Chapter 10
"This can't be possible." Aerith said, staring in disbelief. Icicle Lodge no longer existed as she remembered it. In it's place, a large tower that could have been an attempted replica of the old Shinra Building in Midgar. Luckily, the doors were unguarded. Cloud and Aerith slipped inside of it, moving through the empty building. "Something isn't right." Aerith said, turning to Cloud.
"You're right, there's no way they leave this place unguarded."
The banging from the doorway made both of them jump. They stared at the door, watching as it bent under some sort of weight. The banging continued, causing Cloud to look at Aerith.
"Perhaps you should run." he said. Aerith stared at him blankly for a moment, and then turned, walking towards the elevators. The banging got louder behind her. "A little faster!" Cloud called behind her. She ran towards the elevators, reaching them just as the door burst open. She entered it quickly, hitting the button for the top floor. She watched the Gigases, hundreds of them, rush at Cloud as he raised his Buster sword to fight. The doors slid shut, cutting off her view, and the elevator began to rise. She waited as it rose higher and higher, ascending the building to the top floor. She heard the sounds of battle before the doors even opened. As they slid open, the first thing she saw were Red XIII and Zack. They were crouched behind an overturned desk, as they were fired upon by unknown assailants. Aerith slowly stuck her head out of the metal box, just far enough to see who was shooting at her friends. At the top of a stair case, undoubtedly the one that lead to the President's office, Reno, Rude, and Elena stood shooting at Zack and Red XIII. Aerith quickly pulled back into the safety of the elevator. She had to do something, but what could she do? She stood in the elevator for the longest time, trying come up with and idea to save her two friends. Finally, she came up with a plan. A horrible plan, admittedly, but a plan. Taking off one of her shoes, she peered around the corner of the elevator, aimed, and threw. The shoe flew the air, and struck Reno in the side of the head.
"What the fuck!" Reno cried out, grabbing his head in pain. Rude stopped firing to check on his friend, giving Zack a chance to rush them. Elena kept shooting, but Zack easily deflected her shots. Reno and Rude tried to raise their guns to fire, but were to late as Zack reached them. Zack lashed out, cutting, and cleaving with his weapon. At the end of it all, the three Turks lay dead, their bodies pouring out blood. Aerith exited the Elevator, walking into the vision of Zack. Zack saw her, surprised, and ran to her. He embraced her lovingly.
"I thought you were gone." He said, his voice breaking. He hugged her tightly.
"I would have been, but
Cloud saved me."
"Really? I thought he was dead."
"Me too, but I guess he survived. I think he's dead though, he held off a bunch of Gigases so I could get up here."
"You're probably right." Zack said. "Come on Red, Aerith, it's time for us to finish this." he said. Together, the three of them all ascended the stairway.