Death: Here we go! Some action! And more plot bunnies! The ball is rolling, guys! Woot woot! Here we go!
Chapter Ten Point Of No Return
=3=
Reno made record time to Junon. Although he wasn't sure if Rude would want to be in the same helicopter as him later, judging by how green in the face he was. Sure, Reno might have gone way too fast, but the situation in Junon called for it.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up." Rude groaned, and Reno ripped off his headphones, grabbed his weapon and bolted.
He ran to the one of the lower sectors, as that was where the activity really was. He pulled his PHS out and called Cissinei. She answered in a few rings. Good to know she was all right, at least.
"Yo! Cissi! What's the situation?" Reno could hear the screams now.
"Genesis Rhapsodos is trying to destroy the canon! I've just received word that General Sephiroth has returned, he's on his way to intercept Genesis as we speak."
It took a momemt for the words to sink in.
"What? He's returned?" Maybe the situation wouldn't be as dire after all. "Wait, what about Zack?"
"Lt. Zack Fair is working with the Infantrymen on crowd control. But he needs help, there's too many robots on the loose."
"Stop being so formal, I know about yer little crush, Cissi." Reno teased.
"Reno! He's taken! I can't interfere!"
"I know, I can't help but tease ya." Reno figured teasing would help her get over the damned hyper active SOLDIER.
"Ugh! Just get down here already!"
"Oh, baby. Order me around like that more often, and I'll start thinkin you're hittin on me."
"Reno! You're unbelievable!"
"Oh yea, keep yellin at me just like that."
"Can you focus for one fucking second, Reno Sinclair!?"
"Jeez, woman. Sorry. Ever heard of a joke? Anyway, I'll be down there in a few, I'm almost there. I'm runnin as fast as I can. I'll give Rude the heads up."
He was ecstatic. Ever since the last time he saw Aerith, she had a premonition that something happened to Zack. He didn't want to believe, but she was always right with these things. Even so he was skeptical until he heard there had been an emergency signal from Mt. Nibel Reactor four days ago.
He feared they had been four days too late.
"Good luck, Reno."
"I make my own luck, Cissi."
"Someday, your luck's gonna run out."
"Not me, sweet cheeks. Catch ya later, Cissi."
They hung up. Reno immediately called Rude and briefed him of the situation. The bald Turk said he will be on his way shortly, and Reno hung up. It was around this time, the redhead had finally reached the section of the chaos.
Screams, ShinRa alarms, and gunshots filled the air. It was overwhelming, and Reno felt resigned this was now considered a normal occurrence with how many times Genesis has attacked ShinRa. Just how many more times is he going to attack? This was getting ridiculous.
At least I can drown out the noise, now.
First, he took care of the small fry. He directed civilians when they appeared, which was few and far between. After a nice good workout of eliminating the small fry, Reno had nothing else to fight. It was almost too easy.
Nothin's ever too easy.
He surveyed the area. There were a few large robots a few streets down the road. Reno decided to make his way over when suddenly a roar resonated through the air. He only had enough time to turn before a gust of powerful wind knocked him off his feet.
Oh shit shit shit SHIT SHITSHITSHIT FUCK
Reno hit his head hard against pavement and blacked out.
=3=
Cloud was amazed at how quickly Genesis was able to create general chaos. He, Sephiroth, Zack and Tifa hung back on the outskirts of Junon, giving at least half an hour head start for Vincent. Then again, Genesis was one of the finest SOLDIER, until his body began to degrade.
Now that he was in top form again, better than before, Genesis was quite powerful when he had the passion.
(I dread we might have to enter soon. He is having way too much fun.) Sephiroth sighed, afraid of closing the window of opportunity on Vincent.
(Let's just wait and see. If he goes too far, then we'll head inside the city.) Cloud was willing to take the chance.
His fear wasn't as bad as he thought, for they managed to wait for the half hour mark. They first entered the village that was towered over by the metal, newer city that equaled as a military base. The townspeople stared in wonder, and many recognized General Sephiroth.
He paid them no mind, instead led the way to the upper half of the city. As soon as they entered a long tunnel, Sephiroth began to relay the plan. He spoke sternly, and his rules were absolute.
"Zack, you handle the grunts and help with crowd control. If I know Genesis, he will include machines in his attack. I will be handling those as I make my move towards Genesis. Should there be more in the wake as I leave, I trust you to take care of them."
"Got it. It'll be just like last time." Zack nodded, his usual air of goofyness was replaced with all seriousness.
"There was a last time?" Tifa piped up.
"Yeah, Gen is known as the commander who abandoned ShinRa and threw temper tantrums like this." Zack explained.
"This is a temper tantrum?" The brunette shrieked.
"Eh, this is calmer than his previous attacks."
"And what about us?" Cloud blinked.
"Stick with Zack. At the very least if you come across Turks, he'll help provide a cover story." Sephiroth wasn't going to leave everything to chance. The possibility of Cloud and Tifa attracting Turks were high.
(Be wary, I can't be around to help you should you find yourself in a tight spot. The thought of you getting hurt...) Sephiroth was surprisingly showing a vulnerability Cloud hasn't seen before.
His heart fluttered at the show of trust.
(I'll be careful. You be safe, okay?)
(No one's told me that before. Then again, it doesn't need to be said to someone like me.)
(I feel like saying it anyway.)
(I..don't know what to say.) Sephiroth became nervous, feeling self conscious about his lack of social interactions.
(You don't have to. It's the thought that counts.)
As soon as they cleared the tunnel, Sephiroth left their side. It was if he disappeared in a blink of an eye. Cloud didn't panic, he could sense the general even if they weren't side by side. It was comforting, at least to Cloud.
"Let's mosey!" Zack raced to strike at some robots targeting the civilian.
"Is he always like this?" Tifa asked, as she took on a robot that aimed at the SOLDIER's back.
"Yes, he is." Cloud laughed, swinging First Tsurugi at a third robot.
Within a short time, Zack was directing the grunts into a more organized unit. He had them devided into crowd control and taking down any of the small fry robots. However, soon came a giant robotic.
It was huge, shiny apple red machine made to kill. Zack was more than happy to rise to the challenge. Cloud and Tifa joined in to help, however Zack insisted otherwise.
"If there's another one coming, I need you two to take care of it! I got this one!" Zack urged, dodging bullets.
"What about you?" Tifa yelled over the gunshots.
"I'll be fine! I've taken these down before!"
"Let's do as he says." Cloud sensed the general was agreeing with his lieutenant.
The pair returned to another end of the street. Then the screams were heard. Cloud and Tifa ran towards the direction, and they came upon a cross street. On one end, was a robot, same type as the previous. Down the other street was a raging Bahamut.
"You take the robot." Cloud bolted.
"Why do you get the bigger one?" Tifa yelled after him.
"I can at least reach it!" The champion yelled back. He smiled to himself when she didn't follow, for she knew he had a point.
Cloud saw a crumpled form ahead, and the beast was readying an attack at it. The blonde sped up, grabbing the unconscious figure and rolled out of the way, using his sword to block parts of the beam that would have burned them.
The figure in his grasp came to. He stirred, in a daze.
"I'm alive...? Wha...?"
Cloud looked down. The man had bright red hair, strange markings on his face, and the uniform of a Turk. Not a well kept uniform, but Cloud recognized it from Sephiroth's memories. The redhead met his gaze, and Cloud blinked.
For a split second, the Turk seemed as if he recognized him. This puzzled Cloud, for he had never met this man until now. But there was no denying the Turk staring in surprise and his face paled. Then those green eyes turned to the Bahamut above.
"Yo...we might wanna - RUN!" The Turk bolted, and Cloud rolled out of the way, narrowly escaping another blast.
A split second later as Cloud got to his feet, he was then knocked down when the Bahamut swooped in. The force of the air current it created was hard enough that when the champion hit the ground, he was stunned for several precious seconds.
His vision was blurry, and his head was swimming. The Turk was standing over him, and Cloud wondered why in the hell someone would take the time to stare at another person while a fucking Bahamut was targeting them.
"Don't you have something better to do?" Cloud grumbled, as he forced away the dizziness to better glare at the redhead.
"Well, I would. But you're just too damned cute, Blondie." The Turk snickered, his voice teasing yet nervous.
Why is everyone crushing on me lately?
"And this is the thanks I get for saving your ass?" Cloud groaned as the other helped him up to his feet.
"Yeah, about that. Thanks. I owe ya one."
"A Turk oweing me a favor? I'll hold you to it." Cloud flashed a grin before charging at the Bahamut.
That might be just the right leverage we need.
Cloud had First Tsurugi separate, and now he was holding two large pieces in either hand. He leaped up, aiming both swords at one of the legs. Bahamut screamed in pain, and Cloud gasped as he felt it. He allowed his weight to pull him down, his blades slicing as they went.
Cloud landed, and he took a moment to breathe. He had forgotten Bahamut were one with the planet. Behind him, the Turk whistled in admiration.
"That's not normal steel, is it? Nothin' ShinRa has made can slice that thick hide like butter."
"I made this special." Cloud straightened, pride swelling.
"Hold on yo, back up, you made that?" The other was stunned.
"Yeah. Took me six years." Cloud rolled out of the way of another attack. He used the momentum to leap up for another attack.
He stabbed at the stomach with one blade, then went higher with the other. Cloud continue to climb up, the Bahamut writhed, and then it soared high up. The blonde champion continued his ascent, until he reached the neck.
"My name is Cloud Strife, I am Minerva's Golden Champion. It is time for you to rest in peace, my friend." Cloud breathed deep, before he struck at a weak point in the neck.
He kept repeating at the neck until a blue aura enveloped his whole body. At this, he unleashed his limit break. Six strikes later and the Bahamut was dead. The body fell, and so did Cloud with growing worry.
I didn't take into account of it flying so high.
The body of the Bahamut burst into flames as it's soul returned to the lifestream. Cloud shielded his face, and luckily the flames didn't reach him. That saved him from severe burns, at least. But then he had another concern to worry about.
Such as landing. Safely.
His answer to this problem was solved when Sephiroth caught him in the air. The silver general had seen the battle from afar, and Genesis took his chance to run. Free of the fight, Sephiroth took it upon himself to save Cloud a very painful crash landing.
(I told you to be careful.) Sephiroth glared.
(I knew you would eventually save me.) Cloud laughed.
(Such prudence assumptions.)
(And yet here we are.)
Sephiroth couldn't argue against that.
The pair landed safely, and the redheaded Turk was the first to greet them. Sephiroth eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing.
"So...got a name there, Blondie?" His eyes never strayed from the blonde, despite the fact the silver general mysteriously had two extra appendages.
(He's suspicious of you.) Sephiroth concluded, a surge of powerful emotions emanated from him.
(Yes, but he owes me a favor. We could use this to our advantage.) Cloud countered with confidence.
"Cloud. Cloud Strife. And you?" He extended a hand, which the Turk accepted with a strong grip of his own.
(Careful. Turks are finicky about their word.) Sephiroth warned.
(I don't think that's the case with this one.)
"The name's Reno. And don't you forget it, sweet cheeks."
=3=
Reno couldn't help but stare. Who was this blonde swordsman? And where the hell had he been hiding? And, he really didn't want to get his hopes up, but he swore the man who called himself Cloud Strife had the same fucking face as the silver stranger he came across in Nibelheim hours before.
Same face, but they're different.
One, Cloud had striking blue eyes. What caught Reno's attention was the hint of mako in them, once he had a close enough look. Two, Cloud's hair was blonde and spiked like the rear end of a standard chocobo. Three, Cloud was certainly not left handed.
No, it was clear from the way he fought the Bahamut. He was dominately right handed. Even if he could wield swords with both hands, his preference was his right side. Everything about Cloud was the complete opposite of the silver counterpart Reno had the unfortunate chance meeting earlier.
"General Sephiroth, I see you have survived Nibelheim." Rude appeared, and staring at the wings. "How did that happen?"
"I first learned of them in Nibelheim." Sephiroth explained.
"...Ah. So, for the past three days you have traveled to Junon?" Rude inquired, and this time the general was growing annoyed. He was wondering if they suspected him of burning the town.
Well, he could. He is just as powerful as Genesis. So why is he gettin' all defensive? What happened in that town?
"Yes. Zack Fair had initially been injured, but Cloud and his friend Miss Lockhart, have been a great help in aiding us. They are the last survivors of Nibelheim."
"I see. It's good to see you well, at least. And you arrived on time to help with the surprise attack." Rude turned his gaze to the redhead, who was still staring at the blonde.
"You sound as if you recently went to Nibelheim." Sephiroth was quick to read between the lines.
"...Yes. Just this morning. We raced here as soon as we heard word of Genesis' attack on Junon."
"Was there anything unusual?" Now the general was prying.
"Define unusual." Rude crossed his arms.
A moment of stunned silence. It was broken when Zack, Cissinei and a girl Reno had never seen before caught up to them. The lieutenant was as hyper as usual as he grinned ear to ear, Cissinei was relieved, and the other girl was in disbelief.
"Cloud! That was so awesome! I mean, holy shit! I knew you were something special, Spike!" Zack pulled the blonde into a noogie. Cloud squaked, blushing as he struggled to get out of the tight hold. Eventually Zack released him.
Oh he's special, all right.
Reno knew he should congratulate Cissinei for a job well done, but he couldn't force his gaze away from Cloud. He didn't care he was openly staring, his mind was racing with so many questions and the burning need to ask but couldn't.
Not here. Not with everyone else here. It seemed Rude didn't even notice the detail of Cloud having a striking resemblance to whoever they came across in Nibelheim. Maybe he didn't get a good look of the face as well as Reno did.
"So...you two helped ShinRa's finest SOLDIERs, eh?" Reno referred to Cloud and the brunette girl, Miss Lockhart he assumed.
"Yeah? What's it to ya?" She challenged.
"Well, I was gonna offer that, since Blondie here saved my life, to grant you two a special pass into Midgar. Even going so far a ride in my baby with the general here. But, I don't know now with that attitude little miss." Reno finally tore his gaze away from Cloud to focus on the brunette.
Hot damn she's got a nice rack.
But he made a point to keep eye contact. She was red in the face, flustered from being put on the spot as being rude. Was she used to everyone falling to her feet because of her looks or something?
"Wait, you needed to be saved?" Cissinei gasped, wide eyed.
"The fuckin Bahamut swooped in and I got knocked out. Blondie rescued my ass from being fried. But, I'm not goin' outta my way to let these two a free pass to Midgar, even to the upper plate. They helped bring back the general and the puppers, so I'm showing the Turk hospitality." Reno made it clear the favor he owed to Cloud was not behind what he was offering.
"Then why mention he saved you at all?" Rude frowned, recognizing the game the redhead was setting up.
"Fuck if I know, I hit my head. I think I have a bump. Or concussion." Reno shrugged, playing dumb.
"We might have to get your head checked before I allow you any sort of piloting." Rude sighed, recalling the crazy ride to Junon.
"So, whaddya say you two?" Reno redirected the conversation to the lone survivors of Nibelheim.
"We'll accept the offer. And, I'm sorry. Things have been crazy lately. The name's Tifa Lockhart." She didn't have to think twice.
"I don't blame ya. Your hometown was destroyed, I can't fault ya for being stressed. So, then, let's head into base and refresh ourselves. If I can't pilot due to my head injury, Cissi will take ya later." Reno was eager for a drink.
Sephiroth led the way, his wings retracted. Reno stuck to the rear, as Cissinei chatted up a storm with Zack. Rude silently followed behind the general. Or tried, but Tifa started a conversation with him. Surprisingly the bald man was holding a conversation from someone outside Turk and SOLDIER.
Great, that gives me free reign with Cloud.
Reno casually fell in step with the blonde. The redhead glanced over Cloud, curiously. The Turk racked his brain to start a conversation, maybe he did hit his head too hard. However, the blonde saved him the trouble.
"So...you still owe me a favor?" Cloud met his gaze.
"Ya. Still owe ya. Only you, though. You were the one who saved me, after all. Which, thanks, yo. I'm not ready to meet the lifestream." Reno found it easy to talk to Cloud.
"I don't think many of us are."
Reno stared, caught off guard. Cloud seemed so young, but at that moment he seemed so much older, as if he had seen so much turmoil than most of the people around them. And his words hit the Turk hard.
"You're right. But still. Ya saved me when you don't even know me. Not many out there will risk neck or hide for me, not before or after I became a Turk." Reno hadn't meant to let the last bit slip. He noticed how everyone was listening to them now.
"I believe every life is precious. If death isn't the only answer, then I do my best to go for that method." Cloud hadn't noticed ears were on them.
"Heh, ya just sounded like someone else I know." Reno chuckled, recalling soft green eyes and brown hair. "She's the extreme of what you believe, though."
"Good to know I'm not alone in my belief, then." The blonde smiled.
His smile is warmer than his creepy silver counterpart.