Chapter 25 - A Cold Heart

Song (1): Flight Plan from the Armageddon Original Soundtrack

Song (2): The Freedom from the Armageddon Original Soundtrack

...The Sierra...

After about three hours the team of Avalanche had gathered once more in the Control Room, minus Damian who was still out on the deck. No one said a word. In fact, all of them seemed to be privately collecting their thoughts. Nearly half an hour of silence had passed when the intercom chimed in, waking everyone from their trance-like states of mind. Barret was the one to answer.

"Avalanche." he said.

"Avalanche. This is President Rufus of Shinra Interprises. I wish to meet with you here in the Highwind landed on the Gongaga Continent near Gold Saucer as soon as possible. We have a very important matter to discuss."

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Cloud spoke up.

"Thank you. We will be waiting." The intercom then faded into static and went silent. Cid, whom was standing in front of the large glass window in the front of the room next to Vincent, turned to his apprentice.

"You heard!" He shouted. "Let's get a move on!" The pilot jumped.

"Y-yes, sir!" With a flip of a switch, the Sierra flew towards its destination. Everyone aside from Yuffie, who was standing like a tree with her hands clenched into a rock crushing fist, swayed lightly as the massive airship made a quick turn to the right. Loz, now wearing an Avalanche uniform, turned and headed for the deck to accompany his new friend. Damian's face showed the look of a lonely child looking for their parents. He notcied Loz after a few minutes but did not turn to face him.

"Hi, Damian." Loz said. He recieved no answer. "Um...are you okay?" Damian turned around to face Loz.

"No, Loz." Damian said. "I'm not okay."

"Still upset about the war?" Damian did not answer; the universal form of 'yes'. Loz walked up to him and placed his pale hands on his shoulders.

"Damian." he said. "there's nothing to be mad about. You don't have to fight if you don't want to. And if you don't fight, then I won't." Damian's forest green eyes softened.

"You..." Damian began. "You have a reason to fight. Your brothers hate you and you hate them. It's a classic family feud."

"So." Loz said.

"I don't have a reason to fight. But I can't not fight because I don't have a reason to do that, either. I...don't know what to do."

"Well, you can fight for me. Or you can not fight for me. Which ever one you choose, I hope you're happy with it." Damian slowly broke a smile for his friend. Then, he began kissing Loz fiercely. When Damian finally broke from the hold, he smiled once more.

"Thank you, Loz." the red head told Loz. All Loz could do was nod, turn around and leave.

All heads turned on him as Loz reentered the Control Room. Cloud was the first to speak.

"Is he alright, Loz?" Loz was still a bit incoherent, but aware enough to notice Cloud speaking to him.

"Yes." Loz answered. "He's fine."

"Will he be fighting alongside of us, do you know?" Reeve asked him.

"I'm not too sure. He didn't say." Barret folded his arms.

"Well, if he don't then that's fine. We ain't tryin' ta force him ta do anything around him. Not with that bird in him!"

"Daddy!!" Marlene shouted. "That's not nice! Damian can't help he has the Phoenix inside his mind." Barret pouted at the fact that one moment, he and Marlene had switched the roles of parent and child.

"Yo, man!" Barret shouted. "When are we gettin' there?"

"Hey!!" Cid screamed back. "Don't rush me! I'm goin' as fast as this thing can! And throw your anger somewhere else 'cause I don't want it!" Nanaki grinned to himself.

"We are a sitcom family in the flesh." he said to himself. Loz heard the wolf-lion's comment and laughed a bit. Cid chimed in.

"Alright, you guys." the burly pilot said. "We're here." Barret unfolded his arms.

"Finally!" he scoffed. Vincent rolled his eyes at he comment.

...The Highwind, Gongaga Continent...

The entire group of Avalanche met Rufus and the Turks in the meeting room of the Highwind. Neither of them sat down however. All of them stood in front of the chairs they were asked to sit in.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." Rufus said. The Shinra President then took a deep breath. "As you all should know by now, Sephiroth and Wutai have joined forces and have declared war upon Shinra Enterprises. I don't think I alone have the strength or will that you all have, so I ask for your aid." An eerie silence filled the roomfor a moment until Cloud finally spoke.

"We'll join you." He said. "Only because we have unfinished business with Sephiroth. We have nothing against Wutai." Damian frowned at the decision Cloud had made for them.

"Thank you. I am grateful for any help you offer to me and Shinra. We must rid the planet of all its threats." Rufus sighed as he looked at Damian. "Which brings me to the fate of Aeris's brother, Damian Gainsborough." Cloud blinked and Damian pointed his attention towards the Shinra President. "He has enough power and ability to destroy Sephiroth with a single thought it seems. However, he doesn't appear to be able to control this immense power."

"Just what are you getting at, Rufus?" Vincent interrupted.

"An untamed power such as his is a greater threat than what we've ever come up against." Rufus responded. "We cannot risk him losing control again." Aeris' eyes widened.

"Are you suggesting that we..."

"If he has the strength Sephiroth claims he has, then he could very well be the end of the entire Cosmos. (1.) Damian must be put to death." The meeting room filled with gasps and swears.

"Ain't no fuckin' way we killing Damian!!" Cid shouted. "And we ain't lettin' no body else kill 'em, either! So you can forget that!!"

"By putting your own feelings in front of the safety of this planet, you all are no better than Sephiroth!" Avalanche silenced at the President's comment. Damian walked out of the room with an angry stride in his step. Cid turned to see Damian leave and then turned back with a defiant look on his face.

"You ain't gonna kill him, Rufus! He's fuckin' innocent!"

"Damian is not innocent, Cid!" Rufus shouted at the pilot. "He is a threat! He destroyed Junon and scared nearly anyone on this planet with a single thought! He cannot be allowed to live amongst us!"

"Rufus!" Tifa screamed. "Why are you being so cruel? Damian needs help and you feel that killing him off is your only option! You're just like your father!!"

"Then so be it!" Rufus scoffed. "I made a solemn promise to this planet that I would do everything I can to protect it no matter how I feel about the situation. I'm not heartless, Tifa! I don't want to kill him anymore than you do, but we truly are running out of options and scapegoats. This war with Sephiroth will occupy most of our skill and ability, meaning we won't have much left for Damian should he become The Phoenix again."

"Then why not just cut the fuckin' war out the damn picture?" Cid honestly suggested. "We can knock Sephiroth and his brothers off and help Damian with The Phoenix instead."

"NO!!!" Rufus objected. "Wutai is now also against us. They will stand in the way! We must stop them as well. By engaging in this war, we kill two birds with one stone." Yuffie hopped up out of her previous seated position.

"What?" She yelped. "Wutai is MY hometown!! You can't just kill off my tradition like it's a freakin' fly on a dinner table!!! Sephiroth has Dad all brainwashed and you ripping out our funding didn't help the situation!!! If you ask me, this is a bunch of BULLSHIT!!" Cid looked at the thin young girl with wide eyes. He now knew that Yuffie was officially angry with Rufus. Though the Shinra President had remained calm amoungst the problem.

"Please tone down your voice." he asked.

"Make me!!!" Yuffie shouted. Cloud held his hand out to Yuffie, signalling her to silence. The young girl did as she was told and gave the spikey blonde the floor.

"Like I said," he started. "we'll fight in this only to get Sephiroth. We don't have any negativity with Wutai."

"But if they get in the way.." Barret stepped in as he slapped his metal gunarm. "We gon knock dey heads clean off dey shoulders!!" Yuffie huffed at Barret, but the large man was not phased. Rufus bowed.

"Thank you, Team." he said. "I will contact you and give you any information I find. I leave you all with this final note." The Shinra president took a deep breath before finishing his thought. "If you don't finish the job, then I will. I bid you all farewell. You are free to leave." The team of Avalanche left uniformly with Rufus's comments still ringing in their ears. (1 off.)

...The Sierra...

The team returned to a tidy ship thanks to Marlene and Denzel, whom Cid hired apathetically as housekeepers. The two children knew something hadn't gone over well with everyone from their solemn moods, so they decided to keep quiet until everything had cooled down. Whereas everyone retreated to their rooms, a mentally overwhelmed Cid Highwind stood on the deck of his mighty creation thinking, if not wishing, that he wasn't thrown into all the events that have taken place. (2.)

"Damn." he said to himself. "I coulda swore I told myself not to fight like this again. Everytime I do, I lose something I love. Last time I fought in a big battle, I almost lost Vincent." Cid chuckled. "Okay, maybe I didn't lose Vin, but it felt like it, and it hurt me so bad I considered killing myself at times just to get away from the pain." The pilot shut his sapphire eyes and took a deep, calming breath. "I just don't wanna go through that again. I don't wanna come close to losing something...or someone I love. I just wanna have a normal, peaceful life. Is that so much to ask?" It seemed Cid's whole conversation was directed at someone, however no one else was physically around to hear him. He took another deep breath and turned to go back into the dark halls of the Sierra.