By a Fraction of a Degree
A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129
Rated T for Violence and Language.
I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.
A special, and final note of appreciation for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and S and G from Lifestream(dot)net for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis epilogue text and make the cut-scenes intelligible for English-speaking audiences.
And now, to the chapter!
Part II: Reunion
Chapter 13, Messengers of the Planet?
December 6th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007
Cloud stood on an empty expanse of nothingness, surrounded by swirling green tendrils floating through the air. They reminded him of the Lifestream and it wasn't a comforting comparison. There were echoing voices around him, saying things he couldn't understand. He remembered absently that Aerith had spoken of such things before, but she'd always been happy when she heard them, saying the planet was talking to her. He guessed she'd be the one to know, seeing as she was an Ancient. Kunsel on the other hand, and Zack too on occasion had told him about how new SOLDIERs sometimes complained of 'the whispers' after their Mako treatments and that it wasn't unusual. Whether they were the same thing or not, he wasn't sure, but right now, the voices sounded ominous.
He walked forward through the tendrils of mist, not sure where he was being led, but that something was definitely beckoning him… no, demanding that he come towards it. That was around the time he noticed the dull ache in his head… As he tried to stop to figure out what it was, the pulling increased and suddenly he found himself walking through Nibelheim as it burned, watching Sephiroth as he walked toward the reactor through the wall of flames. He didn't want to follow, but as he resisted, the pain grew worse. When he drew near the reactor he found himself no longer on the path, but back in the dark green of the lifestream. He tried harder and harder to fight even as his head throbbed and he was pulled ever closer to the nameless horror he knew was there. The last thing he saw before he awoke was a glowing pair of green reptilian eyes as Sephiroth looked coldly up at him, and he dangled helplessly in the air on Masamune's blade…
Cloud snapped awake, as he realized his head actually did hurt, like someone had stabbed an ice pick right between his eyes. It was far more real than the phantom sensation of a sword hanging him up by his ribs, though somehow during the nightmare, his hand had found its way to the scar Sephiroth had left him. He groaned as he sat up in the bed that now occupied his corner of the room he shared with Zack. He hadn't had a headache like this since Midgar… Why did it hurt now? The pain receded as he allowed his breathing to slow. He didn't want to wake Zack. He was sure his mental faculties were working just fine at the moment, thank you, as soon his head stopped throbbing, and it would only make his friend worry if he told him… That was when he glanced over at the other bed. They'd started getting some proper furniture in here now that most of the repairs were done and the building had been completely cleaned out, but that was old news. What he had noticed was that Zack didn't seem to be sleeping too well either.
He was muttering in his sleep, and that was an oddity in itself. Zack was usually a pretty sound sleeper. Frankly, he counted himself lucky the other man didn't snore. But what he was muttering was the more disturbing part of this unusual turn of events. "No… don't hurt him anymore… Hojo… you bastard…"
Cloud's breath caught in his throat as Zack rolled over and the muttering stopped. It seemed as if the dream had ended. Cloud sat for a while, listening to the wind outside their window, and watching the shadows of the nearby trees slip across his window. He could hear the ocean if he listened hard enough. Eventually, he slid back under the covers and allowed the ambient sounds to lull him to sleep again. If Zack wanted to talk about it later, they would.
December 7th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007
The next day ended up being very busy for everyone at the lodge. Through one of the contacts Kunsel had established, Zack had managed to secure another monster-slaying contract, though this one was only a one man job. There had also been the trip into town the girls had asked Cloud to take to pick up a couple of items Elmyra had ordered for the living room. One of which had been a small television set. Kunsel had agreed with her on the count that keeping up with the current news was important. After helping the brown-haired SOLDIER install the thing, he'd spent the rest of the day training with him. Zack didn't get home until after dinner, but fortunately for him, Aerith had saved him a plate, and he wolfed it down with gusto before going off to get cleaned up.
At that point, no one wanted to do anything but relax for the remainder of the evening. After spending a little time checking out the new TV, Freya suggested going out to the hot spring before bed. No one was against it, and so, after everyone found their bathing suits, they trooped out to the steaming pool and soon, the evening air was punctuated by sighs of contentment. Cloud had situated himself on the far end while the others talked.
Zack was dramatically relating the tale of how he'd hunted down the monster he'd been contracted to find. It had been a tougher fight than he'd anticipated but he assured Aerith and Cissnei that it hadn't been the hardest thing he'd ever gone up against.
He suddenly noticed that Freya had edged closer to him. "Something on your mind?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Just listening." The huntress leaned back against a nearby rock watching the others. "What about you?" he asked, finally. "Come to think of it, why are you so nice to us all the time? I thought Turks were supposed to be…"
"Cold? Ruthless? Loyal to Shinra, no matter what?" Freya suggested.
"Maybe."
She smiled sadly. "When I was new to the job, I thought I was prepared to do anything for the company. I helped recruit people for SOLDIER, some even against their will. I put the goals of the company over the lives of others countless times… I don't know if you remember when I was ordered to protect that disk even if it meant taking it and abandoning you and Rayleigh. I know your memory's still patchy on some things, but you stepped in front of me to stop me, because you'd been ordered to protect her. That took a lot of guts. It was probably the first time I'd ever really had cause to doubt my orders."
Now that he thought about it, that did sound familiar. He nodded and she continued. "As time went on, I found myself thinking more about what I was doing, and it only got worse after I failed to protect my comrades when they needed me the most. I couldn't even protect them from someone who was supposed to be on the same side."
She paused and he noticed her reaching over, as though to push the hair out of his face, but he backed away before she could get there. "Sorry, I guess when you were still sick I got used to needing to do that every now and then, otherwise how else would you be able to see us?" She apologized when she saw how uncomfortable he looked at her show of familiarity. She edged away, showing him she was giving him his space.
"I can't say I know how I feel about all that," Cloud admitted.
The wistfulness still hadn't left her expression as she turned away from him. "Don't worry about it." She pulled herself out onto the stones lining the water, and wisps of steam floated off of her body in the light from the lantern they had brought out with them so they could see. It was getting near the new moon so they couldn't rely on its light for illumination. "I think that's enough for me tonight." She stood up and went for the towels near the steps. "I'm going to head in," she said so everyone could hear. "If I'm asleep when you get back, I'll see all of you in the morning." She wrapped the towel around her waist and waved to those who remained before heading back towards the house.
Aerith also stood after another moment. "I think I'm going in too."
"We'll be right behind you." Zack stretched and then spared a glance at Cloud. "Don't fall asleep over there," he teased as Aerith followed Freya up the path.
Cloud stood up and pulled himself out so he stood on the edge of the pool, feeling the cool breeze on his skin. "Same goes for you."
Zack grinned. "Yeah, we'd both be a couple of prunes if we did that." He too got out and proceeded to dry himself off, before carelessly throwing his towel over his shoulder. Cloud picked up the lantern they'd brought before retrieving his own, and the two of them walked back towards the lodge.
December 8th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007
Cissnei and Freya were out on the porch during the late afternoon, having just returned from running an escort job for some merchant who was trying to set up supply lines for some business venture to the south, when Kunsel walked around the side of the lodge, looking like he'd just had a good workout. At the curious glances, he offered them a grin before walking inside. He returned shortly afterward with a military canteen he'd filled with water. He sat on the step, taking a long drink from it before offering an explanation. "Just got back from training with the guys," he said. "We were doing a three-way spar with Cloud against me and Zack and somewhere along the way he decided to hang back."
"Well, that would still be easy, right? You haven't been training Cloud that long," Freya commented.
"You would think. He actually handled himself pretty well. Nothing I couldn't handle, but I'd hate to be his opponent in a couple of years if he keeps up that kind of progress. At a guess, I'd put him solidly as a 3rd Class already."
"Maybe I should have a go with him, to keep him on his toes," Cissnei offered.
"That could be interesting." Kunsel chuckled at the thought.
"I expect it would be," Freya agreed. "Would materia be allowed?"
"He's got a couple of the basic ones now. He picked up a Cure, and a Fire last time we were in town, so lower level spells would probably be okay."
Freya nodded in agreement. "Makes sense."
"What, were you thinking of giving her materia support? That's a bit unfair," Kunsel teased.
"Well, Turks don't play fair, do they?" Freya countered.
"No, I guess they don't. Not even ex-Turks."
"You never leave the Turks," Cissnei said quietly.
"Maybe not…" Kunsel trailed off at that point because suddenly they all heard a buzzing noise.
After hunting around in the pockets of her jeans for a moment, Freya found her PHS and answered it. "Yes?... Veld?... No it's all right, I was just glad to hear your voice. I didn't realize the dead could sound so healthy, sir." She said the last bit with a mischievous grin before the next thing their former director said brought her back to complete seriousness. "Are you sure about that sir?... I see. Yes, Cissnei's still with me … All right, I'll call you back once I've found everyone." She hung up and turned to Kunsel. "Go get Zack and Cloud, Veld's got some news we all need to hear."
Kunsel stood and left without argument. He wasn't sure he liked taking orders from the former leader of the Turks, the very man who had facilitated Zack and Cloud's imprisonment for Hojo, but he decided he would at least hear him out.
It didn't take him long to find the other two swordsmen. They had come in through the front door and were talking with Aerith and her mother in the kitchen. Soon after that, the three of them were headed towards the camouflaged chopper with Aerith close behind them.
"So what's going on?" Zack asked as they all climbed into the passenger compartment.
"We're about to find out," Freya answered. She was sitting in the pilot's seat, having turned on the helicopter's communications system. "Com channel… 38 9 Delta…" She muttered aloud as she punched it in. After a moment she spoke into the microphone. "This is Shotgun on channel 38 9-er Delta, EMR, do you read?"
A voice Kunsel didn't recognize filtered through the speakers. "Loud and clear Shotgun. Shuriken and the rogue broadswords are still with you?"
"That's an affirmative EMR, Do I have a confirmation that the channel is secure?"
"That is also an affirmative. Encryption has just been implemented."
Whoever EMR was, he paused at that point and another deeper voice interjected. "In that case, Rod, for now, we can forego the need for codes."
Rod laughed and Kunsel heard a muffled "Yes sir," On the other end of the line.
Zack had crossed his arms as he heard the deeper voice and as Rod finished he spoke "I take it you're Veld?" he asked.
A pause, and then "Yes. And you must be Zack Fair. But we have no time for pleasantries right now. There are more important things going on. I'll get straight to the point, my resources have discovered the awakening of a WEAPON, and whether the other Turks fight it off or not, it will be headed your way very soon."
"Um… okay. What's a WEAPON?" Zack asked. "The way you're talking, it doesn't sound like it's coming to bring us a free lunch."
Even Freya and Cissnei looked a little confused on that point. Veld continued. "It is a being created by the planet to destroy that which would harm it. Even though Zirconiaide wasn't completed when it was summoned, its destruction was a significant blow to the planet's ecology. As a result, this WEAPON has awoken and is coming after the persons responsible."
Zack shrugged. "I guess by the persons responsible, you mean me and Freya then, since we were basically the ones who took Zirconiaide out."
Veld did not mince his words. "Correct. It seems to have decided the Turks are responsible as a whole, along with you. If we don't do something it will probably reach either your location or Midgar by the day after tomorrow. It's already been involved in skirmishes with the other Turks. As the situation stands, we've been able to get information that it will reach Junon late tomorrow. If we can stop it there, that would be the best outcome. It's already made appearances at Icicle Inn, Wutai, Cosmo Canyon, and Costa Del Sol."
Zack fought down a wry grin. "And once again, you automatically assume I'm going to help you."
"You are, aren't you?" Cissnei interjected.
"Well… yeah, I guess I am. But it's still worth pointing out."
Veld cleared his throat. "In any case, we have dubbed this being 'Jade WEAPON.' If you are going to be acting to preempt it, you will need to be in Junon by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Valerie and Allen will be waiting to meet you there. We will conduct a full briefing as soon as you arrive."
"Understood sir," Freya spoke up. "We'll be there tonight."
Veld ended the conversation with a click.
The lady Turk climbed into the passenger compartment as the others filed out of the helicopter. "All right. We need to get the camo broken down and the chopper prepped. If you're going, decide now."
"Well of course I'm going," Zack said. "If I'm here, it'll still head this way, but I'd like to talk to everyone about who else should go. Just how dangerous is this WEAPON… thing?"
Aerith seemed to be listening to something before she spoke up. "The planet seems to think it's really powerful… "
"Wait, it's talking right now?" Kunsel asked. "But didn't he just say the planet created this… WEAPON… to destroy threats? Why is it talking to you if it thought we were a threat?"
Aerith listened a little longer, frowning in concentration. "It's really hard to make out, but it sounds like the planet only created it. The WEAPON is acting completely on its own."
"If the planet created it, and you can talk to the planet, you don't think you could talk to it and tell it to stop this, do you?" Cissnei had paused in helping Freya to add her two cents.
"From what I'm hearing, it's not smart enough. It looks like we'll have to fight it."
"We?" Zack asked.
"Of course I'm coming too," Aerith said.
Zack looked like he might be about to object, but Freya beat him to it. "Absolutely not. If you come with us, you'll only be in danger."
"And what about Cloud?" Aerith asked calmly. "I don't hear you saying he's not coming."
"He's not," Zack said, trying his best to be firm. "I want him here making sure you and the others are safe. I don't want anyone getting into a fight they aren't ready for, and if this fight has been giving the Turks trouble, it must be pretty bad. Besides, it doesn't sound like this thing's gonna be coming after you."
At Zack's words Cloud looked like he might be about to bring up some objections of his own to this plan but Aerith interrupted with a sly smile. "Not important. He's just going to have to come with us to keep me safe, because there is no way on the planet that I am going to let you go without me this time. I might be able to help."
From where Kunsel was standing, he could see that Cloud seemed just as surprised by this turn of events as Zack was, but as Aerith continued, he noticed the younger man had simply folded his arms behind her, quietly backing her up as she made her argument.
Finally Zack sighed. Aerith had won. He turned his attention to Cloud. "I'll be trusting you to keep her safe on this one, got that?"
Cloud nodded solemnly. "Loud and clear."
"All right, let's get packed and move out." Everyone who didn't have their weapons hurried back to the lodge to retrieve them. As Kunsel was headed out the front door again, he happened to overhear Elmyra talking to Zack. Apparently he'd given her a summary of the situation. He paused waiting for the dark-haired ex-SOLDIER at the door.
"Now you listen to me Zack Fair," Elmyra was saying, and her voice was very serious. "I know it was her decision, but if you let anything happen to her after all the time she spent waiting for you, I will never forgive you, do you understand?"
Zack gave her a smile. "Don't worry, she'll get home safe, that's a promise."
Elmyra's expression became a little softer. "You make sure the rest of you make it back too. I've gotten used to having everyone around."
"Well then, we'll try to have this wrapped up and be back in time for breakfast, okay?"
With that, Zack and Aerith met Kunsel at the door and they hurried back to the helicopter.
When the helicopter landed at a discreet site a couple of miles north of Junon, sometime near midnight, the group found the two Turks Veld had said would be there, standing in plainclothes in front of a van. Zack recognized Valerie immediately, which meant that Allen had to be the blonde haired kid who wielded nunchaku. Freya and Cissnei greeted the other two warmly before everyone piled into the van and soon they were riding along an expressway towards the upper city. Allen got them through the check point without any trouble, and shortly afterward, they arrived at what was apparently one of the many Turk safe-houses scattered across the planet. Soon, they were situated in a small conference room and it wasn't long after, that in coordination with Rod and Lou, who were apparently with Veld and his party at an undisclosed location in Midgar, a secure line of video communication was established. As the screen cleared, they found themselves looking at an older man with a scarred face, who was wearing a grey suit. Behind him, Zack could see Rod and Lou on one side, and Elfe and Shears on the other.
"Well look who it is!" Shears exclaimed. "Long time, no see, SOLDIER. Good to see your people made it out in one piece."
"I have a name, Shears," Zack interjected with a grin. "So are you still a terrorist or did you decide to retire?"
Veld cleared his throat. "Shall we get started?" He sounded rather annoyed.
"By all means," Zack leaned back in his chair, resting his boots on the table.
Veld brought up a map of the local area. "Here's the situation as it stands. Some hours ago I got a report from Liz at her location in Icicle Inn that she was chased by a large unidentified object. After locating a pillar of light that seemed to have been produced by materia energy, she managed to fight it off, barely. Soon after, Tanjuu reported a sighting of the same object in Wutai. He also was forced to fight with it before it disappeared again."
"By the time it appeared in Cosmo Canyon, we were utilizing all our resources and had managed to identify the object as Jade WEAPON. We were able to gather a small force at Costa del Sol and managed to damage it significantly, however, it is currently headed towards Junon, and if we don't stop it before it reaches Midgar, we will have to face it here. If it is not destroyed, it will most likely continue hunting the planet until everyone who was involved with Zirconiaide is eliminated."
"So how are we supposed to take this thing out?" Kunsel asked.
"While your party was en-route, Valerie and Allen were already scouting for a good intercept point. The WEAPON exudes a black mist when it travels that makes it nearly impossible to attack, however, with the radar program I've had Valerie upload to her PHS, we've been able to locate another one of those materia pillars near here. The WEAPON will dislodge clusters of itself when faced with a target; therefore, with enough of its targets in close proximity to one of these pillars, we should be able to slowly destroy it."
"So will it only go after what it thinks is a target?" Zack asked.
"Most likely. It seems to be locked on to Zirconiaide's residue in the Lifestream, so it probably won't go after anyone who wasn't physically there."
"Well then. That should make things easy," Freya said. "All we have to do is let the people who weren't there hack away at the things while those who were there run interference."
"You should still exercise caution," Veld warned. "It's not an intelligent being, but we shouldn't bank on it being predictable. It should make landfall at approximately 2100 hours, tomorrow. I'll leave your positioning to you. Good luck." The call ended.
December 9th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007 9:00 PM
When they arrived at the place Valerie's radar application indicated, Zack had been surprised to see it looked like an ordinary open field. The night breeze blew cold over the desolate location as the eight of them stood at the ready. Zack and Kunsel stood at the front with Freya, while Cissnei, Valerie, and Allen stood behind them and Cloud and Aerith brought up the rear.
No amount of persuasion had convinced them to stay at the safe house. While this fight was probably well out of both their leagues, Zack was reasonably sure that as long as the two of them were careful and stayed out of the worst of it, they should be all right. He was training Cloud the way Angeal had trained him after all. He'd gotten a lot tougher since they'd fled to the Mideel area, and the muscle he'd been developing under Zack and Kunsel's tutelage stood as testament to their efforts. Even so, he'd made sure both of them were equipped with some of the best defensive items he'd been able to find, and had lent Cissnei his mastered Wall and Cure materia since she was the best caster powerful enough to cast the high level spells in their proximity.
Suddenly, the ambient noises of birds and insects went silent, and almost as though to signal the giant being's arrival, a bright pillar of light appeared right in front of them. As Zack looked up, he saw that it was cutting through what appeared to be some kind of dark mist, revealing a great hulking object that was vaguely triangular in shape. "Well guys, I think that's our ticket up!" Readying their swords, he and Kunsel led the group into the pillar of light. When they entered, they found themselves in a vast expanse of green mist, not unlike where he'd fought Zirconiaide, except it seemed to be slightly more blue in color. He felt flagstones under his feet as he looked around him. "Is everyone here?"
As he looked around, he saw the others appear behind him with Cloud and Aerith appearing last, sword and staff at the ready.
Freya spoke up. "Be careful, we only know what Liz and the others reported about the inside of this thing." Her words were barely out of her mouth before Zack heard a buzzing noise up ahead, and soon he saw a cluster of three oval shaped objects coming their way. He brought up his sword to counter one of them and Buster Sword vibrated with the stress brought to bear upon it. He could feel the thing's power as his teeth rattled from the impact. Nearby, he heard Freya's shotgun go off as Kunsel brought up a barrier and he felt the tingle of energy as multiple other spells went off behind him. Gaia, this thing felt like getting hit by a truck! As he pushed the oval object away from him, he was forced to dodge out of the way as a beam of light attempted to strike the place he'd stood mere moments before.
It looked like the others were doing okay though. Kunsel and Freya seemed to be holding their disks sufficiently well. In spite of that, Zack realized with a wince that this was probably going to be a long fight.
Tifa steeled herself for what would be coming when she and the others would disembark from the train. She had been working towards this day with them for months, and now, they were about to strike a blow to Shinra that would hopefully hasten the end of their reign of terror for good. She didn't care so much about Barret's ideas of the planet being in trouble. What smoldered in her heart were the flames of a burning town, its people slaughtered by a monster of Shinra's making, and left to rot.
She cracked her knuckles as she prepared for the fight that was about to come, and Barret looked over at her upon hearing the noise. "You nervous Tif?"
She shrugged as she limbered her muscles. "Maybe a little."
"Well don' you worry. We'll get in, get out, and it's gonna be fine."
She nodded, and reminded herself to breathe as the train pulled to a halt.
Barret let out a whoop. "All right, let's go kick some Shinra ASS!" At the battle cry, the five members of the new AVALANCHE rushed out of the train cars. Biggs and Jessie took out a couple of MP's as they went and soon, they were headed towards Mako Reactor 1.
In Shinra's executive conference room, a top secret hearing was being held in regards to the actions taken by the Turks two months prior. Tseng sat alone in front of a panel of three, as Scarlet, President Shinra, and Heidegger discussed his fate. This had been expected. Rufus wasn't so powerful as to give him complete immunity from his actions. If anything, he expected the Vice President to dangle them over his head for the remainder of his existence. But he had given him an out, even if Scarlet and Heidegger were unaware of it. They thought they held his fate in their hands when it had already been decided. No matter. Even if they actually did, he wouldn't have let them see it on his face.
He remained composed as the three of them deliberated. "…this concludes the report on the behavior of the Turks," Heidegger finished.
As the panel turned their attention to him, the President spoke. "You have caused a lot of trouble."
Scarlet smirked. "Mr. President, I think the correct course would be for the Turks to be abolished and the three survivors executed."
Tseng didn't flinch even as the president continued. "In this case, the punishment I sentence to the Investigation Sector of the Department of Administrative Research, alias the Turks, is…"
The stillness in the conference room was shattered as Rufus brushed in flanked by Reno and Rude, a single word flying in his wake. "Wait." Tseng internally sighed even as he showed no outward sign of a reaction. The VP's flair for the dramatic was completely unnecessary, but he had pledged his loyalty to him, and he wouldn't interfere.
"Rufus?" The President knew he'd be coming, but pretended that he hadn't even known he was in the building. Further testament to how much of a sham this was.
"What are you doing here?" Scarlet asked. "I thought you were on a long term business trip."
Rufus stepped into the room, so that the light from the hall outside lit him dramatically from behind. "I'm here to stop the Shinra Company from suffering its greatest loss."
"Loss?" Scarlet looked annoyed as she echoed the word.
"The company's financial situation is already solid," the President said.
Rufus's voice flowed softly through the chamber as he spoke. "Somehow in my absence, you seem to have become an extremely senile old fool."
"What?" the president demanded.
Rufus allowed the hint of a smirk to cross his face as he placed a hand on the chair Tseng occupied. "An entrepreneur should always be prepared for any risk. I myself know this. So maybe, I should it explain it to the President."
The President did not look amused, but this show was the only way he could keep his secret about Rufus's imprisonment from going public. "You… what…?"
"To be blunt, I'm saying let the Turks continue," Rufus said.
"The very existence of the Turks themselves are a risk to the company," the President argued.
Rufus shook his head patronizingly. "It would be a mistake not to recognize executing Veld and the leader of AVALANCHE as the extent of the Turks' loyalty. Is there a problem with that?"
The President was silent for a moment before he shook his head and to the shock of Scarlet and Heidegger, but no one else, he moved that the meeting be adjourned on the grounds that no further action was necessary on this matter.
As the board members departed, Rufus gestured that Tseng and the other two Turks accompany him to the helicopter landing pad. They followed him up the stairs and were soon standing on the platform in the windy night, as dark clouds covered the sky, reflecting the light from the city back down upon them.
Rufus spoke first. "Considering the trouble you've caused Tseng, that was a very good outcome."
Tseng remained impassive as he spoke. "We owe you a lot Vice President. Thank you for your considerations for the Turks."
Rufus looked out over the city, not looking at Tseng as he answered. "Don't misunderstand. I did not do it for your sake. From now on, you can show your gratitude to me in your work."
Tseng brought himself to attention. "Yes sir."
With that, Rufus walked back towards the door, giving the Turks no further attention.
As the Turks stood, watching Rufus leave, Reno sighed. "Well, I guess all that's left is the three of us."
"Insufficient?" Rude asked.
Tseng didn't allow the faintest amount of change to his expression as he spoke. "In any case, it is our duty to accomplish the mission without exception… for the Chief... and for our comrades who are gone."
The words were barely out of his mouth before an alarm blared. "Emergency incident. Emergency incident. Intruder at Mako Reactor No. 1"
Reno shrugged. "No rest for the wicked, huh?"
Reno and Rude turned towards the door before looking back at the Director of the Turks.
"Tseng?" No one needed to ask the real question Reno was posing when he spoke.
The director reached up and untied his hair so it fell to his shoulders. "From now on, the Turks will become a new organization."
"One thing won't change." Reno said.
Tseng nodded. "Our pride in our work."
Rude adjusted his sunglasses, which may as well have been his way of agreeing, as the three of them hurried to the door, the tails of their suit coats buffeted by a sudden strong gust.
December 9th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 9:30 PM
Tifa and the others were running as fast as they could down the path leading out of the Mako reactor. They'd had minimal trouble with that weird spidery robot once they'd figured out on their own that it was a bad idea to attack it while the tail was up. However, now that the bomb was set, they were naturally in a hurry to leave. Barret was carrying Jessie as he ran, since she'd caught her foot on something on the path. As they reached the elevator, Tifa slammed her hand onto the up button and Barret got Jessie on her feet as the doors slid to a close.
For several terrifying seconds the elevator glided up the shaft before the door pulled open and they were on the main level. They only spared enough time for Jessie and Biggs to decipher the door codes as they sprinted to each barrier, ready for the next mad dash until finally, they saw Wedge on a catwalk up ahead where he'd been guarding the way out. Barret was the last to throw himself clear before the reactor behind them exploded in a fireball of explosive gas, mako, and debris.
As the smoke cleared, revealing to Tifa's eyes the access tunnel through which they would be leaving, she heard Biggs' breathless voice. "That should keep the planet going… at least a little longer."
"Yeah," Wedge answered him.
Seconds passed as Jessie rigged the explosive to cover their retreat and then she spoke. "Okay, now everyone, bet back!" They ran the final sprint out of the tunnel and out into the back alley, just as they'd planned. It wasn't long after that they regrouped at the train and were riding back down to the Sector 7 slums.
Kunsel channeled a limit break, bringing his sword forward in a precise slash at the disk he was fighting, connecting with its weakest point before it crumbled into nothing. A short time after the fight had started, the WEAPON had apparently figured out that it would not win with just three of these things and had sent out three more to keep them occupied. It had been a difficult battle, but so far, the disks had largely ignored Cloud and Aerith, though as the fighting became a little more disorganized, the brown-haired ex-SOLDIER found himself checking back their way every now and then. Aerith was casting healing spells on the others, but the worst either of them had taken was a couple of small indirect hits that had been deflected by the Wall spells Cissnei was casting.
Zack had also been keeping an eye on them, he could tell, as the dark-haired swordsman had been making a point to keep as much of the firepower focused on himself as possible. The other Turks had gathered together, using Freya as their heavy hitter and she chambered blast after blast into the attacking disks.
The floating oval shapes glimmered ominously and he watched the Turks scatter as another beam of light struck the ground where they'd been standing not that long ago. Valerie and Allen countered with materia as Freya continued her barrage. That was when the buzzing noises became louder again and he looked up to see three more of those disk shaped things headed their way.
Zack definitely noticed too, because Kunsel felt the air charge next to him as Zack activated his Thundara materia to fire a stream of electricity at the newcomers. The new disks broke off and circled the group, joining the three that hadn't yet been dispatched when behind them Cissnei fired off a limit break of her own. An odd glow permeated the area and Kunsel realized she'd channeled her limit break that made everyone lucky. He shot her a thumbs up before rushing one of the disks and landing a critical hit. It was one they'd been hacking away at for a while and it too crumbled.
Zack had moved back towards where Cloud and Aerith were, as the new cluster approached. Perhaps he thought the disks were getting too close to them for comfort. As he saw Cloud charging up a Fire spell, he decided his friend was right and started moving in that direction too, ducking as one of the other disks tried to ram him over. His sword clanged against the side of the disk as it floated towards Zack and he raced after it, but at that moment he felt the air charge again as another limit break went off in the near vicinity. To Kunsel's surprise, and Zack's too, Cloud had suddenly leapt forward and attacked the nearest disk with three crossing slashes. It didn't kill the thing, though he could definitely see it had left a few cracks in its armor.
"Yeah!" Zack shouted his approval over the chaos, and Kunsel was definitely impressed, but it also worried him a little. If those two blows had been enough to make Cloud feel the need to channel a limit break then he sincerely hoped Cissnei was watching her Walls carefully, because a full blow probably wouldn't end well for Cloud or Aerith.
He raced in and brought his sword up for an attack on the disk Cloud had wounded, pushing it away from them as Zack charged at one of the others. As his sword made contact with the disk's cracked shell, he heard another blast from Freya's shotgun a little ways away before someone else, probably Allen, he guessed, yelled out "Scatter!"
There was another bright flash as the three Turks in the other group dodged out of the way of another blast. At the same time, he felt a cooling breeze permeate the area. Aerith had let off her healing limit break. Ancient magic washed over the area as the four remaining disks floated around searching for targets. Kunsel went for the disk that Cloud had attacked again, even as it looked like it might be about to go after him and Aerith. The younger man pushed her out of the way as it approached before both Kunsel and Zack brought their swords down on it at the same time.
"Nice one!" Zack saluted to him and then the two of them went after the disk he'd been working on. They were down to three again, he noticed, and then it wasn't for long. The report of a shotgun blast and several spells brought about the sound of another disk crumbling into oblivion. They were getting close. He knew it!
The disk they were attacking came in fast as though it were trying to ram them but the two SOLDIERs dodged. As they did so, Kunsel brought up his Bolt materia and fired off the strongest spell he could. The disk vibrated under the magic. It looked like it had been affected somewhat, because when Zack brought the Buster Sword down upon it, it cleaved neatly down the center. The five in their group all looked over at the other three Turks and the disk they were working on.
With a battle cry, Freya let loose a final shotgun blast on the disk and it crumbled in front of her. As it did so, the ground quaked beneath their feet, and Kunsel could see the light through which they had entered was starting to flicker. Wordlessly, the eight of them ran for the exit. They'd done what they'd come here to do.
A/N:For your reference, I have provided a tally of unfamiliar limit breaks below.
Kunsel: Precision Slash, A precise attack on one enemy
specifically aimed at it's weak point. Level 1 limit derived from Zack and Cloud's basic limits.
Cissnei: Lady Luck, all party members get critical hits for a very short time. Level 1, based off her DMW in Zack's limit gauge.
See ya next time!