A/N: Wow, what a response...
nights-into-dreams, I think that's a really nice compliment you gave me! Thanks!
GlitterDemon, I'm glad you liked my comparison of Cid to an irate chimney in the last chapter! Vincent and Red being shipped out will be explained in a future chapter...
Skin Infections- WTF happened? You had a different username when I received the e-mail alert, then it said you were no longer at , then you show up on the review screen w/ your new username in tow.
Now: this is the first day- yup, I gave you a part of the fifth day before the first. I don't like to start my stories with a great deal of action, and the first day is when Cloud hands the Black Materia to Sephiroth, so...
Anyway, the same disclaimer from last time applies, including the bit about enjoying this! Read on...
"Did you see it!!! It's Sephiroth! So he IS here! This is perfect! Both Jenova's Reunion and Sephiroth's will! They won't be diffused into the Lifestream, but gathered here! Mwa, ha, ha..." Hojo cackled.
"What are you so happy about, Professor? You know what this means, don't you? Cloud has the Black Materia! Sephiroth is going to summon Meteor! Every single person is going to die!" Tifa cried distraughtly.
Rufus shook his head sorrowfully. "Whatever I say is too little... too late..." He sighed. Suddenly, determinedly, he looked up at Avalanche. "We must evacuate. I want you all to come with me. There is still much more I want to hear."
As the group left, Barret yelled up at his companion: "Yo! Cloud! Knock it off!" If Cloud had heard, he certainly didn't care.
"Cloud------!!!" Tifa yelled, terrified of what her friend had done.
"Teef! We gotta get outta here...NOW!!!" Barret yelled over the sound of the approaching collapse of the cave they were in. Tifa didn't move, so the big man grunted, threw his left arm around her waist, and pulled her away to the airship that he had seen at Junon. Cid was getting angry about something.
"My ship! Rufus, you fuckin' little chocobo-shagger, what the hell is she doin' here?!"
"Saving your life, Cid." Vincent said quietly. Two things happened simultaneously- Cid calmed down, and Hojo noticed Vincent for the first time. All colour drained from the scientist's face.
"Y-you?! N-no... it can't be...!"
"It is, Akira." Vincent answered softly. Hojo's face turned red with rage and he stormed off.
"That his first name?" Cid asked. Vincent nodded in reply, and boarded the ship.
"I think it means... 'Intelligence', in Wutain..." Nanaki said slowly, before shrugging his bestial shoulders, and entering the ship.
"All of you, on board now!" Reno of the Turks shouted down the ramp. "The pilot's about ready to take off!"
"Shit!" Cid shouted and pelted up the ramp, swiftly followed by the remaining people, both Avalanche and Shin-Ra.
The Planet's skin broke, gushing Lifestream everywhere as the Weapons broke free. Two empty blue eyes watched as this happened. Cloud Strife didn't even blink as the Lifestream engulfed him. Sephiroth glared as the young man disappeared.
'He was weak. He was not Cetra. I discard you, Cloud Strife. You are a puppet without a use...' Sephiroth thought to himself, purging his mental link with the former leader of Avalanche.
'Soon. Soon I shall rise.' He thought wildly, and then smirked in the void in which he was imprisoned.
'And my second pawn is already in place...'
The power of the Planet streaked past the Highwind. The turbulence created caused Yuffie Kisaragi, heir to the Pagoda of Wutai, to lose her lunch.
"SHIT!" Cid shrieked as a Weapon stared straight at them. It's eyes narrowed, and then it was gone...
"Damn!!! Tifa!" Barret shouted, as the young woman collapsed on the deck.
"Everyone, inside. NOW." Vincent quietly commanded. Avalanche silently filed in from the deck. Nanaki paused.
"Vincent?"
"Yes?"
"This... is bad, isn't it?"
"No... That's being optimistic." Nanaki turned at this. Had Vincent just made a joke? He couldn't tell, as the taciturn man had gone inside...
Day 1.
"...Mr Vi... President?"
Rufus Shin-Ra sighed irritably. "Yes, Heidegger?"
"...What are we going to do with Hojo and Avalanche?"
The idiot had a point, Rufus supposed. Hojo had left Shin-Ra without any warning, and Avalanche was a terrorist cell. "Avalanche... we'll lock them up once we get to Junon. Decide what to do then." Heidegger nodded in agreement. "Hojo... Hmm. I'll decide what to do with him later." He cast a quizzical look at Heidegger. "Who was that man that Hojo recognised? The one in Avalanche? I'm sure I saw him at Rocket Town."
"I'm... not sure, sir. I'll ask Hojo immediately."
"Will he tell the truth, though?"
"..." Heidegger just stared at the young president. "...Don't worry sir, I'll get the truth outta him! Gya ha ha ha!"
"...I thought I told you to stop that stupid hoarse laugh."
"Gya... ... ... Sorry."
"Psst! Hey, Vincent! Do you know how to lip read?" Yuffie hissed out of the corner of her mouth.
"...We're going to spend some time in Junon's cells. The red haired man in white... Is that Rufus Shin-Ra?" Vincent murmured.
"Yes, that is he..." Nanaki whispered. A bit louder he said; "How is Tifa?"
"Unconscious." A Shin-Ra medic said calmly. "She should recover within a week--"
"That ain't any good!" Barret barked angrily.
"Mr Wallace. If you and your companions wish to remain onboard, shut up." Rufus snarled.
"Hojo!"
'Hmph. What does that idiot want?'
"Yes, Heidegger?" Hojo answered levelly.
"The President wishes to know who that man with the claw is."
"Valentine."
The colour left Heidegger's face in a shot. "N-no... He's dead. You said so your--"Heidegger realised what had happened. "You son-of-a-bitch." He snarled, grabbing Hojo by the lapels. "If he had still been in the Turks instead of you using him as a test subject, we might have gotten the Ancient years ago!"
Hojo wriggled uncomfortably in the hands of the Head of the Turks. "He was going to interfere with the Jenova Project. President Shin-Ra said that was to take priority above all else!"
"The old man was an idiot." Both turned to see Rufus standing next to them. He glared at Hojo. "Did you tell my father the truth?"
Hojo paused for a long while, trying to decide the best answer. In the end, he decided to tell the truth: "No. He was as ignorant as Heidegger." Heidegger raised his fist to hit Hojo, but was cut off by a gesture by Rufus.
"I'll deal with you later, Hojo." Rufus stated coolly. Hojo realised that the new President wouldn't be as easy to fool as his father.
The airship landed at Junon.
"Cuff them." Heidegger ordered. Reno, Rude and Elena obeyed quietly and efficiently. Once they had finished, Heidegger said; "Now, him." Hojo looked up, startled, but Rude had already grabbed him, while Reno attached the cuffs with a small smirk on his face.
"Take them away." Rufus barked, and threw a loose strand of hair back onto the top of his head. It had been a busy day...
A/N: Well, here it is. Sorry that it is (relatively) short considering the amount of time, but in a word: exam preparation (wait, that's two words...)
I also have to say that I don't know when I'll next update, as the college is gonna close for the summer, and as I have said in one of my earlier fics, my home computer is a bit temperamental. (More mental than temper on it's part... lol)
Anyway, I'll appreciate any and all reviews (excluding flamers- thank God they seem to have passed me by so far... touch wood.).
If I don't update before, expect to hear from me again in September! Happy hols, comrades!
Oh, and sorry about Cid's language at the beginning... What was I thinking...?
(N.B- Akira means "intelligence, brightness" in Japanese.)
Additional A/N: New academic year, AND writer's block?! Yah!
Sorry all, but I don't know when I'll update next, for the reasons mentioned above.
Thanks for your patience.
