Alright kids. Here's Chapter 3! It's pretty long, but I hope you all enjoy it. I considered making it even longer, but decided against it. So, just short of 10,000 words, here's Chapter 3!
Disclaimer: Don't own this... Blah blah blah...
Chapter 3
President Shinra was sitting at his large desk, his face resting slightly on his hands as he was thinking. Footsteps from below brought him out of his attention. Another large, fat man was walking up to his office. He was wearing an olive colored suit and had a large, bushy deep brown beard and deep brown hair. His eyes were sharp and uncaring, showing that taking candy from babies was not only his speciality, but his life's calling. "Heidegger! How are the preparations going?" the President asked sharply.
Another man ran up the stairs behind the fat one. He was more in shape, wearing a deep blue suit. His brown hair was sleeked back professionally, some pesky bangs hanging on either side of his hairline near a minor Widow's Peak. He had a thin goatee, his sideburns growing down the meet his chin whiskers. Heidegger glared at the man. He let out an annoying guffaw. "Gya, haa, haa! Smoothly, very smoothly! I assigned the Turks to this."
The man in the deep blue suit ignored Heidegger and looked straight at the Preisdent. "Are we really going to do this? Simply destroy a group with only a few members..."
"What's the problem, Reeve? You want out?" the President asked tauntingly. The man named Reeve looked away.
"...No. But, as head of the Urban Development Department, I have been involved in the building and running of Midgar. That's why..." Reeve said again, trying to reason with the large man.
"Reeve, flush your personal problems with the rest of your crap," Heidegger scoffed. Reeve sent him a nasty look.
"The Mayor's against the anyways," he responded roughly, a pout traced in his voice.
"Mayor? He just sits in this building all day feeding his face! You still call that a Mayor?" Heidegger spat, glaring at Reeve. He turned his sharp eyes to the President. "Now if you'll escuse me sir!" The fat man saluted and made his way down the stairs from President Shinra's office. Reeve shook his head in shame and went to leave, but was stopped by the President.
"You're tired. Why don't you take a couple of days off and go somewhere?" he suggested. The head of Urban Development ignored the President and also left. The President snickered unkindly. "We'll destroy Sector 7 and report that AVALANCHE did it. Then we'll send in the rescue operation care of Shinra, Inc. ... Heh, heh, heh... this is perfect. "
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Tifa ran at full speed towards the crossroads of Sector 7. Everyone from this area in the Sector was gazing up at the pillar. There were gunshots from above. Cloud ran up to the side of her, Aeris and Dagger trailing. "Do you hear that?" he asked her as he caught his breath.
"Gunfire?" Aeris offered as the two finally arrived by Tifa and Cloud. They all gazed up to see flashes of light coming from the top of the pillar. To Tifa's horror, she saw Wedge shot off the top of the pillar. He fell to the ground at a fast pace and landed on a large metal pipe with a sickening crunch.
"Wedge!" Tifa screamed as she ran over to the fat vigilante. The other three followed her as Cloud knelt down by Wedge.
"Wedge! Are you alright?"
The fat man looked at the EX-SOLDIER in a mix of pain and happiness. "Cloud... You remembered my name..." He wheezed and spasmed in pain. "Barret's up top. ...Help him... An' Cloud... Sorry, I wasn't any help..." Wedge fell unconscious as Cloud removed him from the pipe. Dagger looked on in horror at what was going on.
"I'm going up!" Cloud said determined as he gazed up at the pillar. He turned to Aeris. "Look after Wedge. Dagger. Get out of here and into Sector 6!"
"No! I'm going to help!" Dagger spoke up angrily.
"No. You gotta help everyone out of here," Tifa spoke softly, obviously mourning Wedge's fall from the pillar. "Aerith, do me a favor. I have a bar called 'Seventh Heaven' in this neighborhood. There's a little girl named Marlene there." Aeris nodded and immediately took off. Tifa looked at all the witnesses. "It's dangerous here! Everyone get away from the pillar, quickly! Everyone get out of Sector 7!" The witnesses screamed and dispersed as quickly as they could. Before long, Tifa and Cloud left Dagger behind.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Dagger said as she looked at the continuing gunshots which were high above them near the Plate. People were fleeing around her, desperately trying to get to Sector 6. Aeris and Marlene were two to pass her. Dagger smiled warmly as Aeris stopped.
"Come on Dagger. We gotta go before the inevitable. The Plate's going to collapse," Aeris told her. Dagger thought to herself. The Plate was going to be let loose and the pillar destroyed. The Plate was going to collapse, but if it was held up... That's it!
"Aeris! Get out of here now! I can do this on my own. It's my turn I saved a town instead of being the one to destroy it..." she said, remembering Alexander and her failure to protect Alexandria. The flowergirl nodded and the two ran away. Dagger brought her hands together and closed her eyes. It would take every last bit of concentration and strength to pull this off. "Noble Lords and Lady, protectors of the Earth. O' Great Eidolons, I call onto you all to help us in this time of need. Protect mine friends and these people of the capital of Midgar! Please help save these innocents from dying!"
Time seemed to come to a standstill has absolute power surged through the Summoner. She opened her eyes as ripples power cut through the air. She looked to her left to see bright red, blue, and yellow lights in front of her. Ramuh appeared in the middle, his robes billowing in the wind.
The blue light flashed and a woman who was entirely blue appeared. Her skin had the look of hypothermic blue. Like ice. Her cerulean Shiva, the Ice Queen. Ironic to her status, she had on the skimpiest bright blue clothing which only covered her private parts. A spiked crown made entirely of ice sat elegantly on her head.
Fire exploded where the red light was, revealing a large, furry demon. Ifrit... A terrifying sight to behold. He had yellow horns protruding from the back of his head and circling like earrings next to his head. His powerful, yellow chest made him all the more threatening, his legs like that of a horse's hindlegs.
"Great Summoner, what is the problem that you call for our assitance on?" Ramuh asked, his old voice booming over the crossroads.
"Please," Dagger spoke desperately. "This Plate is about to fall! Please save my friend and all the innocent people! Please prevent the Plate from falling!"
"We shall do our best," Ramuh spoke before the three Eidolons disappeared.
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Barret was firing wave after wave of rounds at a flying helicopter. He saw Tifa and Cloud run up out of the corner of his eye. "Tifa! Cloud! You came! Be careful! They're attacking from the helicopter," Barret warned as he fired more shots. The helicopter flew over the platform and Reno jumped from it. He ran over to the computer.
"You're too late. Once I push this button..." he sneered, pounding a bright red button on the control panel. "That's all, folks! Mission accomplished." The three ignored Reno as Tifa pleaded that Cloud try to stop the time sequence. Reno glared at them. "I can't have you do that. No one get in the way of Reno and the Turks..." The red haired man dashed at Tifa and slammed her with his Electrorod. She kicked him in the gut. Reno stumbled and shocked Barret with his rod.
"Ugh!" Barret cried out as he shot at the Turk. He deflty avoided the vigilante's attack and Cloud's swing of his Buster Sword. All four fighters were startled as bright flashes interrupted their squabble, red, blue, and yellow respectively. The three Eidolons stood before them in all their glory. "Whut the...!?"
"Ifrit. Go help them," Ramuh told the demon. It roared, absolutely estatic to have a playmate. The Eidolon dashed at the Turk and started to swipe and kick at it. Reno was not having the easiest time keeping up.
"C'Mon! We got some Shinra ass to kick!" Barret yelled at the other two vigilantes and the fight ensued again. Shiva had rushed over to control panel and tried to disarm the bomb. Ramuh billowed over to her quickly.
"Can you disarm it?" he asked her.
"I can't figure it out. Freezing it would shock the system and cause it to release every plate down on every Slum Sector in Lower Midgar," the Ice Queen said, typing furiously. The Eidolons were very intelligent creatures, all of them presiding over many different planets in the universe in various shapes and forms. Thought their spirits were the same, their appearances varied among the worlds concerning how they were called to aid in battles, as not to raise suspiscion. They gain knowledge and understanding of all the worlds they protect. The Eidolons knowing technology should not be a big surprise to any human being, Summoner, or Ancient in the world.
"Hmmm... Shorting out the panel would also inevitably cause a massive explosion," Ramuh said. "We are short on time."
"The Summoner Dagger asked us to save all the innocents and her friends. If we can't stop the plate, the least we could do do is teleport everyone to safety in Sectors 5 and 6," Shiva said. "Both on the upper and lower plate."
"That would take all of Dagger's strength," Ramuh spoke as he heard Reno bid his fairwell. Ifrit roared and ran back over to Eidolons.
"Can you stop the Plate?" Ifrit grunted in a heavy English dialect. Ramuh shook his head. "Miss Dagger requested we save everyone, and save them we shall." Tifa ran over to the three Eidolons quickly.
"I don't know who you all are, but thank you for helping us!" Tifa said, bowing graciously. Barret and Cloud also ran over. "Did you disarm it?"
"No my child," Ramuh spoke softly, his age becoming of him. "I'm afraid it's not a normal time bomb."
"That's right. You'll have a hard time disarming that one. It'll blow the second some stupid jerk touches it," a voice called as a helicopter whirled in sight above them. A man was in the open doorway, sneering down at them. He was oriental, his long and sleek black hair falling to his lower back. His coal eyes were frosty, and he was dressed in a black suit. A Turk.
"Please! Stop it!" Tifa cried out, tears streaking from her eyes. Ifrit and Shiva had disappeared in flashes, leaving the old man to come up behind the poor girl, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. All tension relaxed at his touch.
"Ha ha ha... Only a Shinra Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System!" the Turk sneered.
"Tseng... You have no right to decide who lives and who dies. You are not a God!" Ramuh said harshly, fire blazing in his old eyes. Tseng just spat and smirked.
"Ah ah ah... I wouldn't try that stupid crap. You just might make me injure our special guest," Tseng said, pulling a girl out by her chestnut hair. Tifa's eyes widened in terror.
"Aeris!"
"Oh, you know each other. How touching it is that you got to see each other one last time," Tseng sneered mockingly, causing Barret to aim his gunarm at the Turk.
"What are you going to do with her!?" Cloud demanded roughly.
"I haven't decided. Our orders were to find and catch the last remaining Ancient. It's taken us a long time, but now I can finally report this to the President," Tseng said, greed filling his eyes.
"Tifa! She's alright!" Aeris cried out to the martial artist before she was slapped roughly by Tseng. "Hurry and get away!"
"Ha, ha, ha... Well, it should be starting right about now. Think you can escape in time?" Tseng sneered before the helicopter flew away. Tifa turned to face Ramuh.
"Save her!" Tifa cried out in desperation. Ramuh only shook his head.
"I can only obey the Summoner. And she has asked me to save all the innocents in Sector 7 as well as you three. She thinks that Miss Aeris is in Sector 5." Ramuh said mournfully. The pillar shook violently and a bright red light filled all of Sector 7. It died off as soon as it came. "We must go now. Hang on please." Tifa stepped back as Ramuh raised his staff. The orb ontop of the handle glowed brilliantly and in an instant, the 4 were gone.
A loud snap and violent explosion issued from the top of the pillar as the support beam started to fall. From above, President Shinra watched in pure delight as the Plate fell from Midgar and onto the Slums, crushing a desolate and vacant area which was no longer inhabitable. The President had not seen the brilliant blue flash of light seconds before the Plate had fallen.
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Dagger gripped herself as she heard the Plate finally collapse. Ever since the Eidolons had disappeared, she fled to Sector 6 and prayed her hardest. She could feel the Eidolons still at work as they relied on her magic to stay in the world. Ramuh's energy disappeared shortly after the plate collapsed. Leaving the Inn, Dagger quickly started to make her way back towards the border of Sector 6 and 7. That was where she had felt his energy last. She ran over to see Barret raging about Shinra.
"This is all screwed up! They destroyed an entire village just to get to us! They killed so many people..." he said, mourning over the 'loss' of Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie.
"The people aren't dead," Dagger said, startling the three vigilantes. They jumped in shock.
"Dagger! You're safe! Oh, thank Gods!" Tifa cried out, hugging the Summoner. "I thought you got crushed too!"
"No..." Dagger told them. "The people are safe. They're scattered throughout Sectors 5 and 6." She talked calmly as to sort out her words carefully. "There was a demon. Brown and yellow, about 8 feetish or so... He came to the ground and used some sort of power. I don't know. The next thing I knew, I was in the Wall Market Inn, confused and thankful victims around me. Startled the heck out of the Innkeeper."
A lightbulb seemed to ring over Tifa's head. "That's right! The old man, right before he saved us said that someone asked him to save all the innocents in Sector 7!"
"Then Biggs, Wedge, Jess...!" Barret said hopefully. Dagger only shook her head.
"They didn't make it," Dagger told him mournfully. "The wounds that they suffered from the fight killed them. Even if the demon saved them, they wouldn't have survived. Even with immediately medical attention, their wounds were fatal. Especially when Wedge broke his spine..." Barret couldn't bare to bring his eyes to Dagger's. "It's our fault the Plate was released.
"No, Dagger! That ain't it! Hell no!! It ain't us! It's the damn Shinra! It's never been nobody but the Shinra!" Barret raged, shaking violently with anger. "They're evil and destroyin' our planet just to... build their power and line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill this planet! Our fight ain't never gonna be over until we get rid of them!"
Cloud turned around at this talk, deep in though. Tifa shook her head at Barret. "...I don't know."
"What don't you know!? You don't believe me?" Barret asked her in disbelieve.
"It's not that. I'm not sure about... me. My feelings."
The large man turned to Cloud, growling in anger. "An' what about you?" Cloud just ignored Barret and started to walk away. "Yo! Where's he think he's goin'?"
"Probably to look for Aeris," Dagger said, crossing her arms. "I don't know how. He doesn't even know where her house is."
"Oh yeah, that girl. What's up with her?" Barret asked, curious at her earlier presence.
"...I don't really know... but she's the one I left Marlene with," Tifa said cautiously. Dagger held her tongue. Now wasn't the time to be cold to her friends, especially when they needed her support the most at this time. Dagger started to walk after Cloud. Barret exclaimed Marlene's name, then grabbed Tifa's hand and pulled her out of Sector 7, the four of them startign their journey to Sector 5.
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Dagger knocked on the door to Aeris' house in Sector 5. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret were standing behind her, quietly awaiting Elmyra to open the door. The old woman came just seconds after the knock. "Oh Dagger! Please come in, I was just seating down to a nice cup of tea," Elmyra said warmly, invited the three guests in. Dagger and Tifa sat down in the chairs at the table as Elmyra served them a nice warm cup. "You're here about Aeris aren't you?"
"I'm sorry ma'am. She was kidnapped by the Shinra," Tifa said politely. Elmyra just smiled sadly.
"Oh, I know. They took her from here," Elmyra explained as she sat in the chair as well. Cloud had leaned up against the support beam to the house as Barret stood there, crossing his arms.
"Why is Shinra after Aeris?" Cloud asked softly, looking straight into Elmyra's eyes.
"You were in SOLDIER then?" the old woman said sharply, gazing into Cloud's eyes. "I can tell my the glow. The Mako glow... I'm surprised you of all people haven't heard. She's an Ancient. The sole survivor."
Dagger's ears perked up as Soulcage's voice rang in her head. "And a young girl, the last of her race facing an impending doom." Barret was also curious.
"What did you say? Aren't you her mother?" he asked, confusion filling his dark face.
"Not her real mother... Oh, it must've been 15 years ago during the war. My husband was sent to a far of place. The village of Wutai..." Elmyra spoke gently, remembering everything so sharply in her mind. "One day, I went to the station because I got a letter saying he was coming home on leave. I was so happy."
A much younger Elmyra was walking through Sector 7, arriving at the Train Station. The village was so full of lfie. No trash anywhere, lights and streets kept tidy. Elmyra looked at the train that had just pulled up. Her happiness was gushing inside her. She couldn't contain herself. She was finally going to see her husband! Elmyra walked up the steps and near the train door as it opened. A young man with wavy black hair tied up with a red bandana walked out of the train, never as happy as he was to return to Midgar. He ran over to a young girl, a tomboy, and picked her up. The young man spun her around and the two embraced. Elmyra smiled as she watched a large man leave the train and run over to his wife. In blinding tears, the wife picked up the man and tried to spin him around. The effort was for naught, but the two fell to the ground in tears and kisses. Elmyra looked at the train hopefully as the Porter shut the door. "Sir!" she asked, running over to him. "Is there not anyone else on the train?" The Porter shook his head and the train started to leave for the Upper Plate. Elmyra walked over to the steps and sat down, her happiness dying.
"My husband never came back. I wonder if something happened to him? No, I'm sure his leave was just canceled. I went to the station everyday. Then, one day... "
Every day for the last few weeks, Elmyra had been walking to the Train Station in Sector 7. As she came upon the station, she saw a woman laying on the steps. Elmyra hurried over to the woman carefully. A young girl was crying over the woman's body. The mother was dying. Elmyra knelt down next to woman and the young girl hurried over to the older woman, sobbing hysterically into her shoulder. Elmyra embaraced the girl as the woman looked up at her, smiling sadly.
"You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war. Her last words were, 'Please take Aeris somewhere safe.' My husband never came back. I had no child. I was lonely. So I decided to take her home with me. Aeris and I became very close, very quick. She was an absolutely amazing little girl. Loved to talk... Talk, talk, talk, talk! She would talk about anything and everything."
Elmyra turned from her stove to see an 8 year old Aeris running down the stairs. The young girl tripped on the last stair and fell to the ground. Elmyra rushed over to her daughter and helped her up. Aeris only smiled, kissed her Mom on the cheek, and ran outside to play.
"She told me how she escaped from some kind of research laboratory, and that her mother had already returned to the Planet, so she wasn't lonely... many other things," Elmyra explained softly, staring into her cup of tea.
"Returned to the Planet...?" Barret asked, confused at what the old woman had meant by Aeris's words.
"I didn't know what she meant. I asked if she meant a star in the sky, but she said it was this Planet... She was a mysterious child in many ways..."
'Mom...' Elmyra turned around to see Aeris coming down the stairs at a much slower pace. She was still young, maybe a half a year older since Elmyra had found her. 'Please don't cry Mom...'
"She had just blurted that out suddenly. So I asked her if something had happened."
Elmyra stood over Aeris, checking the young girl for any injuries. Aeris just smiled and stared at her Mom. 'Someone dear to you has just died. His spirit was coming to see you, but he's already returned to the Planet.' Aeris smiled warmly and raced out of the house before Elmyra could say anything.
"At that time I didn't believe her. But..." Elmyra paused slightly as she took another sip of her tea. "Several days later... we recieved a notice saying my husband died..." Elmyra looked back at her tea a bit mournfully. "...and that was it. A lot had happened, but we were happy. Until one day..."
A 13 year old Aeris cowered behind her mother. Elmyra looked up into the eyes of a man who had introduced himself as Tseng. 'We want you to return Aerith to us. We've been searching for her for a long time,' Tseng said as Aeris looked at him in a mix of fear and anger.
'No! Never!' Aeris replied as Elmyra wrapped an arm around her protectingly. Tseng looked at the young girl harshly.
'Aerith, you're a very special child. You are of special blood. Your real mother was an "Ancient",' Tseng replied, a hiss in his voice.
"At that moment, I found out she was an 'Ancient'."
'The Ancients will lead us to a land of supreme happiness. Aeris will be able to bring happiness to all those in the slums. That is why Shinra would like Aeris's cooperation,' Tseng spoke coolly, trying to look for a compromise. The young girl just shook head.
'He's wrong! I'm not an Ancient! I'm not!' she cried out, tears welling up in her eyes.
'But Aerith, surely you hear voices sometimes when you're all alone?' Tseng hissed at her. Elmyra frowned heavily at the man.
'No! No I don't!' Aeris screamed before fleeing from the house, tears streaking down her face.
"But I knew. I knew about her mystical powers. She tried so hard to hide it, so I acted as though I never noticed," Elmyra recounted, once again staring into her tea.
"It's amazing how she's avoided the Shinra for all these years..." Cloud spoke up, amazed at Aeris's escapades.
"The Shinra need her, so I guess they wouldn't harm her," Elmyra guessed, coming to a compromise.
"But why now?" Tifa asked, confused.
"She brought a little girl here with her. Tseng probably found them on their way here. She probably wasn't fast enough to get away. She decided to go to the Shinra in exchange for the little girl's safety," Elmyra explained. Barret's ears perked up.
"...Marlene." Cloud said softly, Barret's eyes widening in a mixture of emotions.
"Marlene!! Aeris was caught because of Marlene!? I'm sorry. Marlene's my daughter. I'm really sorry..." Barret said, apologizing to the old woman.
"You're her father?" Elmyra said sharply, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that!?"
"Please don't start with that. I'm always thinkin' about what might happen to Marlene, if I..." Barret spoke apologetically, traces of tears welling in his eyes. "But you gotta understand somethin'... ...I don't got any answers. I wanna be with Marlene... But I gotta fight. 'Cause if I don't... the Planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fightin'! But inside I'm always thinkin' of her. I just wanna be with her... always. See? I'm goin' in circles, now."
Elmyra heaved out a sigh, then smiled at the large man. "I think I know what you mean. She's upstairs asleep, why don't you go and see her?" Before anyone could say anything else, Barret was dashing up the stairs as fast as he could. Cloud quietly followed, also going to see if the little girl was alright.
"It's my fault... I was the one who got Aeris involved in this," Tifa apologized, not able to look the old woman in the eye.
"Don't be. Aeris doesn't think so," Elmyra told the martial artist gently. She looked to the Summoner, who had stayed unusually quiet during this. Her tea had barely been touched. "Dagger... Are you alright?"
"Yes... I just need some time," Dagger whispered before she got up and left the house. The Summoner quickly walked over to the bridge by the waterfall, looking down at the pooling river. So Aeris was the one that she was suppose to protect. The girl was right under her nose and Dagger didn't even see it. They had to get her back. Not because of what she was told, but because Aeris was her friend. Dagger walked back over to the house right as the three vigilantes were exiting.
"You alright Dagger?" Tifa asked, recieving a nod from the girl. "We're going after Aeris."
"Good. I was going to suggest the same thing," Dagger spoke up, looking at Barret. "How we going to get to the Shinra Building?
"There ain't no train that goes up there anymore," Barret said, the gears in his head grinding.
"Let's go try the Wall Market. Maybe we'll find something there," Tifa suggested. With a nod from Barret and Cloud, the group of four took off, heading towards Sector 6.
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"Wanna see somethin' awesome? Follow me!"
The group's attention was drawn to a few young kids who were running next to the alley by Corneo's mansion. They had been all over the Wall Market. Cloud had bought some batteries from the old man in the Weapons Shop. There was mumbling that they'd be needed for the climbing to the Upper Plate. The problem was finding a way up there. The four followed the kids to a large, metal wall. Hanging down from the wall was a large electric cord.
"Everyone's climbed up this wire! Looks scary," a small kid said, fear rattling his bones. Tifa looked at the wire.
"Think we can climb it?" she asked the other three. She inspected the wire to see it running upwards. "Yeah. It leads to the upper world."
"Alright! We'll climb the wire!" Barret said enthusiastically, pumping his arm in the air.
"There's no way we can do this. You know how far it goes up?" Cloud said, his optimism not as strong as Barret's. Both the man with the gun arm and the woman with the bow glared at him.
"There IS a way! Look! What's that look like?" Barret spoke to him.
"Just a normal wire," Cloud said depressingly. His answer was met with a slap to the head. "Ouch! What was that for!?"
"Oh yeah? Well to me it looks like a golden shiny wire of hope," Barret said, a gleam of hope dancing in his eyes. He looked to Tifa. "You're right. This is the only way to save Aeris!"
Cloud looked up. Dagger elbowed him in the ribs. "OK OK! Jeez! That was a bad analogy, but, Barret, I understand how you feel."
"That was a pretty bad anology Barret..." Dagger told him, apologetically. Barret just smirked. "Let's go! C'mon! We got our Flowergirl to save!" There was a group cheer, Cloud's cheer pretty miserable, and Barret was the first to climb the wire. Tifa followed him, then Dagger, and Cloud brought up the rear. As they climbed over the wall, they saw the ruins of Sector 7. It only made their determination rise.
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Dagger ran towards a large building in front of her, huffing and puffing as she tried to keep up with the three AVALANCHE members. She stopped short of them and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
"Hey, you oughta know whis building well," Barret spoke up, looking at Cloud. His question was met with a shaking of a head.
"Not really, now that I think about it, this's the first time I've ever been to the Headquarters," Cloud said as he looked up at the building. Barret juse shrugged and stretched his neck.
"I've heard about this place before. Every floor above the 60th is special and not easy to get to even for employees. Must be where they took Aeris. The security's pretty light now. Alright, let's go!!" he told them as he ran to the front entrance. Tifa and Dagger both let out a cry.
"Wait a second! You're not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you?" Tifa asked him in exasperation. Dagger smacked her forehead.
"Well what else does it look like!? I'm gonna kick some Shinra butt and..." Barret argued.
"That's not going to work! We've got to find another way..." Dagger told him. "It'd all be in vain if you were ambushed and killed right at the front entrance!"
"Ain't gonna be no other way! If we keep wastin' time like this, Aeris'll..." Barret told the two women as they looked at him frustrated.
"Let's find a back entrance kay?" Dagger suggested. "In places like these, there's always another, hidden entrance. A building as big as this as to have stairs in case of an emergency fire or whatever."
"Fine," Barret said, fuming as Cloud watched the arguement in enterainment. The four took off to the left of the building, searching for a stairwell. They came upon a opened door, Barret muttering under his breath angrily as the two girls smiled. They entered the door and immediately started up the stairs. "Yo... You really gonna take these stairs all the way up?"
"Well we've got to get to Aeris to help her somehow," Tifa responded brightly
"Of all of the out of the way..." Barret huffed as Dagger was running in front of him. They reached the 7th or so floor and stopped. Tifa put her hands on her hips.
"I don't have time to argue with you! I'm going!" she reponded hotly before taking off. Dagger just shrugged nonchalantly and took of after Tifa. The two men followed her up the stairs. Barret's breathing became louder.
"Don't know... why... the hell... we gotta... climb..." he said angrily as he ran up after Dagger. The Summoner was starting to wheeze as well, never having sprinted up countless flights of stairs.
"...because we don't want to start a commotion until we've saved Aeris," Cloud's voice trailed from behind Barret. "If that's even possible..."
"...heh heh heh," Barret laughed sending chills up Dagger's spine.
"Ewww... You sound like a pedophile," Dagger said nastily.
"Knock it off. You're giving me the creeps," Cloud spoke as Barret glared at the back of Dagger's head.
"So even you will fight for someone else. Guess I figured you wrong," the large man said honestly to the blond.
"Who cares what you figured!" Cloud snapped, causing Dagger to giggle. Unfortunately, while running, a stitch spasmed in her side, causing her to wheeze.
"I'm just sayin' mebbe I was wrong..." Barret told him, trying himself not to laugh at Dagger.
"...heh heh heh..." Tifa's laugh came floating down from in front of them.
"Ugh... What is with that laugh!?" Dagger cried out as she kept running up the stairs.
"What's that supposed to mean, Tifa?" Cloud asked her in a bit of a shock. There was no reply as the heroes kept running up the stairs. Now and then, everyone except Cloud would stop momentarily to catch their breath.
"...how much farther do these stairs go on?" Barret wheezed as he paused to catch his breath.
"Why don't you ask them?" Tifa replied sarcastically as Barret passed her. Dagger's legs were burning as she trailed up the stairs. How could Cloud do this without a rest!?
"t's not one of them endless stairways or somethin', is it?" the gunner asked as Dagger choked out a laugh. Another stitch hit her side.
"Of course not!!" Tifa replied angrily as she helped Dagger up the stairs.
"Right... Couldn't be that..." The group of four ran up the seemingly endless stairs. "Are we there yet?" Barret asked like a little kid.
"Not yet." Tifa replied as they climbed.
"... there yet?" Barret asked, a silly grin on his face. Tifa fumed.
"I said not yet!" she yelled from behind him. But Barret was having way too much fun testing Tifa's anger.
"Yo..."
"Look, don't even ask! We're way way way way far away from being there, OK!?" Tifa shouted as Barret took a moment to catch his breath. Dagger hobbled up the stairs behind her.
"Way to test her patience Barret," the Summoner said as Barret started to run up the stairs again. The large man was having a hard time. He stopped as he caught up with Tifa, Cloud trailing.
"Damn, man! I've had it! I'm going back!" he cried out, heaving as he turned to go back down.
"It'll take just as long to go down as it did to come up!" Tifa reminded him. Barret said nothing. "Besides, we're here! C'Mon Barret! Pull it together!"
"Yeah well, all I know is I'm only flesh 'n' blood... 'cept for this arm of mine. Don't treat me like I'm some ex-SOLDIER or somethin'..." he said snidely as Cloud ran up behind them. The blond looked like he had just finished a nice walk in the park. Dagger was resting on the railing, breathing hard.
"What about me!? I'm human too! Oh, do what you want, I'm going on!" Tifa said angrily, glaring at him. She went to move on through the door, but chills overtook her. "Yaah! Barret! You go first!"
The man looked at her confused. "What're ya ignorant? ...I didn't mean that." He rolled his eyes at her and exited the door. Tifa looked straight at Cloud.
"Cloud, you go on ahead too!!" Tifa said fearfully. He shrugged and followed Barret. Dagger patted Tifa's shoulder as she caught her breath.
"Ready?" Dagger asked. Tifa nodded as the two walked through the door. A shout came from two soldiers as they ran at the group. "Fabulous."
SCENECHANGETIMECHANGESCENECHANGETIMECHANGESCENECHANGETIMECHANGESCENECHANGETIMECHANGE
"Hey, when you're in the bathroom, do you ever hear whispers coming from somewhere?"
"Yeah... Is it just me or does the Conference Room smell? There's some sort of stench coming from somewhere..."
Dagger looked at the two worked who were talking to each other. Shinra must employ the stupidest people in the world. Four strangers walking around, not even disguised, and nobody takes notice. 'Hey guys... come here a minute," she called after Tifa, Barret, and Cloud. The three walked over to her. "I need to go to the bathroom. Can you guys come?"
"Whut the hell!? Why can't Tifa go with you!?" Barret fumed. Dagger groaned as she resisted all urges to bang her head.
"I need someone to LISTEN to the WHISPERS which come from SOMEWHERE ON THIS FLOOR. You know... Where the Conference Room is located," Dagger said, emphasizing the words she needed the three to catch. Realization swept over Cloud and Tifa's faces, but Barret was still lost. "Oy... Just, c'mon!" Dagger quickly lead them to the bathroom and opened the middle stall. The four conjurgated around it, looking up at the vent cover which was hanging down.
"Shall we go up?" Tifa suggested. Cloud got onto the toilet and jumped into the vent. He helped Barret up and Tifa followed. Dagger closed and locked the door, sitting on the toilet. "Good idea guarding! We'll be back shortly!" Dagger sat on the toilet, listening to the voices coming from the vent. She could hear bits and parts of the meeting coming from the Conference Room. Several times people had tried to come in, looking to use the bathroom. Loud thuds could be heard as the group started to head back through the vents. The Summoner got off the toilet as they descended from the vents.
"What happened?"
"Those bastards ain't even gonna rebuild Sector 7! They have Aeris here too!" Barret snarled as Dagger opened the door. "We're following the weird looking man!"
"Hojo..." Cloud said softly as the group left the bathroom. They quickly trailed a creepy looking man in a white lab coat. He had on glasses, but they didn't hide his horrid eyes. He was balding ontop and had an impressive hump on his back. They followed him up the 67th floor of Shinra Headquarters.
"I remember him..." Barret said suddenly, causing the group to direct their attention to him. "That Hojo guy. He's in charge of the Shinra's Science Department. Cloud, don't you know him?"
"I've heard of him, but this is the first time I've seen him," Cloud replied, still looking at Hojo's back. "So... that's what he looks like..."
"He's pretty ugly, isn't he?" Dagger spoke, recieving a nod from Tifa. "Has the title of 'Mad Scientist' all over his face. And hump..." The group followed him into a large room where two containment chambers were. They ducked behind one to find Hojo beaming at a large red, wolf-like creature in a glass cylinder. Hojo told a man in a suit to raise the container to the floor above them. Hojo petted the container lovingly before walking away.
Tifa walked over to glass and tapped on it gently. "Precious specimen...? Is it going to be used for a biological experiment?"
Dagger watched Cloud walked over the metal containment chamber and peek in the window. "Jenova..." he whispered to himself. Dagger watched as Cloud backed up, holding his head in pain. Tifa saw this and ran over to him, catching him right as he collapsed. "Jenova... Sephiroth's... So... they've brought it here."
"Cloud! Be strong!" Tifa told him supportingly, helping him back up.
"Are you alright Cloud?" Dagger asked concerned. He recieved a nod asking Barret if he's seen it. At a reply, he muttered something about it being headless and alive. Questioning, Dagger and Barret walked over and gazed in the window. She saw a blue body inside, hooked up with all kinds of tubes. The head was missing. The Summoner let out a muffled cry and fell backwards. "W-What is that?!"
"Where's its fuckin' head? This whole thing's stupid. Let's keep goin'..." Barret muttered in annoyance. He helped up Dagger and the four continued on their way, passing the red creature. They got onto the elevator that Hojo used and traveled up to the 68th floor. As they arrived, they peered into the same glass container to find...
"Aeris!" Dagger cried out, running over to the chamber.
"Aeris? Oh, is that her name? What do you want?" a greasy voice sounded. Dagger looked to see Hojo standing there. She glared heavily at him.
"We're taking Aeris back!" Dagger snapped angrily. Hojo just gazed at her mockingly.
"Outsiders..."
"Shoulda noticed it earlier, you..." Barret threatened as he ran over by Dagger.
"There are so many frivolous things in the world..." Hojo cackled, ignoring Barret's presence. Fuming, Barret cocked his gunarm in Hojo's direction. "Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?" The group stayed silent. "That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves." Hojo turned around and looked at his assitant. "Now! Bring in the specimen!"
Dagger turned around to see an elevator in the middle of the containment chamber rising. Aeris backed up against the glass as the wolf creature from before came into view. It growled at the flowergirl, who got up and banged on the glass in Dagger's direction. "Dagger! Help!"
"What are you even doing?" Dagger yelled at the scientist, stomping her foot in anger.
"Lending a helping hand to an endangered species... Both of them are on the brink of extinction..." Hojo explained, giving the Summoner a cold look. "If I don't help, all these animals will disappear."
"Animal? That's terrible! Aeris is a human being!" Tifa shouted at Hojo, her anger starting to arise.
"You're gonna pay!" Barret threatened at the scientist. Dagger turned toward him.
"Barret!? Do something please!" the Summoner cried out in desperation.
"Awright!! Step back!" Barret said confidently, aiming his gun at the containment chamber. Hojo yelled at him to stop, but Barret was already firing. A blinding white light filled the chamber and a click was heard. The chamber door slid open.
"Wh... what are you do-- Oh! My precious specimens..." Hojo cried out. The light died down and the wolf creature tackled Hojo to the ground, growling at him and putting its claw to Hojo's neck.
"Now's our chance!" Cloud cried out. Dagger ran into the containment chamber and hugged the sitting flowergirl.
"Oh Aeris! You're alright! I'm so sorry about everything!" Dagger told her, hugging her tightly. "I should've went with you to Sector 5..."
"It's alright. Don't be sorry," Aeris told her as she was heaved up by the Summoner. "Thanks for coming." Dagger just nodded, smiling. Her ears twitched as she heard the elevator moving.
"What the...? The elevator's moving!" Dagger spoke quickly.
"This is no ordinary specimen. This is a very ferocious specimen!" Hojo cried out as the creature climbed off of Hojo, facing the group of 5.
"He's rather strong. I'll help you all out," it spoke to them.
"It talked!?" Tifa said, shock rushing over her.
"I'll talk as much as you want later, Miss," it replied tartly. Dagger looked at the elevator in worry.
"Can you guys handle this? I'll get Aeris somewhere safe!" she told the group. Dagger grabbed Aeris's hand and ran over to the side elevator. They watched the creature introduce himself as Red XIII. The elevator stopped moving as a large mutant started to attack the group. "Aeris... I didn't know you were an Ancient."
"Yes..." the flowergirl replied solemnly. "I'm the last Ancient on this Planet. My mother died when I was a small child." Aeris looked at the group fighting the monster. "Please, don't feel bad for my capture. It was going to happen sooner or later."
"I know. But I should've been watching out for you," Dagger said solemnly. "I mean, I'm suppose to be your friend and I can't even protect you. That's not a good friend."
"Yes... But you came to rescue me. That's what a good friend is... Look! They beat the monster!" Aeris chirped as the girls got up and ran over to the group.
"Aeris, are you all right?" Cloud asked the girl. She just nodded.
"She seems alright in many ways," Tifa responded, smiling at Aeris.
"I have a right to choose, too. I don't like two-legged things," Red XIII spoke, giving Aeris a sharp look.
"What are you?" Barret questioned, never seeing something like Red XIII in his life.
"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see. You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way," Red XIII said to the large man. He leaped over the rail at Aeris. The flowergirl backed away a bit. "I apologise for what happened back there. I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard."
"Now that we got Aeris, we better get the hell outta here," Cloud said. "The girls will go in a group and the men will go in the other. We'll rendezvous at the 66th Floor Elevator!" The men took off towards the main stairwells as the girls fled back the way they came.
"Thanks for coming to rescue me Tifa," Aeris told the martial artist as they descended to the 66th floor. "I really appreciate it."
"It's no problem. I'm glad to see you're alright," Tifa replied as they reached the elevators. The girls climbed in and went to press the button, but a man stalked in behind them.
"Hey there... Mind pressing up?" he said. The girls turned around starled and saw Reno there, smirking victoriously.
I hope you enjoyed this. Not so much Dagger talk this time, but that's alright. Hope Elmyra's flashbacks tied in understandably with here explanation.
Thanks for reading and PLEASE review!