Chapter 27 – Heaven and Hell, Part 2
A/N: Important information in the notes below, so please read :)
"I told you, she didn't kill those people!" Cloud roared angrily as he slammed his hands down onto the wooden surface of Dio's desk.
The baby oiled man leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his dark brown mullet and then shook his head dismissively. "And I told you, there's nothing I can do for you, boy! She was found guilty of a crime and was punished accordingly."
Cloud growled in frustration, pressed his hands harder into the wood and then leaned forward slightly so that Dio could see the anger burning in his mako eyes. "She didn't do it," he repeated in a low, dangerous voice.
"You'd best watch your tone with me, boy, or I'll have the guards escort you from the premises," Dio challenged, which caused the two Shinra soldiers that were standing guard on either side of the door behind him to step forward. Dio held up a hand to stop them, and then narrowed his eyes menacingly, "so what'll it be, boy?"
Cloud sighed in defeat and then backed away. He hated letting Dio take the win here, but he knew that angering him wouldn't solve anything and would only put Lightning further away from him. She hadn't deserved her sentence and he didn't even want to think about what she was possibly going through right now all because she had been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Cait Sith had filled him in on what he knew about the area below and from the way he made it sound, it was a really dangerous place, especially for a woman. Lightning was strong and was more than capable of taking care of herself, but she was now in a prison full of hungry men who probably hadn't seen a woman in years. Cloud feared for her safety and he knew that he needed to get her out of there as fast as humanly possible, but that was never going to happen without Dio's cooperation.
"Can't you check the surveillance?" he tried again, hoping that a different approach might convince the man of Lightning's innocence. "Surely a place like this has cameras?"
"My boys are already looking into it," Dio replied, "but I already told you... once someone goes down the hole, there's only one way they come back up."
"A chocobo race," Cloud recalled with a sigh. "Yeah, I remember. But how exactly is she supposed to know about this?"
"Just about every inmate down there knows about the races," Dio answered. "She could find out from just about anyone."
"She's a woman in a prison full of men!" Cloud shot back angrily. "You want her to waltz right up to a bunch of rapists and murderers to discuss bird races!?" Cloud could feel his blood beginning to boil again, so he turned around, closed his eyes and then inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm himself. If he had just killed this baby oiled idiot like he'd originally planned, then none of this would have happened. He understood Lightning's reasoning for wanting to go quietly, but he would have never allowed her to end up with that greasy haired scientist again. He would have died before allowing that happen, but perhaps Lightning knew that and that's why she didn't want to put up a fight. "Then send me down," Cloud begged as he turned around to face Dio again. "You said that she can't come back, so let me go to her."
"I told you before, boy. Only criminals are sent to heaven and you have commit no crime... " Dio replied impatiently as he looked up at the clock. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some very important business to attend to," he added and then nodded toward the men standing guard.
"You heard'em," one of the Shinra soldiers said he stepped forward to lead Cloud from the room. Cloud growled in anger and then turned around and stormed through the door, slamming it behind him. He stomped down the hall away from Dio's office and as soon as he rounded the corner to the station, he spotted his party, who had been waiting for him.
"Is there anything that can be done?" Aeris asked immediately as she rushed forward to meet him.
"He refuses to even listen," Cloud replied as he looked around and noted that Red and Cait Sith were now missing from the group. "And even if we do prove her innocence, he won't let her come back up unless she wins a Chocobo race."
"Oh, that's awful," Aeris responded softly as she dropped her gaze to the floor. "Poor Light..."
"Couldn't we just go down?" Tifa asked hopefully.
"No," Cloud answered. "I asked and he will only send criminals down."
"So, let's commit a crime," Aeris suggested, which caused the others to look at her with mixed expressions.
"That's not a bad idea," Cloud answered as his mind immediately came alive with possibilities.
"You're joking, right?" Yuffie laughed and then stopped dead when she saw that the wheels were now turning in Cloud's mind. "Come on, you can't be serious," she whined. "You really want us to go down there? That place is full of sickos."
"Exactly, and that's why we have to go," Aeris defended. "Light's one of our own and we can't leave her there. If they won't let her back up then we have to go get her."
"This is a really bad idea!" Yuffie argued.
"You don't have to go," Cloud replied. "In fact, none of you do. She's right... it's a bad place. I'll go on my own."
"No, you won't," Aeris chimed in. "I'm going too."
"And me," Tifa added.
"Absolutely not," Cloud argued with a shake of his head.
"She's important to us too, Cloud," Aeris said softly. "Let us help."
"Look," Cloud began, "I don't know what I'll be going into. If it's as bad as Caith Sith made it out to be, I'll have my hands full trying to keep her safe and-"
"I know what you're going to say," Aeris interrupted, "and Tifa and I can protect ourselves. We can fight too."
"Do you know the type of men that are down there?" Cloud countered. "They're sick and twisted."
"I'm sure they're no different than Don Corneo's goons," Aeris replied as she rolled her eyes.
"She's right," Tifa inserted as she furrowed her eyebrows in vexation. "This is no different than when we went into Don Corneo's, and do you remember what happened that night? All of this time could have been used to find a way to get to Light and instead, we've been stood here arguing. Now, Cloud, we understand how you feel, but we are helping whether you like it or not. Are you going to let us or are we going to just stay here and bicker while something else terrible happens to her?"
Cloud dropped his eyes to the floor and exhaled heavily. He knew that Tifa had a point, but that didn't make the decision endanger the girls any easier. He hated the idea of allowing them to go, just as he hated the fact that Lightning was already there. He didn't know what exactly he'd be going into and his worst fear was that he'd fail to protect them and someone would end up getting hurt. He wanted them to stay here, where they'd be safe. However, he knew that Tifa was true to her word and they would follow him down there no matter what he said.
"Fine," he conceded, "but I still don't like this."
"You don't have to," Tifa replied. "It's our choice to make."
"Okay," he surrendered. "Where are the others?"
The question had barely passed through his lips when suddenly Red and Cait Sith emerged from the tunnel labeled 'Speed Square'.
"Did you find him?" Tifa asked immediately.
"No," Red replied as he shook his furry head. "There's been no sign of him."
"Barret?" Cloud questioned as he looked at the beast in confusion.
"Yeah," Aeris answered. "No one's seen him since he disappeared earlier. You don't think he could have really...?" Her voice trailed off and she let out an involuntary shiver at the thought that had just passed through her mind. It was hard for any of them to imagine that one of their own could have gone off the hinges and started murdering innocent people.
"I don't know," Cloud replied honestly. "I guess there's only one way to find out... but first, we need to get Lightning out of that prison."
"Any ideas for that?" Red asked. "I assume Dio was of no help?"
"No," Cloud replied. "We're going to her, but he won't let us go down there, so we'll have to commit a crime."
"Just make sure we don't do anything that would hurt anyone," Aeris said. "I think there's been enough loss already."
"I was thinking of something along the lines of breaking a few of the games in the arcade," Cloud replied.
"I don't think that'll be good enough," Cait Sith interjected with a shake of his head. "The people down there are real criminals... thieves, murderers, and worse. I don't think Dio would send someone down there for vandalizing a few of his toys. He'd more than likely make you pay for the damages or make your work off the debt around the park."
"Then what do you propose?" Cloud asked.
"I have an idea," Cait Sith continued. "And no one gets hurt," he added with a nod to Aeris. "Dio has a gallery; a showcase of high value things that he's collected over the years. It's in the Battle Arena and anyone can go in. Security is usually pretty lax because most people know the penalty for committing a crime around here. The stuff's just sitting around on display, so we could probably just walk right in and snatch something."
"Do you really think he'd get mad enough to send us to prison?" Cloud asked hopefully.
"If there's one thing in this world that Dio loves more than himself, it's that gallery," Cait Sith answered. "He'll take the bait, I'm counting on it… just make sure you snatch something good."
"But isn't the Battle Arena closed?" Tifa asked.
"Not anymore," Cait Sith answered. "As of a half hour ago, it was reopened to the public. That arena brings in a lot of revenue for this place, so I knew that it wouldn't stay closed for very long. The good news is that the gallery itself shouldn't be highly guarded, but there will definitely be more guards patrolling the area outside. That'll make getting caught easy peasy!"
"I really hope you're right about all of this," Cloud sighed, "because if you're not, we may never get to Lightning."
The walk to Dio's gallery was short and before Cloud knew it, he was standing in the middle of the room staring at Dio's prized collection, which ranged from small trinkets sitting around on shelves to weapons and armor that decorated the walls. Cait Sith was right. Security wasn't tight at all in this area of the Battle Square, which Cloud found to be just a bit odd considering that this room was filled to the brim with items that were supposedly his most prized possessions. A lone guard stood on duty near the door, lazily watching a group of teenagers that were pacing the room and awing the various weapons on the wall. He looked bored out of his mind and Cloud nearly laughed out loud when he thought about how quickly that was about to change.
He knew that stealing from this place would be all too easy, and getting caught might actually prove to be the more difficult part. He needed to make sure that whatever he stole would be noticed right away. It had to be something that appeared to be really valuable, but small enough to carry at the same time. His eyes darted around the room in search of the perfect item and then his eyes fell on a glass case that housed a seemingly ordinary grey rock inside. At first glance, the stone didn't look like it'd be worth anything, but Cloud knew that there had to be something that made it valuable to Dio, or else it wouldn't be the only item in the room protected under glass.
"What is it?" Tifa asked as she and the others joined him around the display.
"Not sure," Cloud replied, "but if there's anything in this room will get us into trouble, it'll probably be this."
"Okay, don't forget," Cait Sith whispered. "Everyone run… Don't get caught too easily, but don't run fast enough to lose the guards either. We just need to put on a good show for Dio. We ready to do this?"
"Yep," Cloud nodded and then pulled the sword from his back and slammed the hilt down onto the glass, shattering it into a million pieces. He quickly snatched the stone and then the six of them immediately bolted through the crowd of confused onlookers towards the door.
"HEY!" the guard shouted as he pressed a red button the wall, which caused a loud siren to sound overhead. "STOP! THIEVES!" he shouted again as he removed a baton from his belt and then charged at them. Cloud remembered what Cait Sith had said about the importance of putting on a good show for Dio, so he punched the guard on his way out for good measure.
The six of them ran through the lobby and started down the stairs towards the station to find that the siren had done its job. About five or so guards now stood on the platform with their guns drawn and trained in their direction as to prevent them from exiting through the tunnels. Cloud knew that he could dispatch these guards easily enough, but he didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt, so instead of charging, he came to a halt and held his sword out in front of him to give the impression that he was ready for a fight.
"Easy boy," Cloud heard from behind and turned his head to see Dio standing at the top of the steps. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you? I knew your lot would end up causing me trouble," he continued. "You know, we checked the surveillance and it turns out your friend was innocent after all. I kind of felt bad about the whole mix up and had a change of heart. I was gonna send my boys to fetch her in the morning, but seeing as you've gone and made a mess of things, you can all just rot down there together. I do admire your commitment to her though, so I'll make you a deal: give back what was stolen and put away your sword. You do that and I'll let you keep it. If not, you'll all go down there weaponless and I hear the prison's a rough place at night."
"Put it away, Cloud," Cait Sith whispered. "You got what you wanted, so do as he says."
Cloud nodded, returned the sword to his back and then tossed the stone to the nearest guard. Dio nodded in return and then signaled the guards on the platform, who began to proceed up the stairs to guide them back into the Battle Arena. They stopped in the same room that he and Lightning had been caught in and then a guard stepped forward to unlock the door on the opposite side, which led to a seemingly empty room.
"Well, I can't say that it's been a pleasure," Dio remarked as the soldiers returned from the room, leading a line of six robots. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about them," he added as he took in their nervous expressions. "Trust me, you don't want to make that jump without them… you might end up breaking something," he chuckled. "Well then, who's first?"
Lightning found herself dreaming again, the same dream that had been haunting her for weeks. She had battled this nameless purple haired villain so many times now and each time had resulted in her loss. Even though she knew that this dream would be no different than the last, she continued to fight. It wasn't like she had a choice in the matter though. Although, she knew that she was dreaming, she had no control over any of her actions or the final outcome. Her body still moved robotically and refused to obey even the smallest command, and this left her powerless to stop the final blow that always sent her painfully back to reality.
"Pointless…" he smirked in his deep voice as the eye on his sword began to open, sending shivers down her spine once more. Normally, at this point, his words would become muffled as he continued to talk and Lightning could never quite make out what he'd said, but this time it was different and his words were now completely audible. "The time measured by Etro will cease to exist," he continued as he pointed the tip at her and then retracted the blade so that it was inches from his own face. "All potential and possibilities will collapse. Time will end, and the future will fade."
"You'll have to kill me first," she retorted as she charged forward with her unfamiliar sword extended out to the side. As she neared, she leapt high and her blade met his midair, causing them to rebound and then land far apart.
As soon as her feet hit the ground, Lightning turned and stormed towards the man, who had wasted no time in planning his own assault. As the two of them met mid-field, Lightning barely managed to avoid a well-timed jab at her head as she quickly leaned aside. She aimed her counter strike at his core, but instead of flesh, her sword only found the cold hard steel of his blade. He swiped at her head once more, which forced her to drop to one knee and aim for his legs. Her blade whistled through the air as the man leapt high once again and Lightning quickly scrambled to her feet in anticipation of his next move. He landed on the ground and then immediately sent a bolt of lightning in her direction, which she easily deflected with her shield, causing an explosion to erupt around him. Against any other opponent, Lightning would have been celebrating her victory after a strike like that, but this man was no ordinary opponent and that was immediately proven as he charged from the explosion, unscathed.
"Caius Ballad!" she shouted as she charged forward. Caius Ballad, so that was this man's name. Throughout her many dreams, her voice had always been inaudible and she could never quite understand what exactly she had shouted at the man.
Lightning had barely time to process the name that she had just shouted before finding her sword locked with his again as the two of them pushed against each other, struggling for the upper hand. She felt herself shove away from the purple-haired man and then quickly lunged forward again with the hopes of driving her sword through the top of his skull, but as soon as her weapon made contact with the man, he suddenly vanished into a cloud of purple smoke and Lightning felt herself stumble forward. She had seen what happened next so many times before, but it never made it any easier to watch. As her body staggered through the smoke, she willed herself to close her eyes, to wake up, to do anything at all to prevent her from seeing the next event, but her body was unresponsive to her plea. It was like she wasn't even there and this Lightning was a completely different person. When she finally regained her balance, she found herself staring at her sister, who was stood only a few inches away from the tip of her still extended blade.
"What the…" Lightning heard herself ask in confusion as the strange symbol reappeared on her sister's eyes. "SERAH!" Lightning's vision was temporarily clouded by white light and when she regained her sense of sight, she found herself staring at her sister and the same brown-haired, nameless man as before. They appeared to be happily conversing until Serah's face went blank and her eyes were taken over by the same symbol as before.
"Serah?" the man shouted as he gripped her shoulders tightly. "Serah, snap out of it! NO!" the man shouted as he shook her violently. She had seen this part of the dream a few times before, but it was at this moment that Lightning realized that this man knew exactly what was happening to her sister. Serah began to fall backwards and the man quickly grabbed her hands to pull her into an embrace. Serah's eyes closed for the last time and her knees gave way as the two of them sank to the ground. "SERAHHHH!" the man cried with eyes full of tears.
"It can't be…" Lightning whispered in disbelief as she closed her eyes tightly and then reopened them to see the transparent image of her sister now kneeling before her on the ground. "Serah…" she muttered mindlessly as she stumbled toward her sister.
"Hmph," Caius' deep voice sounded from behind, causing her to spin around in surprise to discover that the man was now standing right in front of her with his sword raised above his head. Lightning didn't even have time to lift her own weapon to defend herself before his massive sword collided with her head.
The pain radiated from her head throughout her entire body, but by some miracle, the blow hadn't killed her. She felt her body fly through the air and then land in a heap on the cold stone ground. Her head pounded and she felt so dizzy that she thought she was going to be sick. The pain clouded her thoughts and made most of her body feel paralyzed and completely unresponsive. She whimpered as she pushed her hands into the ground and attempted to push herself back up, but her exhaustion got the better of her and she collapsed again.
"Too easy," she heard Caius say as she began to swim in and out of consciousness.
Lightning knew that she was done for, so she kept her eyes closed and prayed that he would make it quick. The cool stone beneath her felt good on her bare skin and so Lightning focused all of her thoughts on that rather than her impending execution. She laid there for a few moments and then suddenly her entire body felt very cold, as if she had been hit by some sort of ice spell. She weakly inched her eyelids apart to see that she was now surrounded by the same purple smoke that had consumed Caius before. It began to pull her down, down beneath the surface on which she lay. Lightning felt herself begin to panic, but her body was unresponsive and unwilling to fight back. The smoke began to invade her lungs and she felt as though they were going to explode. She tried her hardest to cough in order to expel the toxic substance, but her body refused. She squeezed her eyes closed and let out a soft cry in pain, before something firmly gripped her shoulders and began shaking her.
She weakly opened her eyes to find that her vision was still clouded by darkness, but as she blinked a few times a figure began to swim into focus above her. She stared through the darkness in confusion for a few moments, unable to make sense of her new surroundings. The pain from Caius' blow was beginning to recede and she prayed that her body would now be cooperative. Digging her elbows into the soft surface beneath her, she began to push herself upright, but the person placed a strong hand on her shoulder again and gently pushed her back down. Lightning opened her mouth to object, but a deep voice broke through the silence first and she felt her heart stop in her chest.
"Easy."
A/N: Okay, so I feel really bad about how long it took me to get this chapter out. It's been finished for two weeks now but I was waiting to publish because I thought I wanted to add a bit more to it. Anywho, I opened it up on Friday to work on it and decided that I was satisfied with it after all lol. So I really do apologize for making y'all wait. I have mixed feelings on the shorter v. longer chapters. On one hand, the shorter chapters make it a hell of a lot easier to write and edit. I basically wrote this whole thing in one sit down, which was really nice because it usually takes me days/weeks to write a chapter and I often have to read it over several times to remember where I was going with it. On the other hand, I do like my longer chapters. It's a lot of work, but I feel a bigger sense of accomplishment when I finish one of the monstrous chapters. However, The Sorrowful Deity, you are absolutely right. It does burn you out rather quickly lol. I haven't decided yet if I'm gonna stick with the shorter ones or revert back to the longer.. maybe I'll switch back and forth until I figure it out lol.
As always, a massive thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter (NOON666x… you're so funny! Definitely made me laugh out loud XD). I was feeling like interest was dropping off and you all definitely showed me otherwise and gave me the motivation I was looking for. Not gonna lie, writing these chapters can be a bit taxing and I just like to know that people are still interested in what I'm working so hard to put out. So, thanks again for answering the bat call and cheering me up lol. Also, thank you to Wolf, who just happens to be the best beta reader in the whole world. (Psst… I have it on good authority that he has chapters of both Stormy Reunion and Great Mako War that are near completion… so I think that once you're done here, you should all send him PM's and ask him to finish them. Tell him that Lady A needs something new to read XD. Haha, I'm totally kidding… or am I? lol)
***As a reminder: The rating of the story is changing to M as of today. If you haven't already, follow and favorite so you don't miss an update! Thanks again, and don't forget to drop me a review and let me know how I did here!***
Love you all,
Lady A
