Chapter 4 – Then It Crashed, Now It Works
Everything seemed like a blur to her, they were moving so fast she couldn't see what moved by her. She squeezed the man in front of her, holding on for dear life her large breasts squished against his back. Cloud shook off the inappropriate thoughts that came to him, and continued to drive quickly attempting to keep the distance between him and the Mako Hunters, while trying to keep his thoughts centered on this Yuffie person, he knew she was special to him, but he wanted desperately to remember why, and Aerith's DD's weren't helping. Cloud found a rest stop close by, and quickly pulled in, ready to clear his mind of what was now pressed against his back. After parking, he tapped Aerith on her shoulder, telling her she could let go, "If you have to pee go now, we might not have the option of stopping later." he told her, to which she nodded and dismounted. He too moved off of the bike, and as soon as he was about ten feet from the motorcycle, it shifted back into a rusted old blue hunk of junk. Cloud glanced at the machine, wondering how in the world he made such a nice bike from that hunk of metal. Shaking his head, he journeyed towards the restrooms. He actually exited before Aerith did, but not by much as she pulled out of the restroom with her right hand pinching her nose, "It stinks in there!" she complained and turned to find Cloud standing there waiting for her. "Will you teach me now?" she asked as she neared him. At first Cloud looked like he had no idea what she meant, but it quickly clicked, "Fine!" he said and moved towards the open grassy area of the Rest Stop.
Closing his eyes, he reached out his right hand, and in a wisp of green energy, formed a slightly different sword than usual. This sword had the same handle and a similar hilt to the sword he possessed earlier, but the hilt looked as if it had collapsed, and the blade of the sword looked to be two different blades that were held together by a thin piece of steel with what looked to be eight holes in it going all the way up. Aerith lifted her eyebrow in a slight confusion, but Cloud acted as if it were the very sword he had revealed earlier. "The trick to Mako Shifting is focus. Know what you want and it will give you what you need." he told her, and she nodded, still a little confused about the two different swords. Aerith closed her eyes and concentrated, only to find…nothing. She dropped her face in a slight frustration, and Cloud spoke up, "Don't give up, you are closer than you think." he said as he held out his left hand. Suddenly a sword appeared in it, a sword that was large yet single bladed that brought the blade over the handle in the back. Cloud quickly stuck the second sword in the ground, and unfolded the hilt on the first, before collapsing the blades of it together. He just as quickly grabbed the second sword and opened its handle, before sliding it over one side of the transformed sword and clipping it into place. Aerith gawked in awe as the two swords became one mechanically, fitting together like a puzzle. Closing her eyes again, she focused even harder, and felt what could only be described as a tingling feeling, like a spider crawling up her legs. This quickly alarmed her and she shot her eyes open to find that the bottom of her torn pink dress had fixed itself and the dress was changing into an even darker shade of pink with a wisp of green energy. The energy retreated with her broken concentration and she looked up at Cloud, "Don't be afraid of it," he said as he again pointed his left hand and created another sword, this one was thin and single bladed, with eight kind of half circle notches in the back even though the front looked like the back and vice versa when it came to the tip. He flipped the sword so that the blade faced up and slit the base of the handle into the first sword's hilt behind the second sword and clipped it into place. Again he created a similar sword in his left hand and clipped it into the sword puzzle right next to its twin making what looked to be a blade on the back of the gigantic sword. "It won't hurt you, but you have to let it flow through you in order to control it." Aerith nodded, and gulped, Cloud was so much more powerful than she thought, and she closed her eyes again. The feeling came back, and this time she shivered, but tried to keep her concentration until it reached her head and flowed upwards, making her entire body fell warm and light. Opening her eyes she looked down at herself her cloths had changed from torn up clothing, into a full pink dress that hugged her curves and accented everything she had. Over the top of her dress, she wore a maroon coat with what looked to be a metallic sleeve ends, as well as heavy looking bracelet wrist guards. On her feet she now wore brown hiking boots that wrapped around her ankles perfectly. Looking up, Cloud once again pointed his left hand at her, and created another sword, a short sword that looked like the sword he had in blade, but looked to have a quarter cog as the hilt and a black handle. He flipped it in his hand and the sword folded so that it was all blade, and clipped it to the side of his sword that it matched. "The weapon is just as simple, a need to protect your friends will help to bring it out." he explained as he created what looked to be the short swords mirror, and clipped it to the other side of the sword he had, near the main hilt, finally creating what she remembered to be the sword he used against her drunken ex-boyfriend. Aerith was just about to ask what he meant when he swung the sword at her. She initiatively lifted her arms and muttered, "Barrier." to herself. Cloud was surprised when his sword bounced off of thin air, making a definite clang, almost like bouncing off of a metal shield. Curiously, he asked, "What was that?" Aerith lifted her eyes, slightly scared, "I think I preferred Clark." "I wasn't really going to hit you, most people learn from fear or desperation, instead you were able to stop my sword with magic, how were you able to use the spell you wanted?" he asked genuinely curious. In disbelief, Aerith lowered her arms and glanced at Cloud, "You can't?" she asked. Cloud turned and pointed his left empty palm at a nearby tree, "Fire!" he called out, but instead the tree froze over, encased in ice. "I see!" she said, "It's just natural for me!" but was unable to say much more, when the two heard the loud roar of V12 engines and saw the black vans of the Mako Hunters approaching the rest stop's entrance, "Let's go!" Cloud said and grabbed her arm pulling her towards the rickety rusted bike. The second he touched it, the bike itself Mako Shifted into the armored black bike she and him road on, and they quickly mounted to escape. Turning abruptly and placing his outside foot on the ground as an aid, Cloud rocketed towards the exit, with the Vans following close behind.
"Don't let them escape, those monsters need to be exterminated before they hurt someone." the commander called out through the CB radio. Cloud and Aerith flew down the highway at breakneck speeds, with the Vans barely keeping up. Cloud looked back just in time to see the van doors open, and a four of their solders pop their heads out of each, with automatic weapons. Aerith screamed the moment she heard the guns go off, and Cloud swerved to keep both him and his passenger from getting shot. The swerving caused him to slow down, but only enough that the vans had no more trouble keeping up. "How fast does this thing go?" Aerith cried out. "Not really sure." he yelled back as he used his right hand to flip a hidden switch and the front sides of the bike opened up, revealing all six parts of his sword, each of them separated, fitting into their own slots perfectly. "I'll see what I can do; you stay still and don't lean. If you have to, use that barrier spell of yours again." And with that, he pulled two of his swords out, the main sword and the sword that looked like it was all blade. He instantly jumped high into the air, causing almost all of the gun fire to either follow him or stop in amazement. With a flip, he landed on top of one of the vans closest to him, and drove his main sword through the hood and slicing clean through the engine block. Almost in the same second he jumped again taking his swords with him and making his way to the next van. He was immediately seized upon by a shower of lead, and he brought his other sword in front of him to block, the impact of the bullets, slowly pushed him back, and he quickly dropped from the sky, only a little off target. As he passed by the front of the van he was targeting, he grabbed the hood, and allowed his feet and sword tip to drag the ground underneath. Looking up, he glanced right into the driver's wide surprised eyes, and used his arm to launch himself into the air, causing his blade to slice clean through the engine of the vehicle. "I'm not paid enough for this!" the driver whispered to himself as his van suddenly tried to turn both ways at the same time, and skidded to a halt, spilling all of its oil, coolant and fuel onto the street. Again the shower of bullets rained on him, and again he blocked with his swords only this time he positioned himself perfectly, so that he dropped on the third van square on the hood, plunging his sword through the engine and again jumping off to land in front of Aerith on his motorcycle. "You ok?" he asked as he slipped his two swords back into their slots and closed the shields, but was answered instead by the sound of a shotgun going off. Turning her head, Aerith saw a familiar face and old beat up red pick-up truck. "Clark!" she said, "Clark is still chasing us!" she shouted to Cloud. "How many shot guns does that guy have?" he asked. "Three, he used to like going out with my Pappy to hunt ducks and pheasants." Suddenly another shot went off, barely missing the two of them. "Did he actually hit anything?" Cloud asked, only to be answered by Aerith casting her barrier spell, and Shot gun pellets ricocheting off of the shield. "Ok, that answers my question." he said. "Trust me, he never misses when he's sober." she warned him. Cloud quickly revved his engine with his right hand, and kicked it into a higher gear with his right foot, suddenly moving fast enough that he couldn't even hear Aerith when she screamed in surprise at the burst of speed. Cloud kept the speed up as long as he could, moving around cars or trucks when they showed up. Aerith actually braved a glance at one of the cars they passed, and saw the excited look of two teenage boys and the shocked look of their father. "It's hard to breath!" Aerith called out, but her voice was left back with the wind, so he didn't hear her. She quickly glanced down at the speedometer, and was shocked to see it say, 237 MPH. 'Even Clark's fastest car can't top this speed.' she thought to herself, before she felt her body weaken from lack of oxygen, and she tugged on Cloud's sleeve. Cloud turned his head to glance at her, and saw her face turning a slight shade of blue. 'She can't breathe at this speed.' he told himself, and turned off of the road the first chance he got, making it off-road until he could duck behind a large bush and parked his motorcycle, letting her catch her breath. "How do you stand that?" she asked after her breathing had caught up to her. Cloud simply shrugged his shoulders, and revved up the engine again, this time riding off at a more reasonable speed.
Yuffie sat there, her brand new jeans hugging her hips and the green sneakers cushioning her feet. She twisted the fabric of the dark green tank top she wore over her light blue long sleeved undershirt, playing with it and pinching it between her fingers, her left hand playing with her shirt, and her right hand supporting her chin. She was, to be put simply, board out of her mind. She was now forced to stay home, she had searched the entire city, and until Cid was done with the repairs to his boat, which he insisted he do by himself, she was technically grounded. At the moment she was sitting on the couch of the house she shared with her brother-in-law, James, who had gone off to who knows where. She sighed loudly, and grabbed the TV remote from the table in front of her, to switch the TV on. She channel surfed for a few seconds before something caught her eye, it looked like a three Van crash and some guy in a kind of lumberjack outfit getting arrested. The Vans however had what she knew was a MH2 insignia quickly panted over with shiny black paint. Just as well they all looked to have had their hoods and engines slashed apart. Somewhere in the back she could see what looked like someone moving in the bushes, a lot of someones. "Mako Hunters, trying to do a cover up? What happened?" she asked and got the volume to rise. "Earlier today, three vans were attacked on the Universal Freeway hear in Midel by what appeared to be Mako Monsters. It has been the third outbreak this year, and very little details were given. We were told that the first creature has what experts call a male human disguise, with uncanny leather black cloths and a strange unfamiliar black motorcycle. The second of the two appears to be a Mako Infused girl. The intentions of this situation are unclear as police have arrested convicted Rapist and Killer, Clark Marentis at the scene, rambling about the Monster kidnapping the Mako Infused Girl. We now go to Clark Marentis for a interview." The Reporter, said as she moved towards one of the police cars, to catch the 'Lumberjack man' as Yuffie put it. "Please Mr. Marentis, what can you tell us about the monster?" She asked, and the man turned to the camera. "He has spiky brown hair and a sharp face, you can't miss the giant sword he uses either!" he shouted to the microphone, just as Yuffie switched the TV off. "Midel?" Yuffie asked herself, "That's almost six hundred miles away! Cloud how did you get there?" From behind her, James spoke up, frightening her "He always did things that don't make sense!" she didn't even turn to show she was scared or startled, instead she bowed her head, "I bet you he rescued that girl from that rapist. He was always good at helping others." James told her, getting Yuffie to lift her head to look at him, "Hey if I know my brother, he would do everything to stay loyal to the people he loves, that includes only falling in love with one girl at a time Yuffie. You got nothing to worry about." Yuffie smiled, her worries finally fading into a calm and peaceful feeling, she quickly turned from him, "I wasn't worried for a second!" she said, and folded her arms across her chest, pressing her breasts into her chest. James glanced at the watch he kept on his left wrist, "You're right, it was about two minutes of worry, a Yuffie Gaia record." he said snidely and walked towards the kitchen. Yuffie stammered in her response, trying desperately to find the right words, she just opted to stick out her tongue at him and pout. "Very original!" James said to her sarcastically.
Vincent knelt down, letting his tattered cape flutter in the winds. All he did was stare at the building, the same building he had been watching ever since Yuffie was injected with the red Mako, the laboratory he found Alexander in. "Tell me your name!" he heard from behind him, recognizing the voice immediately, "Evening Alexander Castle, and you know who I am!" he retorted. He silently heard the click of a gun being lowered back to someone's side. "I wouldn't have believed you if you hadn't refused like that, you always had a way with words." Alexander said, "Vincent Valron!" Vincent twitched at his real name being used like that, so casually with no fear attached. Vincent quickly whirled around to grab Alexander by the collar and slam him back first against the closest wall. The man he saw had graying blond hair, and a slightly wrinkled face, he also wore a white button up shirt that he kept the top two buttons undone and wore a lose orange necktie around his neck, almost as if he'd been drinking, but he didn't smell of booze. "I see no reason why I shouldn't just kill you right now?" he whispered coldly. "Please let me explain…" Alexander choked out. "I'm not talking about the Red Mako, I'm talking about Lucrecia!" he growled angrily. "I didn't have a choice…She was changing into a Mako Monster…It was the only way I could save her." Alexander tried to say. "You didn't save her, you trapped her, immortal in crystal, unable to move and unable to die!" Vincent's red eyes began shining in his anger, and his arms shifted to look like a patchwork of massive arm parts sewn together. Electricity began surging across from the shoulder, slowly making its way towards his hands. 'The Death Gigas!' Alexander thought in panic and finally choked out, "She asked me to!" In that moment the electricity faded and Vincent's arms shrank back down to their original size, "What?" he asked. "She…said something…about…something she had to…tell you!" he gasped. With that, Vincent dropped him to the ground, allowing him to catch his breath. "What did she want to tell me?" he asked, looking at the man coldly. Alexander coughed, trying to let his breath steady and shifted so that he was sitting against the wall, "I don't know, she wouldn't tell me!" he told the red caped man. "If you're lying…" Vincent threatened, only to be interrupted by his old friend, "Hey I loved her to, ok. She was my sister!" he shot out, and leaned against the wall again. Vincent's gazed softened a bit then sat next to Alexander, "So why the Red Mako?" he finally asked. "It was designed by the head of MH3, a type of chemical warfare against those who become Mako Monsters." Alexander answered. "Do we look like monsters?" Vincent asked coldly. "You almost did!" Alexander joked. Vincent actually chuckled, "You got lucky, I would have kicked your ass into next week, then asked for the winning lottery numbers." Alexander laughed out loud at that, "Hey, that only worked once!" he countered, "So, you got Death Gigas?" he asked. "And Galian Beast, Hellmasker and Chaos!" Vincent added as he held up three fingers on his right hand, counting the other transformations he had. "Damn Division 7. Always doing things without asking!" he said, and pulled out a picture of a beautiful castle. "Remember this?" he asked. Vincent simply nodded, "I was planning on taking her there, either on vacation or," "I say your honeymoon would have been a better idea." Alexander interrupted, and again glanced at the picture, "I also still say its towers look like gorilla arms!" The two laughed again, until they heard a gunshot, and Alexander grabbed his arm in pain, and pulled out a similar needle to what Yuffie brought to him. "What?" he asked in shock. "I didn't bring them here!" Alexander told him, and the two jumped to their feet, only to have Vincent catch one in the back. "Gah!" he shouted, and reached around to grab the dart, and pull it out. "Let's go!" Alexander yelled and grabbed Vincent's wrist before running, at that moment, a shower of bullets struck right where the two friends were standing. Vincent felt his strength deplete quickly, "What is this? Yuffie took several days to feel its effects like this." he asked. "This feels like a more concentrated dose, looks like they really want to see those results." Alexander told him. "So why did they hit you?" Vincent asked as he pulled out his Cerberus gun. "I guess I should have told you that the head of MH3 is what others consider a mad scientist, he lives for science and is always asking questions." "Like Lazarus!" Vincent said mostly to himself. "Yah, this guy is…" he didn't get to finish as another shower of bullets forced them to keep moving.
Vincent quickly turned the corner and pointed his gun, the moment he saw a Hunter, he fired, only to hear it click. Alexander popped out from behind him, and pulled the trigger of his own gun, shooting the approaching Hunter and three others that followed him. "Forget to load?" he asked, and Vincent reached into the pouch he was supposed to keep his bullets, only to find them missing, and his Cerberus gun, fading into a green wisp of fading power. "No gun, no ammo!" was his reply as the two of them watched the tri-barreled gun vanish completely. "Shit!" Alexander whispered as he looked around and pointed his gun to shoot another Hunter. He felt his hand go completely numb causing him to drop his pistol. Vincent immediately bent over to pick it up, and shot another Hunter that appeared. "There!" Alexander said as he used his good hand to point to a church across from them. "That church was abandoned because of a Mako pool, filled the entire basement after smashing through the ceiling and first two floors, they never reopened it." "How do we get to the basement, it's probably locked up tight?" Vincent asked, and Alexander smiled, "We go up and jump!" he suggested. The second they arrived at the doors of the place, they also found themselves under fire. Vincent shot back, never missing even once. "Damnit, it's locked!" Alexander cried out, and Vincent pushed him aside before shooting the actual door lock. "Not anymore!" he said, and the two of them entered into the building. The inside of the building was that of a regular church, pure white walls, statues of holy figures, and rows of benches for the public to sit. "I used to go to church hear with Lucrecia and mother. This place had the best view from the second floor." he said in memory. "We really don't have time for reminiscing!" Vincent warned his friend, "Yah I know, but the stairs are fenced off." he argued, "How many slugs do we have left?" Vincent quickly pulled out the magazine, finding it empty, and then weighed the gun. "One!" he warned. As Vincent slipped the Magazine back into the gun, Alexander began looking around, almost as if looking for something, and quickly pushed against one of the wall panels, making it crack open. "Climb in and up, I'll be right behind you buddy!" Vincent handed the gun off to Alexander, who placed the weapon back into his holster. The two began climbing up the wall in the back, a few minutes later about six Hunters burst through the door, tearing it off of its hinges. One of them noticed the missing side piece and ordered the other two to blow the gate, while he climbed up.
Vincent climbed the inside of the wall, noticing the hand holds that were carefully carved into the side. "Yah, I know, it was me. Not the smartest thing to do to a church." Alexander explained. "There, lift that wall piece up and climb through." he suddenly stated. Vincent did just that, not surprised that the wall piece sung back easily, probably on hinges. Vincent easily slipped though, followed by Alexander, who grabbed a nearby vase and dropped it into the narrow space between the walls. In seconds the two of them heard a crash and the scream of the Hunter as he fell the decent distance back down. Like teenage children the two of them gave each other a silent high five and proceeded to make their way to the other side of the church, only to hear a small explosion. "Damnit, C4!" Alexander guessed and the two turned to run through the closest door. On the other side, was what looked to be only half a room, and a holy alter, the marriage room. Vincent looked around, finding the room was a beautiful sight, "If I did ask her, this would have been where…" Vincent said as he made his way to half of the floor, only to turn around and see Alexander pointing the gun at him with his working hand. When the gun went off, Vincent grabbed his side, the place he was just shot. "Why?" he asked and began backing up as Alexander slowly walked towards him, and dropped the empty gun. "Little bit of research showed that it is necessary for the one absorbing Mako to have an open wound." Alexander said with tears in his eyes. Before the two of them knew it, they were both standing at the edge of the missing floor. "Don't worry buddy! I'll keep them company!" he said, and used the last of his strength to push Vincent into the Mako Pool, two stories below. As Vincent fell, he could only watch as his friend flopped to the floor, dead. His vision was quickly flooded by the iridescent green of Mako as he sank to the bottom.
To be continued…