Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Twenty-Three

Shera led Cid, Cloud, and the others through the engine room to the corridor where the Escape Pod was stored. As she opened the door, a wave of air that was still warm following the launch wafted over them. One breath was enough to parch their throats, and they had to pause for a moment to adjust to the hotness.

"The Escape Pod is this way," said Shera, stopping at the end of the corridor. "Please hurry." She seemed unbothered by the dense, warm air that had left the others wishing longingly for something cool to drink. They braced themselves before entering the corridor, and followed Shera to the Escape Pod.

There was only one Escape Pod onboard the Shinra No. 26, which was only designed to hold a very small crew. It was decided by Shinra officials at the time that only one pod was needed, since it was expected that in a crisis it would be the engineers who would escape, while the captain—Cid—would go down with the rocket. Cid had never argued this point, but as they all piled into the Escape Pod, he wished that he had.

It was a very tight fit. The Escape Pod was built to hold only a small handful of people, not the nine people that it was trying to fit in right then. Shera entered first, followed by Cloud and Cid. The others began to pile in slowly behind them, trying not to trip over or tread on each other's toes (or paws).

"Hurry," Shera urged them. "I'm going to detach the Escape Pod."

Cid jumped off the last step and walked forward. He looked out of the window at the opposite end of the Escape Pod, where the inner wall of the rocket ship could be seen. The Pod was actually attached to an inner panel inside the wall of the rocket ship. The panel would break away with the pod upon detachment and then, once the pod was at a safe distance from the rocket, the panel would fall away and float into space. "Hey, Shera!" said Cid. "Does this Pod really fly?"

The others all snapped their heads around and glared at him. They had all assumed that since Cid had mentioned the Escape Pod that meant that it DID work. Cloud sighed and shook his head. He was starting to believe that Cid was as selective with his information as Cait Sith. He looked down at the cat, sitting on Red XIII's back. Cait looked back at him with a puzzled expression.

Shera looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded confidently. "It'll be okay," she assured the pilot. "I've been checking it till now."

Cid paused for a long moment. He scratched his head. "……Then I'm relieved."

Shera's face flushed bright red in gratitude. She hurriedly lowered her head to hide her blush, and her hands played absently with her glasses. "……Thanks."

They all took their seats. Some of them were forced to stand or squish together on the seats, sharing seatbelts. Though no one said it out loud (except for Red XIII, who lost his temper his tail was trodden on for the fourth time), they were all thankful Cait Sith had left his Mog behind.

Once they were all seated and secured, Shera instructed sealed the Escape Pod's door and began the detachment process.

The Escape Pod shuddered, and there came the sound of a loud 'whoosh' as the pod—still with the panel attached—was released from the rocket. Those inside the pod were overwhelmed with the sensation of being rolled, and they were thankful for their seatbelts holding them in place.

There was a second shudder as the panel finally separated and fell away from the pod. The panel remained where it was, hovering in the vacuum, while the pod began to make its way back towards the planet, like it had been programmed long ago.

Cid pressed himself against the window, his eyes looking out eagerly at the view. Before he had only seen a camera's-eye view of space, but now he was able to look at it with his own eyes. Inside the pod, away from the dull roar of the rocket ship's engines, everything was serenely quiet. The only sound was the steady beep of the console and gentle hum of the pod's engines, along with the thudding of his heart.

His head rolled as he gazed at the vast expanse of space laid out before him, looking up and down, left and right. He took it all in, adding yet more memories. Though the stars did not twinkle or flicker, they were incredibly beautiful. He wished he could have taken a picture, but no picture could possibly have compared with this.

To his left, coming in steadily, he could see the planet. It was rapidly growing larger as the pod drifted towards it. It would not be long until the pod re-entered the planet's atmosphere, and they would once again be on solid ground. To his right was Meteor. Even Meteor seemed vaguely wonderful—if frightening—from here. Cid's breath caught in his throat. Space held wonders that were just as beautiful and just as amazing as any the planet could offer mankind. He returned his eyes to the stars.

"So this is…… outer space…" the pilot breathed. His voice was barely a whisper, for he felt that any loud sound would somehow ruin the calm serenity of space. "Man… it's the real thing… I'm really here in outer space…"

Before he returned to his seat, the pilot took one final look to his right. He watched as the Shinra No. 26 flew steadily away from them, growing smaller and smaller as it headed towards Meteor. For a brief moment Cid felt a lump in the bottom of his throat. He swallowed it, and smiled fondly.

"So long, Shinra No. 26."

When the pod hit the planet's exosphere, sparks of light began to flicker around it and trail away like the embers of a fire. They passed through quickly and then hit the thermosphere. A wave of fiery red light swept over the escape pod until it became a glowing ball of light. The temperature outside the pod increased as they passed through, until the exterior glowed red-hot.

The pod rattled and clattered as it moved through the atmosphere. Those inside cast nervous glances at each other, except for Cid and Shera, who both sat calmly.

The Shinra No. 26, now devoid of its cargo and its crew, continued on its way towards Meteor. The rocket seemed so small and insignificant in comparison, yet it carried the hopes of all the people living on the planet. It flew right through the stormy flames that raged over Meteor's surface, and then collided.

The ensuing blast was so intense and powerful that its effects could be seen from the planet. A bright light, emanating from the point of contact, swept out and engulfed Meteor until it became a ball of white light. It grew and grew, heading for the planet.

In Midgar, the citizens gathered in droves outside of Shinra Headquarters, waiting for news. Many had their eyes already turned upward, watching Meteor. One man stopped and pointed to the sky as a bright light erupted from Meteor. The light filled the skies, and the citizens were forced to shield their eyes as it fell over the city.

The light stretched across the surface of the planet, reaching even as far as Cosmo Canyon. Those villagers who had dared to come outside stood and watched as the wave of light swept across the sky, blocking Meteor and even the clouds from view.

In his hologram room, Bugenhagen floated silently before a hologram of the planet, with Meteor hanging just as silently above it. He had watched as events unfolded, and saw even the moment when the rocket had collided. Meteor erupted into flame, and Bugenhagen covered his eyes as a light filled even his hologram room.

After a few moments of blinding intensity, the light began to fade. It retreated from the skies and the planet, and slowly but surely everything became visible again.

The citizens outside of Shinra Headquarters finally lowered their arms. They opened their eyes cautiously, and blinked in the sudden darkness that had been left in the light's wake. Then they remembered Meteor and looked up at the sky, believing that not even Meteor could survive such a blast.

They looked up, and then cried out in horror and dismay. Meteor was still there.

The rocket had collided with Meteor at the centre of its outer shell. The front of this shell remained undamaged, but the rear had suffered massive damage. The shockwaves causes by the blast had ripped apart the outer shell, and large chunks of rock had broken away from the main body. They trailed behind Meteor, held in place by giant bolts of blue-white lightning that flashed from Meteor's inner shell. In spite of this, Meteor continued to move forward towards the planet.

Silence fell over Cosmo Canyon. The villagers watching the spectacle were not surprised that the plan failed. Meteor was a thing of nature, and there was nothing Shinra could make that could rival the power of nature. In his room, Bugenhagen thought different, respecting both the powers of nature and man. Still, as he saw Meteor still hanging above the planet, he could not help but shake his head.

In Midgar, the citizens were devastated. They fell to their knees and hit the floor with their fists as despair began to fill their hearts. Others hid their faces and cried openly. It seemed not even Shinra—the most powerful company on the planet—had the power to stop Meteor.

Back onboard the Highwind, Cloud stood by the main window and looked up at Meteor. It was only an hour past midday, but already the sky was turning red. Meteor's presence was affecting everything, it seemed. He turned his eyes to the west and looked at Meteor. It seemed smaller now that a large chunk of it had been blasted away, but Cloud knew that it would grow much bigger soon enough.

"Rufus and the others' plan was a failure…" he said, shaking his head.

"What a bust…" said Barret. "But I kinda hoped it'd work."

Cait Sith lowered his head and kicked his feet gently against his Mog's forehead. "We been botherin' them as much as we can…" he said miserably. "But there ain't no other way…" He scratched his furry chin, and then voiced everybody's thoughts by adding: "Wonder if we've been wrong all this time?"

Red XIII shook his head. "Makes you worry, doesn't it?" he muttered.

A gloomy silence fell over the bridge. Even the Highwind's crew fell silent, standing at their posts with sombre looks on their faces. They had all worked so hard to interfere with Shinra's plans and get the Huge Materia, but they had not really thought too hard about the consequences of their actions. Meteor had been damaged by the blast, but if the Huge Materia had been on board, then maybe Meteor could have been destroyed completely. Had their actions actually condemned the planet?

Tifa tore her gaze away from the window and looked around at the downcast faces of her friends. "Don't worry!" she told them. "Think!"

"Hey, the girl's right." Cid left to the controls to his trainee pilot and rejoined the others. He looked round at them all and shook an accusing finger. "You start worryin' and there's no stoppin' it! Things just start fallin' apart and get worse and worse."

"You're pretty damn optimistic!" Barret crossed his arms. "You up to somethin'?"

Cid waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, I been thinkin' 'bout this and that," he said. "All the time we been up here lookin' at the planet. I been thinkin' even when we were floatin' in the ocean in that escape pod."

Cloud pressed his hand against the glass, his eyes still on Meteor. It was hard to remain positive in a situation like this. Already he could feel the beginnings of despair. It coiled in his stomach, like a serpent preparing to strike. He knew who would—should—be standing in the centre of the group, urging them all not to be sad… But she was not around anymore. Cloud sighed and turned from the window.

"I've… been thinking, too," he said quietly. "About the universe… planet… ocean. How wide and big… No matter where I go and what I do it won't change a thing."

Cid faced the swordsman and shook his head. "Maybe you're right," the pilot agreed. Cloud's face fell and he turned away to look at the floor, while Cid looked around at the others. "But I came up with something different. I always though this planet was so huge. But lookin' at it from space, I realised it's so small. We're just floatin' in the dark… Kind of makes you feel powerless.

"On top of that, it's got Sephiroth festerin' inside it like a sickness," the pilot continued. He shook his head again. "That's why I say this planet's still a kid. A little kid sick and trembling in the middle of this huge universe. Someone' gotta protect it. Ya follow me? That someone is us."

"Cid… that's beautiful," said Tifa, gazing at the pilot with newfound admiration.

Even Barret was impressed. "Yo! Cid! You even got to me!" he said. "Do, now what? How're we gonna protect the planet from Meteor?"

They all looked at Cid expectantly, eager to hear his answer. The pilot slowly turned on the spot and scratched his head. Then, with everyone's eyes still on him, the pilot walked over to the wheel and sank onto the floor, his head down.

"……………I'm still thinkin' about that."

That was that. Tifa shook her head as the moment that had gripped them came and went. The group separated and returned to their usual places onboard the Highwind, thinking about what they could do in order to save the planet (except for Yuffie, who returned to her usual place on the lower deck and thinking about not throwing up).

Red XIII padded softly down the steps to the lower half of the main deck, lost in thought. He sat on his haunches and sighed heavily. The way things were going, he would not be able to keep his promise to his grandfather, or to his father, Seto. To become a warrior true to his father's noble name, that had been his promise. What noble warrior would he be if he allowed the village his father fought so had to protect get destroyed by Meteor?

Suddenly the hound raised his head. His ears twitched. Did he just imagine hearing that sound? He rose to his feet and looked up, his ears turning this way and that, straining to hear. "Huh!?" he said, blinking in confusion.

The sound came again, so faint that it could barely be heard even with his hearing. Red XIII ran back to the others. His friends were still thinking hard, trying to come up with ways to save the planet. The hound barked sharply, drawing their attention. "Did you……hear something?" Red XIII asked them.

Everybody listened carefully as the sound came again, this time loud enough for all to hear. A pained, anguished cry sounded throughout the airship. It came apparently from nowhere but could be heard everywhere at once. The Highwind crew, hearing this for the first time, looked up in alarm.

"The planet's scream…… or Meteor…?" Tifa whispered. She raised her eyes to the ceiling, remembering this cry. She had heard this same cry from deep within the Lifestream. That cry had been angry and full of hate. This cry, on the other hand, was the cry of something that was clearly in pain and reaching out. Tifa felt the cry resonate within her, and she placed her hand over her heart. "Is this the planet?"

The others felt it, too—an ethereal substance reaching out and touching their hearts. It was, like Cid had said, as though a child was reaching out to them and asking for help, crying in pain. Was the planet truly asking for their help? Was that even possible? It was scarcely believable.

"Hey, how do we know that this is really the planet's scream?" Cloud asked, sceptical.

"Did you forget?" replied Tifa. "Bugenhagen told us."

Cloud folded his arms across his chest and nodded his head. He had forgotten about the old man, with his strange ability to float in the air. The old man was the elder of Cosmo Canyon, and probably the most brilliant and wisest man on the planet—even more so than some of Shinra's best scientists. It was only because of Bugenhagen that they knew anything about the Lifestream or the consciousness of the planet, and how the Mako Reactors were steadily sucking the life out of the planet.

"Bugenhagen…" Cloud muttered thoughtfully.

"Let's go see Grandfather!" interrupted Red XIII. The hound leapt to his feet, his eyes glittering excitedly. "To Cosmo Canyon! I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something that will be helpful."

Cloud nodded in agreement. He had been thinking the same. Bugenhagen had been able to put them on the right track last time. Perhaps he would be able to help them out this time, too, when all other options were gone.

The swordsman looked around to see if there were any objections. Seeing no objections from the others, he nodded at Cid. The pilot grinned and instructed his apprentice to make for Cosmo Canyon. The apprentice turned the wheel and the airship slowly turned to the east, heading back to the western continent.