Author's note: Just a small warning here, lords and ladies. Though this story is indeed rated M and this might be the most obvious thing I ever type. The violence in this chapter is like... a lot. It's been ramped up to the level of brutal. If this chapter were a movie it would probably be banned in 37 countries. The reason for such brutality and majorly graphic scenes is I feel that in war, it changes you. It becomes less a test of your own strength and more about simply wanting to stay alive, no matter what it takes. Second most obvious thing I've ever typed.
Anyway, also from this point on all author's notes will take place at the END of the chapters, should they be applicable. I've been working on this chapter for a long time. Enjoy.
-Chapter 14-
Hannibal ante Portas
Part II
You take a mortal man, and put him in control. Watch him become a god, watch people's heads a'roll,
Just like the Pied Piper led rats through the streets. We dance like marionettes, swaying to the Symphony... of Destruction!
Acting like a robot, it's metal brain corrodes. You try to take it's pulse, before the head explodes.
Yuffie had cowered behind a disabled truck, the combat medic Tara and two other soldiers just to her right. Very few words existed that could describe the insanity of the chaotic battle still raging around them. By now, the sun had long since sank behind the horizon, but still the armies fought, seemingly with more ferocity. All around the field, turned over vehicles had been set ablaze, and the muzzles of guns briefly illuminated whoever was behind the flash. Overhead, the three helicopters zoomed back and fourth, their turrets constantly firing, and the occasional rocket being blasted from one of them. The skies were no less insane, as grenades fired from all directions, at multiple angles, into the sky in hopes of bringing down the steel birds of war. Yuffie and Tara had barely moved from their spot for the past hour; Yuffie was simply afraid to move, or even breathe.
This was something she was not used to.
"This is crazy!" Yuffie yelled over the constant gunfire. She also noted the occasional agonized scream of someone not far off. Her instinct to find and aid the person behind the voice was outweighed by her profound desire to live.
To her right, Tara shot upward to lop a grenade into a cluster of oncoming enemies, only to fling herself back down to the dirt, "First time in combat, I assume?"
But Yuffie shook her head, "No, of course not! But I mean... I've never been in a battle like THIS before!"
Tara nodded, as the two soldiers next to her stood up and began to fire, then duck, reload, and fire again. "I understand. The constant noise, fear, never knowing what'll happen next or when your life is gonna end?" Yuffie then noted that the other woman seemed to laugh, "You get used to it, though I wish no one had to. Just remember this, kiddo! You're only as strong as the person standing next to ya!" Here Tara clapped her on the shoulder, "Not the time for a pep talk, sure. But I got your back!"
Yuffie grinned, finding her courage again. She suddenly stood up, Tara following close behind in one fluid motion. The shuriken left her hand in an instant, and a blue aura suddenly lit up her left hand, and shot out a spiked chunk of ice. The shuriken twirled through the air in a horizontal line, taking out a few more men and narrowly missing the WRO soldiers. Behind Yuffie, Tara fired off shots from her pistol at those who thought to take the head of the young ninja who had suddenly appeared. Yuffie caught the weapon, but wasted no time in sending it back out, a second ice wave following closely behind.
For Cloud, the entire world seemed to be in a constant state of slow-motion. When someone jumped toward him intent on ending his life, that man was killed quicker than he could realize. Cloud had quickly noted that as the battle raged on, the method in which he killed slowly became more... brutal. One man had gotten the jump on Cloud, and held the barrel of a pistol directly to his head. Cloud in turn used an elbow to knock the gun away, twisted, and cleanly sliced a hole across the man's stomach. The blonde had watched as the man futilely tried to pick his intestines off the ground before falling into a bloody heap. Cloud stood there longer, staring at the corpse there before him, realizing what he had done. He shook off the lingering thoughts and simply dove forward, tucking and rolling between two other men as they shot their guns where he once stood. Slicing the back of their legs with one swipe, he disabled those two men, using the blunt end of his weapons to knock them out. He looked up, and noted Tifa was furiously attacking somebody, and took a step forward to help. Before he could take another step, a shadow dropped from the skies and knocked Cloud to the ground.
Tifa, on the other hand, had been constantly throwing herself at her enemy.
Reij merely ducked and twisted away, laughing the entire time, "All I heard about Strife's precious fist fighting whore was that she was so fast and deadly. You're a joke!"
Tifa gnashed her teeth, she was sure right then her face was red and veins throbbed around her temple. But she paused, took a deep breath, and found her focus. "If you're think you're so much better than me, then fight! Are you afraid of a woman?"
That seemed to catch his attention, as Reij drew a machete from the back of his pants, "Bring it on, then!"
Tifa lowered herself into a fighting stance, the two materia on her wrist glowing softly, "I have been, but it seems all you know to do is run away!"
Then the two charged each other again.
Using a similar tactic as she had done in the bar, Tifa hit her back and slid between the man's legs, quickly leaping up, turning and throwing out her left fist. But Reij was faster than he seemed, and caught her fist in his own, quickly swinging the machete in his other hand to retaliate. Tifa threw out the steel knuckles, catching the blade between the index and middle digits. Thankfully it was reinforced steel, so the blade did little more than scratch the weapon. The brunette then twisted her wrist, using all of her strength to push the blade away from her. At the same time she yanked her left hand back, spun, and caught Reij in the face with the toe of her right foot. Not waiting for him to recover, she lunged again, jumping up, and planting her feet on his stomach, and grabbing his shirt collar with both hands.
She then in turn threw her weight backwards, hitting her back again and using her feet to propel her enemy through the air. Reij flipped backward and slammed into the side of a parked truck. He was stunned for just a second, just in time to look up and fling himself out of the way. A moment later, Tifa's fist connected with the vehicle, creating a large dent where the man's head used to be.
"Hah! Maybe I underestimated you, wench!" Reij cackled as he continued to duck and twirl out of the way.
The two paused to stare each other down. All around them the battle raged on, soldiers of both sides quickly moving away from the two. Tifa's chest rose and fell rapidly, trying to quickly catch her breath.
"You planned the attack on my bar. You're the one who ordered those men to rape me and harm the children!" Tifa's rage only continued to boil, and right then she felt entirely the opposite of her normal self, "I hope you've enjoyed whatever sick, pathetic life you've lived. Because it's about to end!" And lunged again.
Reij drew back and attempted to swing the machete again, but Tifa slammed her wrist into his own, blocking the attack, and driving her left fist upward. But instead of simply punching him, she wrapped her fingers around his throat and lifted him into the air, only to slam him down again into the dirt. Again Reij was stunned, but not enough to matter. He laughed up at his attacker, even under threat of imminent death.
"So you think that fourth set of boot prints was mine? You really are a stupid bitch, aren't you?" And continued to laugh.
Tifa kept her guard up, "How do you know about the-"
"Ah ah! A good magician never reveals his secrets. Besides, what's the point in showing all your cards before the fun REALLY begins!?"
Tifa hadn't noticed that Reij now held a small circular device, attached to it was a small string, which Reij quickly yanked out and pointed towards Tifa's face. On instinct, Tifa jerked away, and not a moment too soon. The device released a concentrated blast of shrapnel, glass, and a small fireball harmlessly into the air. Tifa recovered, and drew herself up again.
"Whether or not you were there that night... as far as I'm concerned, you are the cause of what almost happened there. All the fire and shrapnel in the world isn't going to save you now, coward."
Reij grinned, yanking apart a vest he wore over his usual gear, to reveal a long string of various devices. Some of them grenades, more of the cylinder cones that he had just attacked her with, and other such things.
"Maybe not, but at least I know if it's my time to go, you're going right with me!"
For just a moment, the shadow had blinded Cloud and forced him to the ground. Quickly recovering, he jumped back to his feet, holding both blades in a sort of L shape to defend himself. There, across the field, was a man in padded, decorated leather armor. His hair was dark, with a string of feathers and beads in it. Cloud recognized the man from Reeve's reports, and knew this was another lieutenant.
"Greetings, sir Strife!" Tormuj yelled, bowing at the waist and holding his palms out at his sides. A moment later, he drew from his belt the jagged, wicked looking knives, and sunk into a fighting stance.
Cloud wasted no time, and charged. He started with an over-the-head slashing motion with the left handed weapon, which the enemy merely twisted away with more speed than seemed possible. As Tormuj moved away, he slashed at Cloud's arm, creating a gash and drawing blood. Not even wincing, Cloud then repeated the attack, but instead threw his right-handed weapon out right behind the left. Again Tormuj simply ducked out of the way and cutting the blonde in the arm or face.
"Fight, coward!" Cloud yelled.
Tormuj laughed, "This one is not a fool, fellow warrior! A smart man knows when he is outmatched by his enemy. Were this one to fight you head on, the results would be bloody indeed!" He paused, and sunk into a different, more flamboyant looking fighting stance, "Care to try again?"
Cloud grit his teeth in frustration, and attacked again. This time he brought his left hand up and lunged straight out when the enemy came within range. Tormuj jerked away, then danced toward Cloud, and quickly sliced his knife across Cloud's exposed wrist. The sudden pain caused the blonde to exclaim, and drop his weapon. He swung his other weapon in an under-arm motion, and Tormuj flipped backward. Right then, it felt like swatting at an annoying fly, which caused Cloud to laugh. He pressed his wrist tightly against his body to stem the blood flow, keeping on alert.
Tormuj appeared again, "This one merely wanted to introduce himself, sir Strife!"
At that moment, there was a loud thumping sound, with each 'thump' the ground seemed to shake just a little bit. Cloud looked around to try and locate the source of the noise. A man, larger than any Cloud had seen before, pushed his way through the battle. Easily nine, maybe even ten feet tall, his forearms alone were nearly bigger than all of Cloud's body. His attire was common militia gear, though he had no weapons to speak of. He had a dark, sphere-shaped helmet that covered his entire head and face, with a small slit for his eyes, and four smaller ones to breath out of. A WRO soldier ran up with a drawn sword, and stabbed this man right beneath his ribs. The freakishly large man didn't even blink, but stared down at the weapon, before backhanding the soldier, sending him several feet into the air.
"Sir Strife, I believe I've found a more... appropriate opponent for you! Behold, the Hammerhand!" Tormuj announced with obvious amusement. "I shall leave you both to it. Fight well!" And vanished amidst the crowd.
Cloud quickly shook off the pain and slight dizziness, noting that his wrist had stopped bleeding, but knew over-exertion could open the wound back up. He quickly picked his dropped weapon up, and prepared himself. The mutant called Hammerhand slowly walked to an over-turned militia vehicle, and ripped a large steel pipe from the underside.
"Great..."
As the sun had sunk below the horizon and darkness overtook the battlefield, the three helicopters had switched on their spotlights, which quickly scanned the battle below. Even with the light, it became more and more difficult to not accidentally fire upon their own allies.
"Yo! Who's bright idea was it to attack at night knowing damn well its harder to see!" Reno shouted into his mic, jerking the throttle to the left to avoid being struck with another grenade.
"I'm wondering the same thing!" Lysa replied.
"If you're both that afraid then you're in the wrong line of work." Tseng's voice followed, clearly not amused.
And then there was another voice, one none of the pilots expected to hear, "All of the men and women down there knew exactly what they were getting into," it was Rufus' voice, "There will always be casualties of war, and sometimes they're accidental and caused by friendly fire. Do your jobs."
Right then, Reno turned and looked at Rude, clearly shocked, "Is he serious? We're supposed to just gun down our own guys?"
Rude shook his head, "I don't think he meant it like that. But this isn't the time to debate."
Vincent heard the radio chatter and quickly became disgusted. It seemed Rufus didn't care about the innocents, only wanting to accomplish his own agenda. He didn't care what he was ordered to do, he was not about to turn the gun onto the battle, knowing he could also hit any of the WRO soldiers below, or even his own friends. Right then, Rufus seemed no different from the leader of the Brotherhood. And so, he released his hold on the mounted gun, and instead removed the gun at his belt.
As he began to take aim at a gargantuan man trading blows with Cloud, the warning alarms began to buzz loudly. Vincent quickly looked around and, not seeing an incoming missile, darted to the other side. Still, he saw nothing. Suddenly, an ear-splitting explosion temporarily drowned out all other sound, and the helicopter began to shudder and shake violently.
"Shit! I think we're hit!" Vincent heard Lysa yell. She and the copilot furiously started flipping switches and pulling levers, trying to regain control of the craft.
Before Vincent could react further, the tail of the copter suddenly jerked to the right, which in turn caused him to be flung to his side, and directly out the open hatch door.
"Phoenix Brigade 2 to base! Our rotor's been hit and its hard to maintain altitude!" Again Lysa called into her mic, "Request leave to return to base!"
There was a long-winded pause, and Lysa was afraid that the communications had been fried somehow. Finally, an officer said, "Permission granted Phoenix 2, you fought well." At which point Lysa breathed a sigh of relief, and turned her craft back north, glancing one last time at the carnage below.
Vincent had grabbed onto the bottom of the copter with his left hand, the right still tightly gripping his weapon. He began to pull himself up, but realized the helicopter had veered north, and was likely returning to Edge. He glanced down, and the battlefield rolled by quickly. He decided he wasn't about to abandon his comrades, and, after inhaling deeply, released his hold and plummeted to the ground below.
He landed on a stalled vehicle, the impact causing the hood to bend, nearly in half. Without wasting a second, Vincent soared off the vehicle, and fired his weapon six times. Six militants fell over, and were no more. Quickly, he slid another cartridge into the weapon, thrusting his gauntlet out and catching an oncoming enemy in the throat. Slowly, Vincent raised this man into the air, tightening his grip while simultaneously, menacingly, narrowing his eyes.
"Tell me. Do you believe you are innocent? That you don't deserve to die?" Vincent asked.
The man struggled to speak, kicking his legs pointlessly out to find solid ground, "Fucking... get on with it you freak...!"
Not a moment later, the crimson-clad marksman squeezed as hard as he could, and violently twisted his wrist, snapping the man's neck. He dropped the corpse, turned away before it hit the ground, and began firing into a group of oncoming enemies.
Tifa had remained in near-constant motion, throwing herself over and over at the one person she hated the most. However, the enemy was crafty, and it still surprised her just how fast he was. When she threw a punch, he caught her fist in his own, and attempted to twist her arm. She, however, was all too familiar with that trick, and managed to free herself from his grip, then lunge again.
"I thought you'd be more fun than this, bitch!" Reij cackled.
Tifa paused, and allowed herself a small smirk, "I'm just getting started!"
Again she jumped forward, this time raising her right leg and aiming it for his neck. As soon as that was blocked, she withdrew, took a step, and this time threw up her left leg, her right fist following closely behind. Reij managed to push back her leg, but the fist caught him in the left cheek, and he stumbled to his right. Tifa, refusing to let him recover, charged. She hit the back of his head with her leg, causing him to stumbled forward and roll in the dirt, whereupon she was on him in a second.
"Let's see how you deal with this, then!" She yelled. Not wanting to kill him just yet, she flicked a small switch on the inside of the steel knuckles, causing the spikes to withdraw inside the weapon.
She then yanked him up by the hair with her left hand, and punched as hard as she could with the right, each time releasing his hair so his head fell back into the dirt. She did this a few more times, but throughout, Reij didn't stop laughing. Finally, he had enough. Tifa suddenly felt his ankles wrap around her throat, and force her backward onto the ground. Coughing, she quickly regained herself.
Reij was already on his feet; his face was gashed, and he turn and spat out a wad of blood, wiping the excess off his lip, "Tell me, Lockhart. Did you feel helpless that night? Were you so sure your life was about to end, after my boys had their way with you?"
Her body tensed, and instantly the flashbacks started all over again, "A pity you weren't there, though I'm glad you weren't. If Cloud had killed you before I could get my hands on you, I'd be very disappointed!"
He grinned, spitting out more blood, "I'm a rebel leader, idiot! Why do the dirty work myself when I have other morons do the work for me?"
"You're not a rebel leader, you're not a JENOVA descendant or whatever you sociopaths believe you are." Tifa's body slowly sunk down, prepared to lunge again, "You're nothing but a pink little man who's too slow on the draw. If you think that-" She was cut off, as a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her midsection, and hoisted her into the air. Panicking, she quickly felt the air being squeezed from her lungs, and she struggled to regain the upper hand.
"Not so tough now, are ya, wench?" Reij laughed.
"Do it now, boss! I'm ready to go into the Lifestream!" The man holding Tifa said. Reij nodded, and removed from the inside of his jacket a grenade. Tifa saw this and her panic only rose, struggling even harder to try and release herself, but it was no use.
The man had an iron grip on her and he just wouldn't budge.
Tears welled up in her eyes as the grenade was thrown at the man's feet.
She knew that this was the end.
But then, Tifa felt the grip loosen, ever so slightly. Taking the opportunity, she used all her might to force the man off of her, though it was done with far more effort than needed. She quickly dove as far away as she could, turning just in time to see several small knives, or another like-weapon in the man's neck, before the grenade detonated and sent blood and giblets in all directions.
Tifa quickly looked around, but Yuffie was nowhere in sight, assuming she had thrown the weapons and then dispersed. She instead turned and tried to find Reij, but he was gone. The only light in the area were the burning vehicles.
Only once she heard another explosive detonate and his laugh, did she spring back into action, burying the steel spiked knuckles into whoever got in her way.
Yuffie and Tara had taken shelter inside an overturned vehicle, and Tara was now working on patching a gash in Yuffie's leg. During the fighting, a militant who was thought to be dead, lashed out and attempted to sever the girl's leg; that man paid for it with a shuriken point lodged in his neck. Outside, a pair of soldiers stood watch, ducking and running around the vehicle to keep enemies at bay.
"How's it lookin' doc?" Yuffie asked.
"Only a flesh wound," The other woman responded with a bit of dry humor, "You can still walk, right?"
Yuffie nodded, "Of course! I'm made of stronger stuff than I look! Let's get back out there!"
"Not so fast, champ. Here," Tara reached into a pouch on her hip and removed a tiny blue vial, "I'm telling ya now, this stuff tastes like shit. But it'll help, and give ya an energy boost."
Yuffie received the vial, and used her teeth to remove the tiny cork. Instantly the smell hit her nose, it smelled awful and she gagged. But the ninja pinched her nose and knocked back the vial, trying to not let it hit her tongue too much. She continued to dry-retch after she swallowed, and Tara pat her on the back a few times.
"Attagirl, Yuffie. Just take a couple deep breaths."
Yuffie did as instructed, then felt that a surge of electricity had shot from her legs to her shoulders, and she stood up with renewed vigor, "Good to go, doc! Let's kick some ass!"
They then climbed back out of the vehicle, and back into action. Yuffie jumped off the truck and landed in front of a militant, "Surprise!" She yelled, throwing her tiny fist out and landing on his throat, then twisted and booted him in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. Those martial arts lessons Tifa had at least TRIED to teach her seemed to be paying off! From the surrounding shrubbery, four large men shuffled out, each one carrying a small blade of some sort. Yuffie hesitated, but felt another surge of energy, and her heart-beat increased. She turned to see Tara using a support materia, as a small wispy wave of green energy was coming from her hand, into Yuffie's body.
Now fearless, the ninja dove at the men. One had attempted to swing his blade, but Yuffie spun her large weapon around to catch the other, only to raise her foot and kick him directly in the groin. She jumped back as another swung a large wooden plank where her head used to be, laughing all the while. Using her left hand, she quickly removed two small knives from her belt, and flicked them at that man. The knives found their mark, and he fell over, a third quickly running up behind that one. The ninja back-stepped a few times, using her large shuriken to block his blows. Finally, mid-swing, the man paused, standing there for a moment as if to try and ponder what just happened. He then slowly fell over, and was gone forever. She stood there a second, confused, as to how the man had died. There were no bullet holes, no knives, not even a gash or drop of blood. Yuffie hadn't even seen the fourth man sneak up on her, blade at the ready.
"Yuffie! Look out!"
Yuffie turned just in time to be sprayed with a small amount of blood, as the man stood there with a bullet hole in his head. Once he fell, Tara stood there, the still smoking pistol in her hands. She winked at the younger woman, "Now we're even."
However, there was no time to savor the victory. Suddenly, a pair of men descended on Tara, knocking her to the ground and the three began to trade blows. On instinct, Yuffie reared her weapon back to lop it at the new foes. Before she could release it, a body suddenly struck her from her left, a pair of arms binding her arms to her chest. They rolled several times, the dirt and snow flying in the woman's eyes. Suddenly, the stranger leaped off of her, Yuffie quickly finding her weapon and looking around for the person that struck her.
"Good evening, my lady!" It was Tormuj, bowing to her in his usual fashion. "This one has been watching you fight all through the battle. This one is most impressed, and it appears we share similar fighting styles!"
Yuffie took a step back, holding her weapon with a tighter grip, "Who the hell are you, freak?!"
The bronze-skinned man grinned, almost childishly. "This one's...associates call him Tormuj, my lady," And drew the two daggers, twirling both around in his palm for a few seconds, "And things are about to become very interesting!"
Yuffie blinked, "Wha...what are you talking about, weird-o!?" Something about this guy put her off.
"My master has another surprise up his sleeve. Until then, care to dance?" And then mock-bowed, like a gentleman asking a formal lady to a slow-dance.
Yuffie cringed, wondering for just a moment what happened to Tara, and hoped that she was okay. Then charged the leather-clad enemy, twirling her own weapon as she went.
Cloud continued to trade blows with the gargantuan man, though nothing seemed to be working. He was surprised when he attempted to knock away the large pipe with his blade, but the man was clearly stronger than he looked. The only thing Cloud succeeded in doing was knocking the blow to the ground, and quickly jumping away.
Hammerhand grunted in annoyance, and stepped toward the smaller warrior, each step causing the ground to slightly tremble. Around him, the militia and WRO alike swiftly moved out of the way. Those that failed to move in time were swatted to the side, like an insect.
Cloud grimaced, and leapt into the air, intending to lodge the smaller weapon into this... thing. The enemy simply swung his own weapon to parry the block, using his free hand to try and reach out to grab him. The blonde noticed this and quickly ducked out of the way. Hammerhand made another annoyed sound, and simply tried to flatten his opponent. Cloud stepped to the side, quickly stabbing the largest blade through the palm and anchoring it to the dirt. He then ran up the arm and onto the shoulder, again ducking as the free hand tried to grab him. Once he reached the top, he gripped the smaller blade with both hands, brought it overhead, and swung downward, intending to split the mutant's head in two.
The blade struck the helmet with an awful 'KRRRRRANG!' sound, and the shockwave surged up Cloud's arms, which in turn began to shake violently. The blow hadn't even left a scratch on the helmet.
The mutant then quickly wrapped its giant meaty fist around Cloud, and threw him off to the side. He managed to remove his other hand from the ground, ripping out the sword still lodged in it without so much as a sound. Cloud looked up just in time to shimmy backwards on the dirt, the blade striking the dirt, mere inches from his pelvis, and quivered violently.
"...If that had found its mark Tifa would have been very pissed off at you!" Cloud yelled as he shot up and retrieved the sword. Around him, a few soldiers, even some of the militants, began to laugh.
The large man stepped in front of Cloud, his huge fists balled at his sides. He attempted to speak, but it sounded more like a choked, gargled noise "C...Cloowwd...diiiiiie..." Then jumped forward. This caught Cloud off guard, as he was surprisingly agile for his size. When a hand reached out to him, Cloud slashed at it to drive it off. He quickly noted that this creature's skin was like reinforced leather, and was nearly impossible to cut.
Then everything seemed to suddenly halt. From the direction of the fort, came sounds of 'fa-fwoom, fa-fwoom, fa-fwoom" over and over. To Cloud it sounded like...catapults? His hairs suddenly stood on end, and Cloud jumped backwards. Not a moment later, a large, square steel cage struck the ground where he stood just moments ago. Inside this cage, was a feral monster. Ironically, a large warg, similar to the ones he battled some months ago outside of the slum church. He looked all around him, still hearing 'fa-fwoom, fa-fwoom, fa-fwoom" and all around the battlefield, similar cages with different monsters struck the dirt.
"What in the..." Cloud muttered, but then a faint 'beep' was heard, and the square cages all disassembled. The warg, now realizing it was free, turned to Cloud and growled menacingly. Just before it lunged for the kill, Hammerhand appeared behind it, snatching it backward by its tail. Using his other hand, he twisted the beast's neck, before ripping the head from the body and throwing the carnage down on the ground.
"C...lowwwwd..." he gargled again.
The blond slid the smaller blade into the larger, locking the two together, before drawing the third from his back, "I've faced bigger than you. It's not too late to run, you know."
The sound that came from beneath the helmet was a sort of gargled laugh, as though the person was somehow laughing underwater. The creature then pointed a large finger directly at the blonde and said, "Yooouuu...diiiiieee..."
Cloud soared through the air, intending on finishing the mutant once and for all, but again the foe was quicker than he appeared. Cloud felt a fist catch him mid-flight, and quickly began to squeeze as hard as the creature could.
"Diiiiie...noooow..."
Just before Cloud lost conscious, six loud gunshots rang out, and Cloud was thrown a few feet backward. Looking up, there were six black splotches on the mutant's chest, and small trickles of blood seeped from the wounds. Vincent was standing just off to the side, already reloading his own weapon. Forcing his adrenaline back up, Cloud darted off to his right, but angled his path in a half-circular motion. He approached from Hammerhand's left, who had since fell down to his knees. Before he got there, Cloud's feet again left the earth, his main sword glowing with a faint blew energy. With all the strength he had left, and swinging harder than he ever had before, Cloud swiped the blade across the mutant's throat, creating a small surge of blood, and the foe in turn slowly falling backwards with a violent, ground shaking 'boom!'
After, Cloud went to stand straight, but his strength suddenly left him, and he fell down to one knee. He then heard a crunch of snow, and looked up, expecting to be staring down a gun barrel. Instead, a leather-clad hand reached out toward him.
"You've fought larger things," Vincent echoed Cloud's earlier words to the mutant, "If you'd like to sit down and take a break, just say so."
Cloud grinned, stabbing the smaller weapon into the dirt, then accepted the offered hand, the other male pulling him back to his feet.
"Our enemies are more clever than they appear," Vincent continued to speak, looking around at the battle. Right then, none seemed concerned with the two of them, "But they've taken a second gamble."
Cloud attached the third blade to the main one, creating a still larger sword, "What do you mean?"
"Just look around."
The released monsters had indeed added further havoc to the battle. However, they were not privy to either side. They tore into both the WRO, as well the Brotherhood.
"The fight doesn't go well for us," Vincent said again, "Reeve claimed to be sending reinforcements... but where are they?"
"Yo, Rude! You seeing this shit!?"
The remaining two copters continued soaring back and forth, focused more on avoiding being brought down than mounting an offensive. But then steel cages began to fall from the sky, releasing varying types of monsters into the fray. Rude sat in the copilot seat, grimacing.
"This isn't good, partner." The bald Turk replied.
Tseng's voice then came over the radio, "We still have a job to do, and with Lysa temporarily out of the picture, we can't fail here. Focus all fire on the beasts."
Reno grunted, and replied, "Boss-man I think this hurricane's losing its power! I dunno about you, but we're almost spent up on ammo!"
There was a pause, as Tseng ran a quick check of his own craft's remaining firepower. He winced, then replied, "As am I. But every single rocket, every bullet can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Make every last one count, Reno."
The area was suddenly filled with thick smog as Yuffie threw down a smoke grenade, back-stepping as fast as she could. She had the foresight not to turn her back to where her foe once stood, as he suddenly came flying through the smoke, weapons drawn. Yuffie raised her weapon to block the double-swipe, straining against the man's strength. He appeared to be frail, and was not much bigger than her, but the force he now used to push down on her seemed to contradict that. As quick as she could, she reached down for a small knife, then lunged to the right. Her plan was that the man would stumble forward, and as she turned could catch him in the neck with the smaller weapon. However, Tormuj swung one dagger to catch a point of the shuriken between two of its 'teeth', thus forcing Yuffie to the ground as well.
They both quickly regained their feet, when suddenly one of the steel cages struck just twenty feet away from them. Inside was what appeared to be a type of gorilla, though it had fangs and claws, like that of a bear, and bulging red eyes. Instantly, it was shrieking and pounding on the steel around it, wanting to be free.
Tormuj now had a look of pure glee on his face, "Ah ha! And here is this one's master's surprise..."
Yuffie kept her guard up, her eyes shooting between the caged monster, and the man, "Don't tell me that whacko poser has been building up a secret zoo this whole time!"
The man laughed, more gleefully than Yuffie thought was normal, "That is exactly what he has been doing, my lady. And now he shall use them to win the day!"
Then the cage beeped, and the entire structure fell apart. Being as the cage was slightly closer to Tormuj, the crazed beast decided that he was the easier prey, and lunged for a kill swipe. Tormuj in turn jumped away, but quickly jabbed a dart coated with a paralysis poison, into its arm. Yuffie noted that the look in the man's eyes was that of total shock, thinking that the beasts were meant to attack the Brotherhood's foes, not the Brotherhood themselves.
Tormuj wondered then if his leader knew that this would happen.
Yuffie hesitated in striking down her foe, thinking that maybe this was a good opportunity. If he was shocked that his own master's pets attacked him, he might be persuaded into switching teams! Around her, she saw that more monsters were added to the fight, and they too attacked whomever was closest. Nodding, Yuffie charged across the field. Tormuj raised his weapons in defense, and was then shocked when she darted right past him, cartwheeled, and slashed at the gorilla-fiend with her weapon.
Tormuj himself wasted no time, running over, jumping up, and plunging both daggers into the beast's back. This, however, only seemed to anger the fiend, as it roared an ear-splitting sound of rage, turning and backhanding Tormuj and sending him back first into a snow-bank. It then turned to Yuffie, and rapidly beat its chest as a challenge, roaring yet again. Yuffie mimicked the monster's chest-beating, and yelled as loud as she could, then threw out the shuriken. The fiend raised its claw to deflect it, but the weapon twirled past it. Now thinking its prey was helpless, it charged across the snow to the ninja, fangs bared, eyes blazing. The shuriken then suddenly came whipping back, slicing the monster from tail to head, Yuffie catching it. She then stood there, as the beast continued to charge, but then suddenly fell forward, limp, and sliding face-first, stopping a few feet in front of the ninja.
Tormuj suddenly appeared, removing the two daggers still lodged in the beast's back, and drove one into its skull, to finish it off for good. Yuffie stared hard at the man, wondering what he would do next. He surprised her by nodding slowly, she in turn nodding back, thinking her brilliant plan had worked.
But in that moment, he lopped one of the daggers right at her. Completely caught off guard, Yuffie tried to raise her weapon to guard herself. The dagger, however, whittled right past her head, and she heard an agonized cry of pain behind her. She whirled around to see her friend, Tara, a drawn pistol in her right hand, aimed directly at Tormuj, and a bloody knife in her left hand. But the previously thrown dagger that nearly missed Yuffie was now embedded in the center of Tara's chest, blood already coating her white combat gear.
"Tara! No!" But before Yuffie could take a single step, she felt a sudden sharp pain at the base of her spine. Crying out, she reached back and yanked from her flesh a small, one inch blade, coated in her own blood. Instantly, her vision began to flush, and everything became a blur. The last thing she remembered seeing was the hazy vision of Tormuj, standing over Tara, now sitting on her knees as the snow continued to fall around them.
Reno maneuvered the craft and attempted to line a perfect shot up with one of the many monsters that now ravaged the battlefield. He mashed down on a red button, launching a missile out at a morbid plant monster, that was using its vine like tentacles to pick up and throw other soldiers. The shot was dead on, and even from the air both Turks could ear the dying shrieks of the monster as it burst into flame.
He then turned over his shoulder, "How many party favors you got left, partner!?"
Rude, who had again taken up point near the open hatch of the helicopter, shook his head, hoisting the bazooka over his shoulder. "...only one left."
"Well make sure it counts!"
The redhead then steered towards the Fort itself, thinking there would be mostly enemy soldiers and very few of their own WRO soldiers. "Right! One more blast from Hurricane Shinra! Let 'er rip buddy!"
Rude nodded, taking aim at a cluster of what he assumed to be foes. It was too dark to really distinguish, and sweat beaded on his brow. While he understood it was necessary to do the job they were tasked to do, the unnecessary killing of innocents caused his stomach to twist in a hard knot. Taking a deep breath, then exhaling slowly, he yanked back the trigger.
At that exact moment, an explosion rocked the entire helicopter, and Rude was temporarily deafened. The helicopter also rattled and jerked this way and that, and the bald Turk was thrown toward the back of the plane. He glanced up, easily noting that the emergency lights flashed furiously, the entire craft now lit up by swirling, flashing red and black lights.
"What the hell, Rude! We've been hit!" Reno shouted in a half-panicked voice. The helicopter now seemed to have a mind of its own, spinning around in a slow three-hundred-and-sixty degrees turn, jolting up and down in the air. Reno could now see nothing out of the window, only black smoke, and fire. He quickly yanked down his mic, "Phoenix 3 to base! We've been hit from an unknown projectile! Bird is going down! Repeat, bird is-"
Reno suddenly felt a strong set of arms wrap around his neck and chest, ripping him from his seat. Then there was a flash of white light, an ear-splitting buzz...and then darkness.
Back on the ground, Cloud and Vincent had since split up, in order to concentrate on taking out more foes. The blonde stabbed his blade into the dirt and ducked behind it, as a hail of gunfire exploded around him. After it subsided, he lunged forward, the three part Fusion Sword in tow, and with one swipe eliminated the four men who had fired upon him. Another came upon his left, a dagger raised for the killing blow. Cloud simply took him by the throat, jerked him upward and then slammed him back to the ground, connecting the toe of his boot to his face, to knock him out.
A loud explosion caught Cloud off guard, and he looked up to see one of the helicopters suddenly burst into flames. The front of the bird was completely concealed by black smoke, and the tail was awash in raging flames. Right then, everything seemed to be at a stand-still. He heard nothing, and could only watch as the helicopter slowly twisted and spun, before striking the ground outside of the actual battle, the resulting explosion and noise only causing his heart to sink more. He then wondered how the rest of his friends fared, as now it appeared that the Turks were now gone forever. Where was Tifa? His mood and adrenaline lowered so much, that he didn't even notice, or hear, the loud and constant 'thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!" just behind him.
Cloud was forced back from his stupor when a large force closed around his entire body, forcing him to drop his weapon, and be yanked into the air. A second later, Cloud was staring at an already too familiar foe.
Hammerhand.
Cloud was held so close to the monster's helmet, that he could actually see his eyes, almost the size of dinner plates, and the tiny black pupils the size of a single gil in comparison. The bleach white eyes were also raked with red veins, and the smell of the monster's breath nearly made Cloud vomit.
"Yoooou...diiiiiie...nooooowwww..." The always gargled, booming voice spoke from beneath the helmet.
Vincent suddenly leaped over an oncoming foe, and emptied his entire barrel into the mutant's stomach, but Hammerhand did little more than flinch, seemingly not even feeling the bullets. Instead, he focused all of his rage on the blonde in his hand, slowly squeezing tighter, and tighter. Vincent, in desperation, reloaded his weapon but dived forward, extending the claws of his gauntlet and sinking them deep into the mutant's knee, but still that seemed to do nothing but fuel its rage to squeeze the blonde in it's hand to a bloody pulp. Cloud could no longer breath, and his face quickly turned from blue, to purple, though still fought with all his might to free himself.
"Let go of him, you bastard!" A female voice yelled louder than even the still-ringing gunfire.
Tifa dropped from the sky, as if from nowhere, and quickly wrapped her legs around the beast's neck, using all of her arm strength to try and pry the helmet off. Temporarily forgetting about Cloud, Hammerhand dropped the blonde and instead tried to pry the new enemy from his head. Tifa in turn back flipped away to safety, and Vincent used the opportunity to unleash six blasts directly at the enemy's head. However, the bullets simply clanged and bounced near harmlessly off of the helmet, though he did stumble back and tried to shake off the impact. Tifa ran up again, spiked knuckles extended, and punched as hard as she could at the creature's stomach, lurching away, then doing the same thing on it's big toe. This in turn caused Hammerhand to stumble even further backwards, gurgling and moaning in obvious pain.
Then before Vincent or Tifa could resume the onslaught, Cloud zipped through the air like a missile, his blade aimed above his head, and directly at Hammerhand. The blade found its mark, burying itself into the stomach, and jutting out the back. Not pausing to catch his breath, Cloud attempted to drive the sword upward, to cleave the monster in half, but it was no use. He noted that his enemy's veins surged and throbbed violently. He tried a final time, and when it still didn't work, formulated a separate plan. Instead, he ripped the blade to the left, and this time the weapon gave way, ripping through flesh and revealing the innards of the creature, including parts of its rib cage. The sudden rotting smell caused all in the vicinity to draw back, and blood poured from the fresh wound. Hammerhand continued to gurgle in pain, using both hands to clutch its wound, and fled, trampling all in his way.
Before Cloud could register what had happened, Tifa was on him in an instant, arms wrapped tight, lips pushed hard against his own. The fact they were both covered in blood and gore meant nothing right then.
"Looks like you saved me for once. I thought you were supposed to be the damsel in distress?" Cloud said with a smirk.
Tifa smiled, "Well..."
Before she could continue, a helicopter flew over head, its outward speakers blaring an obnoxious warning siren. Then, Tseng's voice followed as the siren cut, "All WRO personnel, command has issued a full retreat! Again, full retreat! Leave the vehicles and run, damn it!"
Then all gunfire suddenly stopped, and all of the militia simply held their weapons in the air and cheered obnoxiously, while all WRO soldiers turned northward, and fled, following the path of the sole remaining helicopter. Tifa and Cloud quickly exchanged a look with Vincent, and they too followed the flow of the retreating survivors. Vincent, however, suddenly reached out and grabbed Cloud's arm and yanked him back, the latter regarding the marksman with a strange look.
"...we are missing someone." Vincent muttered.
Cloud shook his head, "Yuffie? She's fine I'm sure, probably on the other side of the field somewhere."
Cloud's other arm was grabbed by Tifa, who yelled, "Come on, let's go!"
As the three turned and fled, however, Tifa paused, catching something out of the corner of her eye. She turned, and saw Reij standing there; she knew right then he was looking right at her, and locked eyes with him. He blew a kiss, and Tifa saw him mouth the sentence, "I'll get ya next time, whore."
She took a step toward him, but a passing WRO soldier grabbed her by the arm, and coaxed her into following the rest of them.
Out in the distance, an approaching line of allied soldiers and two more helicopters barreled towards the fleeing survivors in order to secure a safe evacuation.
~ ' ' ' [VII] ' ' ' ~
Back in Edge, Rufus was sitting in the main command center, the noise of beeping, buzzing, and typing never seemed to stop. He constantly stared at a large, black screen, which had been the main information hub regarding the battle. But once the enemy had apparently detonated an EMP, thus knocking out all electronics and communications, the screen was now useless. Another set of speakers sounded off the communications between the Turks, and Rufus had gradually balled his fist tighter, and tighter.
"Yo! Who's bright idea was it to attack at night knowing damn well its harder to see!"
"All of the men and women down there knew exactly what they were getting into. There will always be casualties of war, and sometimes they're accidental and caused by friendly fire. Do your jobs."
"Phoenix Brigade 2 to base! Our rotor's been hit and its hard to maintain altitude!"
"Phoenix 3 to base! We've been hit from an unknown projectile! Bird is going down! Repeat, bird is-"
The voices continued to swirl in the man's mind, and found that he was unable to sit still in his own chair, constantly shifting back and forth, unable to find a comfortable position. He tried to train in his ear to separate parts of the room, to gather what information he could. While his right fist was clenched so tight his veins nearly popped, the left hand was a constant prop for his chin.
Then he heard it, and zeroed in on it instantly.
"Phoenix 1 to base, Phoenix 3 is down, and we're completely drained of ammo." Tseng's voice came over the intercom.
Rufus then heard Reeve's voice, "Permission granted to return, Phoenix 1. What about the battle on the ground?"
Tseng instantly responded, "Not good, command. The enemy has unleashed monsters into the battle. Even from here it looks like we're losing."
If it were possible for Rufus to clench his fist any tighter, that is what he attempted to do.
Reeve's voice again sounded over the intercom, "Too many have died already. Get every one the hell out of there, Tseng. Issue a full-retreat command, now! Reinforcements are nearly there, but they've been instructed to provide evac instead of retaliation. You yourself are free to return here."
Rufus had been sitting in the command room since the army first moved out, and barely said more than maybe twenty words. Most of the commanders, operators, scientists, and the like simply ignored him, save a courteous nod when they passed. He was known for being the silent watcher, the ultimate enigma, the main player in a battle of good versus evil. Silent, until right then.
"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" Rufus' voice suddenly pierced the silence, the former president smashing his right fist into the table, completely destroying a phone receiver and rendering it to plastic splinters.
Hope you got your things together, hope you are quite prepared to die. Looks like we're in for nasty weather, one eye is taken for an eye.