, Dagger ain't her daughter anymore; just a traitor." Zidane continued without missing a beat.
Steiner would have said something more, but Garnet (*cough*Dagger*cough*) said, "Yes, I have something important… but I don't get how a pendant is that important to her, or anything else."
"Even the smallest thing is important, Princess." Cloud glanced at a piece of materia he was holding. "Even the smallest..."
Barret took that opportunity to say, "We still gotta get home, or the Shinra'll fuck us good! And I gotta check on my girl!"
Zidane perked up at hearing that. "You've got a lover back home?" he asked.
"Foo!" Zidane received a boot to the face for that comment. "She's ma DAUGHTER!"
Steiner and everyone else that didn't know Barret winced upon hearing that. "Okay… that was probably uncalled for, but it makes sense," Cloud said. "Still… did you adopt her? She doesn't look like you…"
"She is. If it weren't for the Shinra fuckin' up the planet, I'd be too busy takin' care of her to do much else." Barret answered.
"Duty and family. I salute you, Sir Wallace!" Steiner said as he did that.
"Just Barret, Tin Man." Barret corrected.
Steiner took offense to part of that correction, saying, "T-Tin Man?!"
"Even the Shinra assholes don't wear anything like THAT metal getup!" Barret explained in his crude way.
"Enough, Barret. These people can be our allies in the fight, and you know that." Tifa admonished the man.
Barret looked down, before he said, "Yer right… sorry to offend the present company."
Zidane looked at Barret's right arm and asked, "What happened to your arm, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Lost it. I got a weapon-arm as a replacement. Comes in handy against the Shinra." Barret answered, even though he wasn't telling the whole story.
Zidane, as if picking up on something, said, "Alright… I'll leave the matter alone, Barret."
"You call me by a derogatory name, and then you address him by his given name?!" Steiner exclaimed at the tailed male. "I don't believe it!"
Zidane turned to the knight and glared at him. "You're the head of a bunch of knights in Alexandria who haven't seen combat; he lost his arm, probably defending his family or something. Besides, rust ain't always a bad thing: it means it's seen a lot of use."
Steiner would've countered that, if only it weren't for the fact that he knew Zidane was right. The Knights of Pluto haven't seen combat yet, and probably never will… he was the only one to see combat. Still, it didn't mean he had to accept it, no matter what.
"Actually…" Barret spoke up, looking at his weapon-arm, "I lost my arm because I was a sitting duck, trying to save my friend from falling down a cliff… my daughter lost her birth father that day, all because of my inability to pull him to safety in time."
"You still did something worth doing, big guy." Zidane said, trying to cheer Barret up.
Barret sighed a heavy sigh. "Wish I could believe that. We need to get back soon, though: that Aeris girl needs our help."
"Don't I know it…" Zidane said. "So… how do we get to your world?"
"If a Black Waltz opened the vortex, even on delay, we just need to wait for Shinra." Cloud answered, even though he didn't like it any more than the others.
A lightning crack was heard outside the castle, followed by the formation of a vortex in midair two floors below them. "Shinra works fast." Zidane smirked. "Count me in. I could use some excitement!"
Vivi took a look at Zidane, before he nodded. "Alright, I'll go, too," he said, shocking Steiner.
"M-Master Vivi!" the knight protested. "Surely you must be joking!"
"I'd like to see what this other world is like, too," Dagger added, much to Steiner's shock and consternation.
"The festival ain't for another couple of days. We'll be back in time for the entry crap!" Zidane said.
Steiner sighed silently. "My duty requires me to be at the princess' side."
Barret punched the air with both his hands… er… yeah… and said, "Alright! Let's get going, then!"
"I'll need the Buster Sword, though," Cloud stated.
One of the guards left the room, presumably to recover the weapon for him. It was time to go on the counterattack.
Shinra Incorporated Headquarters
A rotund blonde man sat behind his desk, looking for a reason to get away from the desk and, most importantly, the paperwork, when he received a phone call. "President Shinra here… what is it?"
"Mister President, I have a most positive report for you," a scientist-type spoke on the other end.
"What is it, Hojo?" Shinra himself questioned.
"The being has been reverse engineered, sir. We've begun producing a device based on the energy the body produced. We haven't sent anything through the vortexes, yet, however." Hojo answered.
"I see…" Shinra commented, before he asked, "Do you need me down there?"
"If you wouldn't mind… I need to give you the details when you come down here," Hojo answered.
"Very well. I'll be there soon." Shinra hung up the phone as soon as he finished saying that and started his trek to the labs.
Sector 6 Slums
As soon as the group from Midgar returned home, bringing their new allies with them, they decided to trek it over to Aeris' home… primarily to see where Barret's daughter was.
"This is a slum, you say?" Steiner questioned, looking around him. "I take it nothing worthwhile grows here, right?"
"You'd be surprised," Cloud answered, remembering Aeris' flowers. As soon as they arrived at the right spot, he said, "See what I mean?"
"What are you…" Steiner was about to question Cloud when he saw it for himself. "Wow… that's a lot of flowers…"
"They're beautiful!" Dagger stated in joy.
"Aeris grows them here. I don't know HOW she does it...but she can." Cloud mentioned.
"Well, color me impressed," Zidane said with a nod. "Now… shall we get to seeing the owner of this house, if it's not this Aeris girl?"
"It's her mother." Cloud explained.
"THAT explains a lot." Zidane exclaimed.
With that, the group entered the house, unsure of what to expect from the house's owner… except Cloud.
"Aeris? Is that-" Elmyra Gainsborough froze as she saw not her daughter, but her 'friend', Cloud. "Mr. Strife. Where is my daughter?"
"I'm sorry… she was abducted by Shinra," Cloud explained, feeling guilty for the event.
Elmyra sighed and shook her head. "So the turks followed and caught her. I should have thought of this. They've known about her for some time, and once they found her, they would take her. And who are your… friends?"
Cloud turned his head to glance at Barret and Tifa, saying, "These two are Barret Wallace and Tifa Lockhart… they're from what used to be the Sector 7 Slums." Doing the same for Zidane's group, he said, "And these four are Zidane Tribal, Adelbert Steiner, Garnet till Alexandros, even though she'd rather go by Dagger now, and Vivi Ornitier… the tailed man is Zidane, the armored man is Steiner, and you can guess who Vivi is."
"I could guess." Elmyra nodded.
"I have to ask, lady, is my daughter alright? I been worried like mad." Barret asked the mother.
"What sort of father are you, to leave a poor little girl alone like that without anyone to look after her?" Elmyra questioned Barret, a glare in her eyes.
"Don't start with that. I think about that all the time: 'what'll happen to Marlene if something happens to me?' But as much as I want to take care of her, I have to fight for her! For the world!" Barret retorted.
Elmyra sighed as the glare left her eyes. "I see…" she said. "In any case, I suppose I owe you an apology, and the truth about Aeris."
She began recalling how Aeris joined her family, her husband's disappearance and how Shinra wanted Aeris to lead them to this 'Promised Land'. Aeris was something called a Cetra, or Ancient, the last of her kind, no less. The party from the other side took it in stride: they were still getting used to being in another world.
"So… let's see if we got this straight," Cloud said. "You're saying that Aeris has been keeping her abilities to herself, but they still got advertised to Shinra?"
"Yes. That's why we've been hiding here for so long." Elmyra answered.
"Ok, time for the big question, people." Zidane cracked his neck and got ready to move. "How are we saving the lady?"
"Foolish brigand! Storming the enemy's fortress of power is suicide! We must be intelligent about this." Steiner retorted.
Zidane glared at Steiner, but Cloud supported the knight. "Steiner has a point. And I have an idea."
Zidane looked at Cloud in curiosity. "That being?"
"A two-pronged assault. one team infiltrates through the rear of the building while the other distracts Shinra Security." Cloud explained.
Zidane took a moment to think it over, before nodding. "I have to say, you got a good point about that…" he said. "Very well… let's do that!"
"Cloud, one problem…" Barret said. "How are we supposed to go up to the Shinra Headquarters? The train's out of commission with the destruction of Sector 7's slums."
"Don Corneo's mansion may provide a few ideas. Let's get to Sector 6 and find out."
Sector 6 did, indeed, have the solution to their problems: a wire leading up to the S6 plate. It would take a while to climb, but they WOULD get up there. And they did. After an hour of climbing and blistering hands.
…at least until they ran into a problem. "What's with the way up? There seems to be a need for strange contraptions…" Zidane questioned the first place where they needed a Battery.
"Ugh… we need to go back down," Cloud said. "I think we forgot something."
"What's it for?" Vivi asked.
"We need a source of electrical power, Vivi." Cloud answered.
Vivi chanted a spell under his breath before unleashing a small Thunder, spinning the propeller unit.
"…well, that works," Cloud said. "Any other places with a need for electricity, we'll inform you about, then."
"Th-Thank you," Vivi nodded, seeming to blush for one reason or another on his blackened face.
They climbed up the unit, using it as a bridge before coming up to a tiller. "Vivi?" Another Thunder raised the tiller, allowing them to climb upwards.
Finally, they came across a third place for power, which Vivi used a Thunder spell on to allow for more access to what would help them out on their quest. After that point, and after more climbing, the group made it to the top of the plate.
"About… fucking… time." Shinra headquarters was dead ahead. "That certainly looks foreboding." Zidane commented.
"Zidane, your group will storm the front. We'll head in the back. Stir up a LOT of trouble." Cloud directed.
"Right… leave it to us, Cloud," Zidane mock-saluted, before the two groups split up.
"With all of their attention on us, they won't notice the others going in through the back." Zidane commented from his place in his group's lead.
Steiner drew his sword. "Indeed. Those brigands will know no mercy!" The group charged in, guns blazing, so to speak.
"Hey! I'd like to talk to the guy in charge about his policy on kidnapping people!" Zidane yelled at one of the workers, who just so happened to be part of security.
"Wh-What the- who the hell are y-" the security grunt tried to demand, before he was burned by Vivi.
"Zidane, focus, please…" Garnet gently reprimanded the tailed man.
"Right… sorry," Zidane apologized.
In the CEO's office, Shinra shook his head at the full frontal assault on the ground level. But he was intrigued. They were from the same world as the body: he was sure of it.
Pressing a button to call up the head of his security division, Shinra ordered, "Detain the attackers by any means necessary, but don't kill them. I want them alive for Hojo to properly experiment on."
"Yes, sir," the head of Security answered.
It was a good day to be Shinra Corporation.
All eyes were down below, although Zidane's team were slowing moving from floor to floor. Cloud's, meanwhile, were a few dozen floors above. "I. Hate. Stairs!" the leader of AVALANCHE yelled.
"Shut UP, Barret." Cloud sternly ordered. Getting to level 60 would be easy. Getting to the same level as Aeris, not so much.
Upon going through the door that revealed itself to be the doorway to the 59th floor, things started to get hectic…
"Who goes there?!"
…especially as a group of armored grunts in exoskeletons charged at the heroes.
"Son of a Protestant whore." Cloud muttered to himself, though he wondered where he got that from.
The Shinra security team raised their weapons for a fight, but the SOLDIER was faster, as well as Barret's gun arm. "Foo! No one stands a chance 'gainst Avalanche!"
The fight, if it could be called that, lasted a couple dozen seconds… and the exosuits were destroyed, along with the people inside them.
"Wow… no harm on our side, eh?" Cloud questioned their good luck so far.
Tifa sighed, before saying, "C'mon, Cloud, no use questioning it."
Explosions and yelling were the norm on the lower floors as all hell broke loose. "FUCK!" one guard yelled.
"WHEE!" Zidane rode a security guard into a wall, while Steiner dueled and defeated another and Vivi fucked up massive numbers of them, causing Shinra to divert more guards their way.
As for what Dagger was doing… well, apart from doing her duties as a White Mage, she suddenly felt the urge to summon a massive dragon to her side. But how was she supposed to do so? She didn't summon things to kill others… right?
A white flash signalled massive amounts of doom. For everyone that wasn't on her side.
Three floors above, screaming was heard. "Uh, what the hell was that?" one guard questioned.
"How the hell should I know, Simmons?" another guard demanded.
The floor began to cave in under the mooks' feet. "SON OF A BITCH!" Simmons yelled.
"Son of a bitch!" Guard number 2 yelled as well.
"SON OF A BITCH!" the third guard yelled.
As of that moment, Dagger had just summoned her most powerful Eidolon to date, and it was lividly pissed off.
And hungry. "OH GOD NO!"
From Shinra's office, the CEO was freaking the hell out. 'Well, THAT'S going to cost an arm and a leg to fix. Also, HOW THE FUCK DID SHE DO THAT?! They aren't using Materia!'
Hojo, at that moment, walked into the office and asked, "Why haven't you come down to my labs yet? I wanted to show you the power I managed to unlock from the body…"
"Not now, dammit!" Shinra roared. "We've got bigger things to worry about! The primary thing to worry about is someone summoning Bahamut… without Materia!"
"THAT'S new. And related to what I was talking about-" The building shook heavily. "The fuck was that?"
Shinra deadpanned, "Our intruders. Where the hell is Sephiroth when you NEED him?"
"Not here, clearly." Hojo stated the obvious.
Rescuing Aeris was simple after breaking into level 62. Finding a headless body that was still freaking Cloud the hell out? Not so much. And now? "A talking beast. Well, I've seen weirder things in my life. What's your name?" Cloud asked.
The red panther, who had been rescued along with Aeris, said, "The professor in charge of this lab called me Red XIII… I don't have a problem with you calling me what you like."
"Red XIII, then. A pleasure." Cloud said.
"I sense no lie in your words. That's good. I'll get you out of here: I know the way." Red XIII said.
At that moment, a new specimen showed up from the specimen elevator… well, new for Barret and Red XIII.
"What… the… did Shinra revive the guy we left in Don Corneo's mansion?!" Cloud demanded in a yell.
The Black Waltz, as they learned it was called, pulsed slightly before a voice said something about energy storage complete. "They must be makin' shit using that thing. What the hell is that thing, anyways?" Barret questioned.
"I'm guessing it's one of the Black Waltz' that Zidane's group ran into," Cloud said, before he drew his Buster Sword. "Let's cut it down to size!"
The Waltz pulsed as the being rose, coldness arcing between its' fingers.
"Remind me NEVER to piss you off, Dagger. That thing… holy SHIT, it was murderous." Zidane said with a large amount of awe.
Garnet panted from her place on the floor. "I don't know how I did that."
"And we're going to find out." A large number of Turks entered the ruined hall, and Zidane facepalmed. They were exhausted: there was no way they could fight them off.
A red-headed Turk with a pole in his hand rushed towards Steiner, pointing the pole at him and sending a few dozen kilowatts of electricity into the man, which was amplified by means of the knight's armor. Upon seeing the knight fall to the ground, the man turned to the others and asked, "Who's next?"
Zidane drew his daggers, but two taser darts went into his chest before shocking him into unconsciousness.
Life, Cloud had discovered, sucked. They had been captured by the Turks, and were standing before President Shinra himself.
"To think, you managed to destroy the mage we repurposed…" Shinra said, a touch of disdain in his voice. "Now… how did you evade the security?"
"Got the answer to that, boss!" The redhead, Reno, dragged Zidane's party into the office. "Classic two-pronged assault, sir: one distracted, the other fucked us up. Sorry we didn't catch them earlier."
Hojo, who was standing in the office as well, looked at Zidane and Vivi, before asking, "Do you mind if I take those two with me to the labs? I need research… I hope you understand."
Shinra waved his hand in a sign of acceptance. "Go ahead, Hojo," he said.
"Where is Aeris?" Cloud questioned.
"In a safe place. She's the last of the Ancients, you know. The last link we have to the Promised Land. We expect much from her." Shinra answered.
"What's so special about this 'Promised Land', anyway?" Tifa questioned.
"It is where we will begin again. That's what the mako reactors are for. We will build a new Midgar there." President Shinra said.
"You're kidding, right?" Cloud questioned the head of Midgar. "I don't know whether to call you crazy, stupid… or just an idiot."
"That's all for our meeting. Take them away." The Turks dragged the group off, leaving the head of Shinra to bask in his glory.
Xamusel: So, Ron and I were talking, and we decided to work on this story together… we do not regret the actions taken to tell it.
Ron the True Fan: (Screaming unintelligibly due to Mako poisoning)
Xamusel: …not good. Ron! I'll take you to Dagger for an emergency healing session!
(Deadpool pops up) Deadpool: Fuck yes! I'm finally… Wait, why does he have that phas-OH GOD NO! (Gets vaporized)
Ron: Blarg.
Ja Ne.