A/N~ I am quite pleased with this chapter. Especially the end ^^
Please enjoy, and review if you please~!
Distant sirens.
No, there was no ocean in sight.
Sirens of manmade, calling to preserve themselves.
The mermaids were dead.
I didn't understand the chirping. There weren't any birds in Midgar. Only monsters that sounded like birds.
Then it clicked.
I was already leaping to my feet before my eyes opened. Then came a moment of Vertigo, and I was back on the ground. My eyes snapped open when I landed, but there was nothing to see. All around me was darkness, until my eyes adjusted and caught the dim lighting of powered down construction equipment. Lights bounced off of the iron support beams, just enough so I could see that there were no monsters. I sat up, digging my hands into the gravel.
A glowing materia rolled off my leg and onto the dirt beside me.
Though no giant dragon-bird popped out of it, occasionally it gave a quiet chirp, and shifted like it was sleeping inside.
I crossed my legs and stared at it for a while, uncertain if I should pick it up or leave it. My raging headache didn't help me decide either.
I rolled onto my back and groaned.
What the hell happened?
I went onto the rooftop after I finished my mission. And…Genesis was there? Damn it- I didn't even do anything! He threw a Summon at me, but…
I rolled my eyes to the side and looked at the glowing sphere.
Did genesis really say it would help me?
Didn't it try to kill me?
And then it saved me…?
What?
This creature didn't follow the rules of Summons in the least...
Unless Genesis just ordered it to fight me on a whim.
"Were you just testing me or something?" I grumbled. With no intention of actually killing me? I hated it when my opponents did that. Stop fighting in the middle of a battle.
It shifted a little bit, but no sound. I rocked onto my feet and stood up, shoving the Summon materia into my pocket. Then I started towards where the lights were brightest, into the slums. Though, they couldn't compare to the lights I'd seen earlier. The one's I viewed from the President Office, and the rooftop. The ones that made me so angry.
It felt weird walking around in the construction site like that. There was no one around, not even the occasional monster. It's like even they knew that there was nothing but dead dirt here. Dead dirt and a metal sign that read ShinRa.
I stopped walking when I heard a distant wailing. A monster? Was there one nearby after all? No, whatever it was, it was a ways off. …Above. ShinRa's warning sirens!
Was the attack still going on! How long had I been knocked out?
The slums were further away than it had seemed, and when I did finally make it into the run down structures, I had to follow the support beams around and around until I found a stairwell.
It was blocked off by a chain link fence like many were, but I just jumped it, despite the curious stares. I would have cut it down with my swords, but I'd lost those somewhere along the way.
…Lazard was going to kill me.
The Turks and Infantrymen were still busy outside the main building, though I hadn't seen any Genesis clones on the plates. Even though they seemed to be busy poking around outside, I caught all their stares as I hurried into the lobby.
"What?" I snapped, as a few Infantrymen stopped their work altogether to stare at me. My frown didn't go away after I picked out one of them as Kris either. Not a scratch on her.
"Date didn't go so well?" She joked. I couldn't have looked in a worse mood for jokes right now. And with the blaring sirens still going off, you'd think she would have been a bit more serious.
Still, I mumbled, "Rough love is the best."
I took the elevator directly to the barracks. That was as far as the elevator would go during a crisis. Anything higher was shut off as a security precaution. I closed my eyes against the expanse of city that could be seen through the glass windows. Halfway up, I opened them, and saw the same buildings and city lights I was normally used it. There was no abnormal glow, and no lightheadedness that seemed to come with it.
The last door at the end of the hall was closing, like my arrival had started another chain reaction, but I dropped onto my hips and slid underneath it as it closed. I rolled, and landed on my feet. Then I started running. I picked my direction at random, it seemed. But last time I'd guessed right too. The idea of a magical student-mentor connection seemed stupid, but I felt like I knew where to find him.
I tried to think rationally too, which was a new challenge for me.
He wasn't here just to kill or steal, he already had ShinRa's secrets from being in SOLDIER. He needed something that someone else had…that someone else knew. My boots caught on the floor as I spun around, and raced in the opposite direction without so much as a pause.
Okay, so Genesis and I didn't have a spirit-soul-connection or whatever. I still knew where he was.
I didn't stop running even when I realized I was missing my swords. I snatched one away from the first Infantryman I saw, too quickly for him to try and keep it away from me.
"I'll return it later!" I yelled back, over his fading protests and colorful vocabulary. For a moment, I was happy that I felt off-balanced with only one sword. It meant that I'd really transitioned from my one-handed style, to the double-sword technique. But I needed a second sword now. I stormed up the stairwell, twisting to avoid a group of 3rds as they hustled down to their positions. I reached over and pulled one of their swords off their back when they were past me, but frowned with it in my hand.
"You dropped this!" I yelled, and threw the heavy sword back his way once he'd turned around. I would still be off-balanced if the swords were drastically different weights! Now it was a game of mix and match.
On the next floor, a group of Turks jogged past me, as if they were doing their regular workout routine and unaffected by the alarms. I had one more floor to go before I reached my target destination, and had to find a sword before then. Turks tended to steer away from conventional weapons, like Reno's new tazer-wand. I wondered what the actual name for that weapon was? I liked 'Tazer-wand'.
As I surfaced at the top of the stairs, and a 3rd Class SOLDIER jumped back like I'd startled him.
"Careful!" He warned, hurrying to get past me.
"Got it, oh, hey- can…I just…" I reached for the sword, but he stepped to the side to avoid me.
"Hey, this is new." He protested, putting one hand on the sword to prevent me from snatching it.
"Yeah, but i…Garrison?" His mako-blue eyes twinkled.
"I thought you didn't recognize me." He laughed. No...I hadn't recognized him at all! The eyes always made you look so different.
"You're a SOLDIER now? That's-hey, lemme borrow your sword- it's a standard one right?" I jumped for it again, but he sidestepped me with annoying precision.
"No way! I have to go guard the main-"
"Ugh! I'm in a hurry! I'm senior anyways, my jobs are more important-!" Another 3rd passed us by, and Garrsion leaned over and casually plucked the sword off his back, and offered it to me.
"Standard issue sword, version 04." He flipped the handle my way. "Good enough for you?" I snatched it away, taking a moment to weight it in my palm before grasping it fully.
"Nothing is ever good enough for me, but it'll do for now." I started past him, then pointed at the stairs, to where the distracted SOLDIER had dissapeared to work. "Don't let that guy get killed without his sword, okay?" He saluted me, much like Zack would do before jumping out of a helicopter. Playfully.
"Aye aye!"
...What did 'aye' even mean? 'Yes'? Why would someone say 'Yes yes'?
We were always told to avoid taking the elevators during an attack, but that was the only way to reach the Science Lab. I stepped inside the old chain-barred elevator and closed the gate behind me. With a lurch, it started moving upwards.
It was too bright in the elevator, I had to close my eyes against it. And my breathing was loud in the tight space. I took my borrowed swords in each hand.
'Genesis…whatever you're doing, please be careful…'
The elevator suddenly breached the next floor. At first I could only see the floor, like I was staring into a water tank right where the meniscus curved up the glass, but I quickly saw that I Hojo wasn't alone in his lab.
Two men stood in front of the empty lab tank in the center of the room. One of which had a crimson raiper extended to the other's neck.
"Is this Hollander's order?" Professor Hojo inquired, without even looking back to see his attacker. "Do you really think if you follow Hollander's orders, your deterioration will stop?" The elevator shook to a stop and I pried the gate open.
"Genesis!" I yelled, running the few feet to where he stood. He kept his eyes on Hojo, acknowledging me with a flick of his wing.
"How sad, how very sad…" Hojo mused, not the least bit sad about it. The scientist turned his head my way, though I never saw his eyes. "And your little pupil here is too unnerved to even pick a target and point her sword at it. Also sad."
I looked hastily from the Professor, back to Genesis, clenching my blades more securely before lifting one up, in no particular direction. I just had to look busy.
I had been right.
"Genesis!" Someone yelled from across the room, and followed up his yell by sliding into place with his sword reaching from Genesis' neck. It was Zack, though now he was wearing a darker uniform- the uniform of a 1st Class SOLDIER. We looked at each over from over our swords, and i knew he could see the uncertainty in my eyes.
But being faithful like he was, he said nothing, and shifted his glare back to Genesis.
Hojo chuckled, his shoulders rocking with the odd laughter.
"It will take more than a half-rate scientist to stop your deterioration." Hojo repeated, waving his hand nonchalantly back at us. I clenched my teeth together, accidently biting down on my lip. But I didn't care. Deterioration? So that was it. It would explain why Genesis was so desperate for answers. I was no scientist, but I knew what deterioration meant from other sources. It meant he was breaking down from the inside out. His wing, which was supposed to be dark black, was whitening on the tips. Gaia, he must be in pain.
Meanwhile, Hojo was much more interested in the empty lab tank that sat in front of him. Was his clipboard blank as well, I wondered. Was he just trying to look busy, like what I was doing? Trying to look composed, resolved…
"Stop this already, Genesis!" A booming voice said. Another one-winged SOLDIER walked up to the impending fight, Buster Sword secularly on his back.
"Angeal!" I gasped out. A stunning white wing hung off his shoulder and folded against his back. With each slight movement, snow-white down feather fell off the limb and slowly circled to the floor. The stone-faced SOLDIER took one look at me and his frown set. I didn't see why he thought I was intruding! Zack was here because Angeal was, so it made sense that I showed up when Genesis did!
"Well isn't this quite the sight." The scientist giggled, still pretending to be absorbed in other work. Zack's sword followed Genesis' rapier as it lowered, and then me when all other blades were put away. The only one I would have been content stabbing was Hojo right now. Now that I knew exactly what was happening to Genesis, or somewhat at least, I didn't want to hurt him. He was good at hiding pain, but I could tell…he was hurting. And it made me hurt too.
"Your dreams and pride are no more." My mentor hummed, holding an arm out to Angeal. "From the Goddess' bow, the fated arrow is released." 'No, not LOVELESS.' I pleaded.
Then, Hojo hit a funny streak.
"Hollander's monsters are now gathered." He loudly declared, as if he wanted to narrirate Genesis recital. A flame charred my throat as I yelled from him to shut up, and Zack did the same. Even if I hated LOVELESS, I hated it more when someone like him interrupted it! But Hojo didn't care. He continued. "LOVELESS. Act Four. The scenes where the best friends duel each other."
I looked to Genesis and Angeal with a start, and noticed that Angeal had taken his Buster Sword in hand.
"An epic story from long ago." The scientist explained, rocking his head back up at the skylight. "I've read all the research materials on it, but it's worthless." That I agreed upon. LOVELESS was worthless in the sense that it wasn't a practical application to these kinds of situations.
"Was there an end to the duel?" Angeal inquired.
"It's just a play!" I interjected. "LOVELESS has nothing to do with this!"
"Unknown," They continued, ignoring me. "The last act is missing. Even today it cannot be found." Even Zack was listening! I knew where this was going. They, Genesis for sure, would want to 'make his own ending' and use Angeal for the part.
But he surprised me then.
"There is an ending." He said, brushing past me to the empty sample tank in the center of the room. A feather on the edge of his wing touched my arm, and instantly broke off. He turned, and raised a glowing fist. No one moved for a moment, as he lingered with the flame in his hand. Then, he threw it to the side and the tank ruptured in a violent explosion. I pulled my arm over my face and looked at him through tight eyes from the crook of my arm until the wind died down. His wings flew back from the wind of the explosion, like some dark angel standing before a storm.
He was acting just like the part too.
A protest was yanked back down my throat when I saw the explosion had also blown a hole into the wall. He was trying to escape. He was acting cool and indifferent, but he must have known he was outmatched.
…I wanted him to get away.
"What meaning do you think the Goddess' Gift has for us?" He spat, making eye contact with Angeal, then me. Obviously nothing good.
As he left to make his exit, Zack rushed past me.
"Hey!" Then Angeal glided through the air above me, tugging my hair in his wake. I watched as he scooped Zack in one of his arms, before I chased after them on foot.
Hojo just kept laughing behind us. What were our struggles, to him were just random experiments.
I leapt over the flaming concrete blocks and dashed over the burning debris until I reached the outside stairwell. Scaling light pooled off the rooftop, and I looked through it with narrowed eyes. What was going on!
The sound of metal clashing together made me look up again, and I could just barely see Genesis and Angeal fighting in the sky. That must have been hard, without anything to kick off of but the air. But they showed no signs of struggling to remain airborne. Only the focused intent of a battle.
The building shook suddenly, and I leaned against the stairs to prevent myself from falling off. The wind ripped across my back and calmed. Something was going on upstairs. And I was missing out on it!
I climbed the vertical stairs as fast as I could, just to get shocked by stray bolts of static. Zack was squaring off with a monster larger than even Bhamut! Some kind of lightning-based...a summon. Genesis had sent out another one!
And Zack…was on his phone.
"Zack!" I yelled, with a note of frustration. I sprinted across the rooftop over to him and pulled my swords up around my fingers. "Come on!" I said, nudging him with my shoulder. Despite the two-story tall monster summon and an angry Hail Darvey, Zack was beaming. He nodded and shut his PHS, finally reaching for his own sword.
"Who was that? Your girlfriend?" I teased. His smiled widened.
"Maybe." My grin flipped into a curious frown.
"Really?" It wasn't that surprising actually. He'd dated plenty of girls before. He'd even tried to get me to go out with him!
"We'll just have to see." He pointed to the golden summon. "But we can't be rude to our guest now, can we?" I shrugged, facing our opponent as well.
"I guess not."
Zack had always been better at sparring. But I hadn't fought beside him lately. Not since before his promotion to 1st Class. It felt different at first. Like his skill had dramatically increased, while mine had remained the same this whole time. Would it be the same? I wondered if we could still work together to fight something like this.
The summon had a pair of bony, golden-plated wings and appendages that served as lightning rods. They blinked ominously like thunderclouds with static, and I busied myself with trying to predict where the THUNDER spell would come from.
"How do you wanna do this?" I quickly asked Zack. But, I could already tell he had one strategy in mind.
"How do you think!" He yelled back, as he ran headfirst for the monster. Instead of calling after him, I followed.
Some things never changed, at least.
The creature was bulky and not very quick as a result. Attacks were easy to score, as long as the summon stayed near the edge of the rooftop. More than once, I had to pull Zack by his collar to prevent him from chasing it off the building.
I glanced at my pocket, expecting some kind of response from the summon Genesis had left me. The glow wasn't there, and the orb was still and quiet. It didn't seem like the kind of summon to aid me in battle like the normal ones, and I was too nervous to experiment with it.
What if it decided to 'test' me again?
Anyways, Zack and I could handle this summon without another one in the way.
I slashed my sword across its ankle while Zack leapt high in the air and cut down its torso. I pulled Zack behind me by his belt, and jumped with the momentum. Flipping my sword in a backhand grip, I dug the blade deep into the summon's wing, down into its leg, my blade easily slipping past the scales. I'd expected more resistance, as the summon had such an impressive appearance, but my blade submerged up to the hilt.
I went along with it, and dropped my weight down, dragging the sword through and down its thigh. It tossed its head back and gave a booming roar, which was drowned out in the birdlike chirps of electricity. The lightning jumped from its body, into my sword, and raced through my arm. I'd shocked myself on sockets before, but never shoved my sword into one. I imagined this is what it would feel like.
My jaw set and so did my fist. And I couldn't move until the summon kicked its leg and shook me off of it.
Zack jumped to catch me, then jumped even further back to avoid a flurry of electric bolts. They riddled the concrete rooftop as if they were glowing bullets, which disappeared as soon as the damage was done.
"Hey, Hail! Are you okay?" I could see electricity fluttering from my body onto Zack's, in strings of blue and yellow. My teeth were still glued together, and chattered fiercely when I forced them apart.
"F-F-F…F-ine!" I snapped out, clamping my jaw shut again before I accidently bit off my tongue. He smiled down at me, relieved.
"Haha, you sure? I thought you were gonna say something else for a second." I squirmed out of his grasp and stood shakily on my feet.
At least my attack had done something. The summon was struggling to keep itself in the air, static collecting in its wounds. Finally, it gave in and landed heavily on the edge of the rooftop, opening its jaws wide to threaten us with a toothless roar.
"You have a dirty mouth!" Zack laughed, winking at me. Stupid inside jokes. "I'll take it from here, Spikey."
"S-Spik-key?" I repeated. Was he talking to me or the summon?
Zack gripped the sword with both hands and charged at the summon. It saw his approach and reared its head, collecting white hot lightning in its jaws. Zack leapt, right at its face, and slashed. Electricity exploded in all directions like Zack had just cut its attack into pieces. The sparks dug lines into the rooftop and hissed smoke after they passed, and the summon condensed into a blazing sphere of light, then dropped lifelessly onto the rooftop as a summon materia.
There was no doubt that Zack's skills had surpassed my own. He was amazing, worthy of his new title. The smoke cleared, and I searched for the SOLDIER in the steaming mist.
There was only a pair of hands, clawing at the side of the rooftop…