A/N; Thanks to everyone who's stuck by me so far; it really means a lot! A major shout out to Retro Lamb everyone! Rika's her deadly character and this fic wouldn't be half of what it is without her! I would also like to take this opportunity to promote something peoples; the story's name is Rise, and it's a crossover between Final Fantasy VII and Trinity Blood...Lamb's been sending me the chapters she has wrote so far,,,and they are so deadly! She hasn't uploaded it onto yet, but when she does; you guys should seriously consider giving it a look...it's so amazing!!! Hehe; and my character's in it too; Alex Yamamoto...go Lamb; you rule hun!
PS; I know I previously stated that the battle was to begin in chapter 10, and I apologize; it's been pushed a chapter back as a revelation has occurred; see end of this chapter…………….
"Where's Ross?"
Several heads turned as Rika re-entered the WRO control room, along with an additional person...Elmyra looked in shock to the faces of her past friends...the faces of AVALNACHE, then turned back to face the ex-SOLDIER whom had brought her there;
"Rika; how did AVALANCHE-"
Rika smiled as she realised the aged female, along with anyone who had been praying for the fall of the Nightmare were still unaware that he had lost his most valuable assets...
"Ross and the other kids...they broke into ShinRa and fucked up all the computers and mainframes...were there any announcements about the Mako-Reactors?"
Elmyra shook her hazel haired head as she thought back over the last few days;
"No, but there have been reports issued on all the news channels for you and the teenagers...you are all wanted for questioning..."
At this, the young-looking woman actually laughed; questioning...what a load of bullshit!
"Haha! Robbie made shit of the two Mako-Reactors outside of Edge in less than an hour..."
Elmyra smiled upon hearing this; it looked as if the youths had changed their perspective on where they stood in this battle...more so; Ross had...then a thought crossed her mind, she looked around the room quickly at all the familiar faces - but still she couldn't locate her;
"Rika; where's Tifa?"
"When does it start?"
Ross took a breath to answer Jared's question, but was cut short as his older brother butted in;
"Tomorrow after dusk - let me finish squirt!"
Denzel once again cut his brother off before he even had a chance to voice his objections; this wasn't a game, things needed to be thought out thoroughly if they were to pull this off; to end this Nightmare once and for all, for once in his life; Denzel Strife was using his brains! (Wonders will never cease!)
"I know, I know! You want to go straight in now, and finish it tonight...but hear me out on this one bro; he's probably back at the HQ right now ordering all his troops back to that one city, expecting and preparing for an attack tonight...now look at us; we have a fucking ace mechanic who set off alarms, a Wutain princess who's as hell bent on Materia as her mother, Turks, WRO, AVALANCHE, an ex-SOLDIER and as the main instigator; a spikey haired teenager who is as emotionally unstable as Loz is!"
"I am not emotionally unstable!"
"Yes you are squirt...but other than that; there is logic in launching the assault tomorrow when it's dark; one; he won't expect us to wait that long, he'll get caught off guard by a belated attack, two; it'll give the WRO troops enough time to definitely evacuate all of the civilians, three; the dark'll give us some cover, four; the Shera'll be up and ready for use, five; you need to fucking sleep before you fall down little man, and six; you're still injured!"
"I'm not tired and I'm not hurt - ahhh!"
Ross snapped his left shoulder away from his older brother as Denzel poked him; causing the bullet wound to flare into life...Denzel only grinned and poked the seventeen year old hard into his right shoulder as he spun away;
"Fuck off Denzel!"
Ross stepped well out of his brother's reach as pain flared into life from his stab wound this time...okay; so he might have been exaggerating a bit when he said he wasn't hurt!
"C'mon, seriously now bro; when's the last time you actually slept? Bear in mind passing out doesn't count!"
"How is Ross?"
Elmyra enquired this through teary eyes; history had made an uncaring repetition on the youth...she had just been filled in on what had transpired of late, more so; what had happened to the blonde teenager's mother...Rika sighed slightly as she answered;
"Put it this way Elmyra; he's the one spear-heading this attempt at over-throwing Sephiroth...a far cry from the youngster that point blank told you he refused to fight a few days ago, eh? Still though; he was pretty shook up, wouldn't blame him either...he went to go after Sephiroth himself, Aiveen stopped him though..."
The rest of her words were lost as several more people appeared back within the control room; Ross and the rest...
"Remember when we used to do this everyday?"
Ross grinned and nodded from where he sat on a sofa in one of the staff lounges, he had one arm wrapped around his girlfriend as she rested her head against his rising and falling chest...he did remember; the five of them had literally grown up in the WRO base and the ShinRa Headquarters; passing their time flicking through numerous music channels and just hanging out...and now look; four years on they were back there; doing the exact same thing despite all that had transpired in the space of those years...
"You better babe?"
Aiveen grinned as she nodded her head; she'd been sick lately, throwing up most mornings as it was………
"I'm grand; awww…you sound all responsible and protective Strife!!!"
One night remained until the battle started; but for that one night; all troubles were being put aside; the fighting...the hatred...the hurt...the pain - all of it was being put on hold for one night; this night was special; most families had been reunited, whilst another had been further ripped apart; this night was for their sakes and their sakes alone; a night to celebrate their friends' and parents' returns...and mourn for the loss of others; but most of all, above all else this was a night of peace.
Elena smiled despite herself; a session had begun a couple of hours ago, if it was going to be a night free of fighting; who said it had to be free of alcohol? A couple of hours was all it had been going on for and, already; her eighteen year old son was well and truly transmoggified!
"Jared; you're drunk..."
The hazel haired youth looked at his mother through unfocused eyes, he grinned widely as he spoke, knowing his words were slightly slurred...
"No; I'm not..."
"Yes you are-"
The youth shook his head adamantly;
"Nope...I'm legless Mom!"
"Hey; how come Jiggles isn't drinking?!"
Rika shook her head, grinning, as Reno looked at her innocently, he'd already drank more than any other person present within the base, yet he still proved to as sober as the day he was born...how; nobody would ever know!
"Not bothered Reno..."
"But you- oww! What the fuck was that for yo!?"
The fiery-haired Turk recoiled rapidly as Rika's hand made forceful contact with the back of his head, he then turned back to face the ex-SOLDIER once he was sure he was out of her striking range...Rika only laughed lightly as she got to her feet;
"If I've told you once red; I've told you a hundred-million times...don't call me Jiggles!"
"Aiveen; I'm sorry babe..."
Aiveen sat up rapidly as she heard this; confusion evident in the eternal depths of her crimson hued irises as she looked into his shimmering cerulean ones;
"For what?"
Ross shrugged as he sat up, he'd been thinking over everything that had happened lately; some of it still hurt to think about, but these things needed to be thought about; either that or they'd just lay there, festering and growing as time went by...
"For earlier...I acted like a...a..."
"A prick?"
He smirked slightly as Aiveen suggested this term in a, somewhat, over cheerful manner...
"Yeah; I acted like a prick...and I shouldn't have, but everything just got to me..."
The youth trailed off as his voice unwillingly cracked; everything had gotten to him, and anything that hadn't from the past was doing so now...
Aiveen stood and walked behind the sofa as she noticed the tears in her boyfriend's eyes...
"C'mon hun; I'm here..."
The young Wutain whispered this quietly as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head gently atop his...comforting him for as long as he needed it; she'd always be there for him...no matter what...
"Yuffie; what do you think you are doing?"
The ninja spun on her husband as he asked this; signalling for him to be quiet, then beckoned him over to peep in the door she had been...Vincent smirked enigmatically as his blood coloured eyes came to rest upon his daughter and her boyfriend, the man slowly withdrew his head from the door, then pulled his wife back slightly as he quietly shut the door; giving the teenagers' the privacy they deserved...
"She's not a little kid anymore..."
He nodded in agreement to his wife's comment; that was something he knew only too well right then; the little girl he'd last seen was gone; she wasn't the same Aiveen as she had been back then; she was a young woman now...it hurt him to think of all that had been lost between them as a family in those four years...he'd missed out on his right to watch his little girl bloom into a beautiful young woman...that was the one thing he'd never forgive Sephiroth for taking away from him...
"One-two-three; Go!"
Shera simply shook her head as Reno let this shout out; signalling the start of a drinking competition between father and son...and trust it to be her husband and son! Still though; it was amazing to see how much each could actually consume before keeling over...it seemed Robbie had inherited his father's knack at several things, most of which weren't to her liking; the cursing...the unusual capacity for alcohol...but all this still brought a smile to her face; she had two of Gaia's most sexist, foul-mouthed, and abrupt males - and she wouldn't have traded either of them for the whole entire planet!
"Just in case we are preoccupied tomorrow; Happy Birthday."
Declan looked to his father in shock; he, himself; had even forgotten what day it was; it was Tuesday...tomorrow was his birthday - his eighteenth!
"Thanks Dad...guess I won't be counting on a cake then?"
Rufus smirked at his son's smart comment; of the entire thing going on; he wanted a cake! The company owner shook his blonde head;
"Wouldn't hold your breath if I were you...but you never know; miracles do happen."
"Think we'll need more than divine intervention at this stage Dad! How come the troops are standing by him? You're the company owner; they swore allegiance to you! Not him!"
"I know; but I learned a long time ago; everyone is two faced...trust me; I played that game...they'll ally with whoever they fear most and whoever they think is most likely to win..."
"That's some ray of hope that is!"
"Forget about though; tonight's not for battle strategies; I want you to know one thing though Declan..."
The dark brown haired youth looked at his father; an eyebrow raised questioningly...Rufus smirked as he answered his son's unasked question;
"I'm proud of you..."
"Mmm..."
Aiveen opened her eyes slowly, it must have still been early as the light outside was still greyish; marking the arrival of dawn; she sat up looking around the room; it was cold and quiet...she must have fallen asleep in the staff lounge. She looked up as someone else's breathing pattern was heard and blushed slightly upon realising she'd fallen asleep on the sofa with Ross...he was still conked. The Wutain princess smirked as she stood up; throwing the woollen blanket that had been placed over her frame over her still sleeping boyfriend, he'd sure as hell be stiff when he woke! He'd ended up asleep sitting up...
"Serves you right!"
Jared ignored his mother's statement as he continued to hug the cold bowl of the toilet, he'd just spent the last half an hour lashing his guts up, and now he was stuck with the horrible sensation of dry retching...not to mention his stomach doing flips and the splitting migraine!
"I told you; you were drunk-"
"I fucking know already! Leave me alone! I'm dying in here!"
"And it's all your own fault!"
"Not meaning to sound insensitive here Mom but...fuck off and leave me die in peace!"
"Ross...Ross..."
Ross opened his eyes to the sound of someone saying his name; he looked around an quickly realised he was still in the WRO staff lounge; another quick gaze around and his shimmering eyes came to rest on his smiling girlfriend;
"Here stone-head...Minerva! I was wondering if you were ever going to come to!"
Aiveen smirked as she handed her boyfriend a hot cup of tea, of which he gratefully took...
"What time's it?
"Just goin on for half seven...I think the others are awake; I haven't checked yet...you coming?"
Ross looked up quickly as Aiveen made to walk towards the door;
"Why, where're you goin?"
"To check on everyone else...and say happy birthday to Declan!"
"Y'all seriously hung-over?!"
Cid stared in amazement at the string of people sitting on the floor of one of the training halls; a malicious grin on his face as he eyed up the sufferers and appropriated taunting for each; so far, those that had fallen victim to the after effects of excessive drinking included; Reno, Robbie, Rod, Jared, Declan, Barret and Denzel...oh; this was going to be a fun morning by any standards!
"What happened them lot?"
Ross looked from Rika to the group of seven whom looked as if they were well and truly on their ways to the Promised Land...the woman only laughed as she answered;
"They're all hung-over! And severely so!"
"Marlene...any help here?"
The spikey-haired youth looked to his older sister figure with an air of slight pleading; Marlene had a medical degree and had worked as ShinRa's head doctor before all this shit had happened………
"Nope! All self-inflicted, I have no sympathy for you lot!"
"Rod's back!"
Ross, amongst others, turned his head as Cissnei's shout was heard; Rod had been sent to Edge several hours ago, after the worst of his stinking hang-over had worn off, and Rika has left for Midgar, all in an attempt to gain as much information as possible before the assault was launched…
Rod looked to the questioning faces and took the initiative to start talking before he ended up getting bombarded with queries;
"All the civilians are out of the city; but the place is crawling with troops and snipers; every high-rise building has at least two or three positioned on top it, there's a good few of those Shadow Creepers running around the place aswell-"
"Same with Midgar; it looks more as if he's split his forces rather than focus his defence on Midgar…still though; launching the assault on Midgar first could still work as a distraction…"
Ross nodded at Rika's report as she appeared back within the control room; it was almost evening and there was still a lot left to get done before the assault could be initiated…the youth turned and took charge of the situation; aware that time was not something they had in abundance at that moment in time;
"Cid and Robbie; double check all the airships and Shadow Foxes, Reeve; make sure all the regiments are armed and ready to go; Rufus, Declan, Tseng and Veld; the same with the Turks…Denzel get out of the fucking bathroom and stop throwing up already! And Yuffie; stay away from the Materia!"
"Hey Spikey; catch!"
Ross turned just in time to catch a radio (walkie-talkie) that Aiveen had thrown in his direction…the young Wutain smiled as she passed, heading towards the Shera along with AVALANCHE;
"C'mon or Mom'll definitely get the Materia………either her or me!"
"Where's Jiggles yo?"
Reno turned full circle as he attempted to locate the female ex-SOLDIER he so delighted in annoying………but no matter how many times his oceanic eyes swept the glass enclosed front section of the Shera; they didn't once land upon the well endowed female………
"You okay Rika? You've been fair quiet since we boarded…"
The young-looking woman looked up from where she had idly been tugging a lock of her long wavy chocolate hued hair; she'd been thinking silently to herself for the better part of an hour at this stage; and she had finally come to a decision…ish………
"I'm fine hun, just been thinking a lot, that's all…"
Ross nodded and walked over to one of the tables, where he silently hoisted himself upon, all the time keeping his shimmering cerulean gaze fixed on the female that had saved his life that night – if it hadn't been for her; then he'd have been killed there and then, and he'd have none of his friends and family around him right now………he knew what she had most probably been contemplating about, and he couldn't really blame her either………
"It's him, isn't it?"
Rika nodded her head, albeit slowly, and with slight hesitance, still a little confused herself…
"Mmm hmm………Can I ask you a favour Ross?"
The blonde teenager simply nodded his head from his perch upon the table………Rika took a deep breath and looked at the youth; her amethyst irises meeting his cerulean ones;
"I have no right to ask this of you and I know that; but I have to ask; you're intent on killing Sephiroth, that I'm sure of beyond all doubt…and I'm not about to stand in your way but………can I talk to him first?"
The next thing Ross was aware of; he was off the table and back on his feet, staring at the still seated woman, a mixture of pure out-and-out confusion and anger swimming about in his eyes…
"Why? What're you gonna say? What the hell can you have to say to him; you told us everything he put you through – what happened at Nibelheim…I thought you were on our side, not his! Why now? Why not before he killed my Mom; back when you were alone with him in the ShinRa? What the fucking hell can be so important that –"
The ranting youth was cut short as Rika spoke; still seated as she did so…a distanced look in her eyes as though she were recalling an incident of the past……..
"I am on your side! And always will be, no matter what………but there's something I meant to tell him that night at the Nibelheim Reactor, and I never got a chance to…the only reason I didn't tell him during our last encounter was because I hadn't made up my mind whether or not I wanted to remember………"
"What the hell is that meant to mean?!"
"I hate airships!"
Vincent watched on with the smallest hint of a smirk on his pale lips as Yuffie shot a hand over her mouth and clutched her stomach; some things would never change! Aiveen grinned too, but hers' was short lived as she, too, felt the sensation of her stomach performing back-flips that would have surely been worthy of the gold medal………she sunk to the ground groaning as she wrapped her arms across her stomach;
"Typical! Oooooh; I'm gonna be sick too!"
"It means what it means……… he shattered my heart and all of my dreams; and to this very day; I'm still picking up the pieces… a lot happened back then; some of which still hurt me deeply to even remember, let alone talk about………"
Ross remained silent as Rika went on; it had obviously taken her a lot of contemplating to reach the decision she had; he could at least hear her out…
"After the massacre in Nibelheim; after Sephiroth had all but left me for dead, aswell as injuring your father Zack, the three of us were given to Hojo as test subjects; I cannot imagine what Zack and Cloud were put through, but they were lucky to escape when they did………Hojo is a twisted son-of-a-bitch; no two ways about it; that's what he has been, what he is, and all he will ever amount to…and it is thanks to one of his experiments that my body is now incapable of bearing a child; he robbed me at my second chance at motherhood………"
At this; Ross's eyes, which had since wandered to staring at the floor, shot back to the ex-SOLDIER, a look of shock on his young features;
"What d'you mean second chance at motherhood………"
Rika looked up too; only know aware of what she had let slip…she took another deep breath, figuring it was about time someone else knew…
"That night at the Reactor in Nibelheim………I was pregnant…I lost the baby………"
A/N; Okay; first of all; sorry it took me so long to update this fic people; I kinda got bogged down with school and other shit; did any of ye know you get a serious amount of homework in 5th Year?! If so; then how come no one told me?!?! Anyhu; this chapter's totally for the one and only Retro Lamb!!!! Notice how this one is longer Lamb……….hehe; what did ya think of that last line?