Hello everyone. It's been a while since I updated, so I'm giving you a double one today. I've been very busy with tests, lab practicals, hanging up nest boxes for my thesis Biology experiment, my grandfather dying and my aunt getting married. Also, I was determined to get the next chapter written and put down before I proceeded.
This should be more than enough time…
With that in mind, Mack quickly swerved his Phoenix out of a stream of incoming fire, and then increased altitude to the side. His fellow squadron members quickly pulled in behind him. As this happened, he adjusted channels on his radio, and then called out.
"Squadrons 2 and 3! You're with my squadron! Prepare to make our attack run!"
"Copy."
"I copy."
Mack leveled himself out after saying this, adjusting his path to the north. This attack wasn't happening a moment too soon. A few of their own destroyers were going down on the sides, and the New Shinra was advancing to surround them at this point. To compensate, their own navy was having to spread out more, and it wouldn't be long before they were spread too thin to effectively respond. Within moments, Mack was aimed directly north, his Phoenix sailing toward the New Shinra Navy and, beyond it, the shore of New Junon and the Northern Continent. Not long after he aimed it in this direction, a roar of engines pealed around him. Squadrons 2 and 3 moved in on either side, taking their position.
"Alright boys and girls!" Mack called over the radio. "This is it! Ten minute run! Start now!"
With that, Mack immediately gunned his engines to full throttle. The force of acceleration yanked him back into his seat, and a second later his Phoenix was tearing forward at maximum speed. After an instant, the rest of the fighters fired off after him and fell in behind.
The destroyers, assuming that a wing was opening up to try and make a bombing run, raised their weapons and fired away at the nine Phoenixes. For a few moments, Mack had to use some maneuvering techniques. However, it didn't last long. Their fighters were moving too fast to be picked up on by most gunners, and those that did weren't hard to avoid. Not only that, but as they began to pass over the line of destroyers, the officers on board realized that they were going past them. With that in mind, they ceased fire on them and turned out to the rest of the fleet, trusting their defenses to take care of them. As Mack and the other eight roared past the last of their destroyers and came over the water space between the battle and the shore, they ran into no obstructions. Mack smiled at the thought. They still thought their grid was up. They'd be surprised in a few moments…
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Mack suddenly heard a sound coming from his console. He turned down and looked, and saw his radar display. Currently, it was showing him and the other blips representing the other fighters leaving the rest of the fleet behind. The shore was fast approaching. However, as if did, he saw red alerts starting to come on various points along the shore. Each one represented a battery or defensive position of some sort. However, it would only come on if the machine sensed some sort of electrical activity running through it, or some sort of targeting system. Neither of which should have been on if the EMP Projector was used on the main reactor. The man furrowed his brow in confusion, and then looked up ahead. The coast was fast approaching, but they were still clear for now. Seeing this, he turned to a different channel.
"Phoenix 2, is your radar going off?"
"Yes, Phoenix Leader. I was just about to ask you about that…"
"This is Phoenix 3. I see the same alert."
"This is Squadron Leader 2. My radar shows that the machinery is still active."
Mack looked back up to the grid in confusion. He couldn't yet see anything moving, but as he got closer, he only saw more warning signals come on in his radar system. He looked to the time. It was currently 0602 hours. If they were supposed to be timing it right, it should have been done by now. He looked back up overhead, and searched over the area a moment. If they were late…then this was a problem. This was supposed to happen all on time. The fleet was counting on being able to break off by 0630 hours.
"They could be a little late…"
"We need to get moving soon, Phoenix Leader. The navy is starting to get strained out there."
"How do we proceed?"
Mack stared up ahead a moment longer. He hesitated…somewhat hoping that the screen below him would go dark as he waited, showing that the threat was suddenly removed. However, he did not see it. He frowned after a moment, and then finally sighed. He turned back to his radio.
"Squadrons 1, 2, and 3…maintain full speed. Continue on course. Prepare for evasive maneuvers. We're going to try and start pushing it. The grid should shut down while we're en route."
Mack sighed after saying this and turned off his radio. He didn't want to hear anyone calling him crazy…because frankly he already believed that about himself. Time was still of the essence. At any moment now, the grid should go down… That was, unless something had happened to the strike team… However, Mack doubted that Ragnar was the sort of guy who would be undone so easily. He was betting that it would go down at any time. They might as well get a bit of a jump start…
I just hope these things are as fast as we hoped they'd be in this scenario…
For a few moments longer, they were able to travel unheeded. But as they finally got into visual range, Mack began to see the batteries on the shore slowly rotate and aim at them. He was able to go closer for a few moments…but then they ignited. Yellow bits of light strung out from three different sources at once and came to strike them. Luckily they were going too fast, and the shots initially missed. However, more soon joined in with it, as well as heavier guns beginning to fire large shells. As they drew closer and closer to the land, only more turned to them and began to fire. Soon, Mack found himself pitching his craft to avoid some of the heavier shots, and other members of his wing had to do the same. Still, he held on for the grid to go dead…
As he continued to go forward, he saw large "honeycomb" like machines raise into the air. Smoke erupted from them, and soon large missiles began to come out. They immediately curved in the air and began to make their way toward the fighters. Mack quickly reached to the side of his control panel and pushed one of the emergency buttons. In response, a red hot flare erupted from the side of the Phoenix and shot across the sky to the east. A second later, the missiles sharply turned again and followed after the flare. On reaching it, they immediately detonated. However…Mack began to sweat. They were using heat seekers… His tension only grew as he saw more and more cannons turn to them and begin to fire, this time some starting to shoot flak. Not only that, but more of the missile bays were beginning to rise…and the area was getting thicker with firepower.
"Sir…this wall of fire is getting really heavy…"
Mack ignored this for the time being, although he became aware of himself using more maneuvers while flying. Yet as he did, the flak fire began to increase, causing him to no longer go forward but needing to work a path around it. Not only that…but more of the missiles below began to raise and fire. Soon not only he but the others began to fire off flares. Not long after, they started to fire off balls of metal material as well.
Abruptly, Mack saw a weapon turn right to him and fire. Immediately, he banked his wing to one side. The bullets narrowly missed him, but he heard them graze one of his wingmen. This made him tense up further. The New Shinra were plotting his course, and they were compensating. The new weapons were becoming more accurate. And more of them were coming all the time. The more maneuvers he performed, the slower overall velocity he could maintain, making him an easier target for scatter. As Mack swerved to avoid one cannon shot, he immediately had to fire off another flare to intercept more missiles. He almost had to fly into the eruption anyway a moment later, for lines of the bullets were beginning to criss-cross in front of him, trying to catch him in between. More eruptions started to go off around him, and they were getting closer all the time. Mack continued to steer progressively wider, no longer going casual, but now trying to pilot his way through a hail of fire. And still, more weapons were coming up to bear. They only now began to pass over the coast.
One of the wings on Mack's right suddenly buckled as three clouds of flak exploded around it. A voice soon came in on the line.
"Commander! I've got shrapnel damage!"
"My stablizers are acting up, commander! I'm barely avoiding this!"
"It's getting too thick! I can't keep this distance from you!"
A minor explosion suddenly went off in front of Mack, lurching his ship. The controls were wrenched free, and he was nearly thrown into the path of a artillery shot. Gritting his teeth and putting all the power he could on it, he shoved the craft back down, shifting it almost into a downward dive. That was bad, because as he bent down he saw just how many guns were firing at them, and made himself an easier target. He quickly had to twist to get out of it, but then had to twist further, distancing himself from his wingmen, as the firepower continued. It was only growing worse…and it wasn't shutting down. Mack was moving himself into a death zone. The shrapnel alone was getting so thick that bits of metal began to ding against his hull. His fellow pilots were starting to panic too, and they expressed it.
"Commander…this last shot hit my engines! I'm losing my lateral controls! I've got to break off!"
"I can't find a way through! I can't-"
At last…the inevitable happened. As Phoenix 5 was still talking, one of the heat seeking missiles suddenly struck it, and turned it into a ball of fire. At this point, there was too much. Their flares couldn't keep them all off of them. The eruption forced out his leader and wingman into more eruptions, nearly sending Phoenix Squadron 2's leader after him. Explosions were too frequent now…visibly rocking them and screwing up their pattern. And now…shots were starting to come from below as well, threatening to force them up into more lines of fire. The ship was trembling now, rocking from the impacts around it. Mack was barely keeping it stable as it was. And still, the grid stayed active.
Mack swore. This was suicide. The grid was too thick. He didn't care if the grid was coming down or not. Until it did, they couldn't stay here. They were getting murdered. If they went forward any more, shots would start hitting them from behind. At last, the officer got on the horn.
"Break off the attack! All craft, U formation!"
After saying this, Mack immediately forced his controls down. In response, his Phoenix suddenly took a sharp arc, and went up into the air. His wingmen followed, as well as the other squadrons. The New Shinra mercilessly beat on them all the while, but their targeting equipment was thrown off by this, and they were overshot for a few precious moments. That was all the time that the Phoenixes needed to completely turn around. A half barrel roll later, and the ships were once again flying upright, but now shooting away from the enemy as fast as they could.
Mack still felt his craft rocked badly as shots trailed after them. But they were now flying away, making a harder target to follow. The explosions slowly began to level off and die down as they flew back the way they came, passing back over the coastline and over the ocean. It didn't happen soon enough for Phoenix 7, unfortunately. The stabilizer broke down completely, and the ship began to fall. Mack turned his head and watched, and looked as Phoenix Squadron 3's leader ejected from his doomed fighter and into the air. As he continued to rush away, he said a prayer for him. There was no way that the PPA would be able to recover him, so he would be at the mercy of the New Shinra. Hopefully he'd get off as a POW…
The rest of the remaining fighters continued to get clear, and the shots eventually shrank into nothing. The fighters were finally left alone to fly back to the battle without being chased. However, Mack was still upset. He looked to the time, and saw that it was now 0605 hours. The grid was still active. If they were delayed much longer, they'd miss the window that the navy could safely give them. But why wasn't the grid down yet? Were they delayed? Was their time wrong? …Or were they in serious danger? Had they been captured? Or killed?
Mack groaned again, and looked up ahead. Seeing the fighters coming back, and in prime position to hit the fleet from behind, a cloud of Harbingers were swarming out to meet them. The commander exhaled, and then began to fire up his guns. If they had to wait…then they had to do as much damage as possible to the enemy fleet to give them more time.
Ragnar, through the force of his will, made himself keep advancing forward, and striking with all the ferocity he could muster against Sephiroth. His sword danced like a deadly flame, still engulfed in fire. He continued to press against the man as hard as he could, swinging his sword in every deadly and fierce manner he could think of. He responded to the pain radiating through his limbs from the power of the blows by putting on more and more anger. Yet for all the flaming fragments he sent cascading through the Dome, he could do nothing.
Advancing at one point, Ragnar dove forward at Sephiroth and attempted to bring his blade down on his head. Again, Sephiroth smiled without tensing, and just prior to landing the blow, he seemed to almost fade out of existence and reappear just to the side. Ragnarok went sailing by, and sliced through the pipe railing of the catwalk. However…he realized again that he was wide open.
Once more, Ragnar never saw Sephiroth move. He just felt a hot pain suddenly flash across his face from the base of one cheek up to his forehead. Crying out, he removed a hand from his hilt and clutched his eye, in his fear thinking that Sephiroth had cut it out. Hot blood oozed between his fingers, but that was the only sensation he felt before Sephiroth snapped his black fist back, and then brought the back of his hand across Ragnar's face. It felt like a ton of bricks were smashed against the side of his head, and his body was once again ripped off the floor and sent flying back. This time, he was too close to the back wall. His body impacted against the metal pipe framework, and the edges drove themselves into his muscles and bones as he smacked against it. The impact was so great that he went flying off a moment later, and fell forward onto the ground face first.
For a second or two, Ragnar lay there motionless. But then, grunting, he began to push up again with surprising speed…although a feeling that was progressively getting louder in his head told him to stay down. As he pushed his head off, he gagged and spat. A wad of blood came out and impacted against the ground…and it had one of his teeth in it. His vision was a bit blurred when he saw this. Half of his face was already beaten and swollen. The other half now had blood flowing over it from the fresh cut.
Ragnar was not in good shape. His outer uniform was only a shred now, the pieces of it gradually falling off during the fight as he began to accumulate cuts. His inner shirt wasn't doing much better. His pants were turning into rags. His body felt sore and tender all over…and exhaustion was mounting on him. He was now sweating all over his body, and the sweat was pouring into his wounds, making them sting. His arms and legs already felt like jelly from the power needed to support himself and withstand Sephiroth's merciless onslaught.
Still, the youth somehow got back onto his feet. He gave Sephiroth the most dangerous and brave look his swollen face could muster, and then leveled his blade before him.
"So…this bleeding child in front of me is the best the Planet could do." Sephiroth responded, never losing his smile. "How much pain are you in now, Ragnar? It hasn't become crippling yet, I can see… Are you feeling terror yet? Despair? Failure? Is the image of death at your side beginning to fill your dim vision?"
"Shut up!" Ragnar snapped back, tightening his grip on Ragnarok. However…he was breathing hard now, and realized that, unlike before, he couldn't run forward and attempt to wipe the smile off of Sephiroth's face.
Sephiroth once again raised his sword and flicked it at Ragnar. The young man winced and looked to the side as his own blood was once again thrown back on him. He grit his own bloody teeth after this, ignoring the horrible pain in the side of his mouth, and looked back over to Sephiroth furiously. As he did, he saw the dark warrior slowly get into ready position again.
"Your flimsy and infantile technique is beginning to bore me." He calmly stated. "So this time…I think I will go on the offense."
Ragnar barely had time to comprehend what Sephiroth had said before the dark man assaulted. To the youth's shock…he crossed the distance between them in a blink of an eye, not looking like he had moved at all, but suddenly appearing right in front of him, with his sword poised to come down on his head. The youth quickly brought his sword up and intercepted…to a heavy toll. Ragnar actually cried out in pain as Sephiroth struck his blade. The force was so great that it made before look like nothing.
But Sephiroth was just getting started. As Ragnar's body rattled in pain, the man ripped his blade off again and struck once more at Ragnar, this time from the side. The youth quickly brought up his blade and guarded, but at the price of further pain. The man soon continued his violent assault, snapping off his blade again and bringing it down on him again and again. It wasn't just the strikes. Every time he did so…he seemed to actually shoot away, and practically fly at him with each stroke. Each one seemed to be geared not just to strike him down…but break his bones.
Ragnar crossed himself just as Sephiroth came in for one strike. They clashed for an instant. Ragnar's teeth grit, and blood and sweat flew from his brow as he grunted against the power. Sephiroth merely smiled at him for a moment, and then took off. As he did…blood flew up from Ragnar's side as another cut was given to him, once more too fast to even see…this one deeper than the others. The youth cried out in agony and backed away, but had no time to suffer. Sephiroth immediately came forward and assaulted him just as strongly. Ragnar backed away, struggling to withstand the onslaught. He blocked one, deflected a second one, and swiped his head just out of the way long enough for Sephiroth to miss him and slice through a valve on the side instead. Yet he didn't celebrate his victory…for Sephiroth suddenly moved in a blur again…and after he was done, Ragnar yelled again as his lower leg suddenly began to spill out blood. He couldn't risk a look…but it hurt all the way through to the other side. Sephiroth had moved so fast that he had time to stab him right through his lower leg. It was mostly dermal…but he now had a hole flowing red fluid.
The dark man reared back and swung his blade at Ragnar's neck. By now, the youth was backed up against the metal wall he had crashed into. He had nowhere to backup, and after the last slash he was too in pain to block. Instead, he quickly ducked his head under the blow, letting Sephiroth's blade slice past him and into the pipes. Boiling hot steam, which for all Ragnar knew had mako waste, poured out in its wake. It didn't touch Ragnar, for he was moving…or rather stumbling, out of the way parallel to the wall. However, Sephiroth calmly walked through it, his green eyes still blazing maliciousness and evil, and he turned to Ragnar and renewed the assault.
Ragnar began to feel his bones stretching as he struggled to block against the ongoing blaze of attacks. Again Sephiroth lashed out, this time taking some skin off his left arm. A few clashes later, and he stabbed Ragnar's foot. The youth was covered with more and more pain, realizing that Sephiroth was playing with him. He was slashing him away bit by bit, biding his time and stretching this out as long as possible. And he kept applying his speed in bursts, so that Ragnar couldn't match it. That was…assuming he could match it even if he was moving that fast… He had to do something…break this cycle before Sephiroth bled him dry…
Through the constant new pain that was covering Ragnar's body, he somehow began to see a pattern. Sephiroth struck a chain of blows before giving a stab, and it was always in a least expected point. He couldn't block him or track him…but he could anticipate him. Realizing he had no other choice, Ragnar tried.
Sephiroth shot forward and unleashed a three stroke combination. Ragnar realized he was going to try again after this, and thought of that as he went into blocking them. Despite the pain that racked him with each blow, he kept an eye on his position and movements as he deflected them. Sephiroth came in with a stab, and then a downward slash followed by an upward one. As he did this…Ragnar assumed he would try to go for his feet after this. With that in mind, his quick-thinking brain watched as Sephiroth carried out the last stroke and acted within milliseconds…
As soon as the upward slash was blocked…Ragnar used the momentum he had from bringing down his own blade to intercept, and used his position to turn himself around and pivot on one foot. His other foot was raised…and, sure enough, the Masamune pierced the floor where it was the blink of an eye later. For the first time that fight…Sephiroth's smile faded. But Ragnar kept moving, going as fast as he could and pumping his energy into Ragnarok. The sword blazed again as Ragnar pulled his weapon off during the spin, came around, and then was extended to slice forward right through Sephiroth's neck…
The dark man, for the first time, was forced to retreat. Not because he was playing with the youth…but because he truly had to. He showed no surprise, but swerved back and just missed Ragnarok's flaming edge from touching his flesh.
As Ragnar completed the spin, he weakly stumbled out and got on his feet. Panting and sweating, smearing his own bloodstains, he weakly let Ragnarok fall to the side a moment before pulling it up and aiming it in front of him. He stared on at Sephiroth, waiting for the next move.
However…the dark man didn't renew the attack right away. He was standing calmly now with Masamune at his side…but he was also looking down at his black coat. In particular, one of the lapels that had been sticking out.
A smoldering cut was now dipped partially into it.
Sephiroth hesitated a moment, but then looked up to Ragnar. The youth was wavering a bit and still heaving, but looked just as fierce as before. The dark man stared a bit longer, but then simply cracked his neck and began to raise his blade back into ready position.
"Perhaps you're not so helpless after all." He coolly remarked. "I guess I'll have to start trying to hurt you."
A sharp rattling suddenly came from one of the sealed doors. This caused everyone in the reactor room to pause in their work and turn to the source. That pounding was relatively mild…but there was no way it had been caused by just a fist or a butt of a rifle. Whoever was on the other side was using something to try and break it down. A moment later…another rattling followed it.
Aerith swallowed at the sight of this.
"We're running out of time…"
Everyone hesitated for only a moment, and then resumed with their work. Aerith turned and looked to see how progress was coming. Most of the others were done with their work of sealing the doors. They had taken weapons and ammunition from the dead guards, and now were getting ready to fight again. However, Aerith already knew they would be no match for another division. They had to get out of here soon. With that thought in mind, she looked to the EMP Projector.
No longer was it some cart of machinery. It had been opened up and expanded. Now, it was angled on some sort of tripod to aim the lateral part of it up at the reactor. Other parts had been removed, and used to build some sort of array on top of it. It looked like a series of four rods making a point with a coiled apparatus in the center, all on a long neck aiming out for the reactor. The bulk of device looked like some sort of generator with a control panel. Right now, those who had been helping the last remaining spy finished adjusting it so that it was aimed just right at the core. The spy himself was over the controls, beginning to turn on the system and waiting for it to boot up.
Tifa was staying close to Aerith, and despite her ability to fight with her fists had elected to take up a gun anyway. She too turned her head to them after hearing the pounding. "How much longer?"
The spy worked a bit more, and then looked up to his accomplices. They finished a minor adjustment, and then looked up to him as well and nodded. After that, they quickly backed off. The spy turned his head around to Tifa at that. "About one minute."
"That may not be long enough." Vincent darkly remarked from farther away, where he was posted in front of one entrance. He had taken Colonel Seth's own pistol and the limited amount of ammunition he had on him. Knowing it wasn't enough, he also had taken a rifle and a machine gun. Without turning, he went on as another pound traveled through the chamber. "They're trying to break the door down, not simply cut it or blow it up. It's likely that they're trying to make us run through the other entrances, and as such run right into a battalion of soldiers waiting to shoot us."
"We're going out through the wall." The spy responded as he started entering the code. "Then through the same way we went in, through the maintenance areas. We're almost ready…"
The man pressed a few more buttons, and then finally pressed a large one. On doing so, some sort of whining sound peeled out from the heavy part of the projector. Moments later, some sort of machinery began to turn inside it, and a humming sound started and began to raise in volume. Aerith looked to the device, and saw that something was turning within the grating ventilation lines on the side, sparking blue within.
"Alright, it's set." The spy stated. "We can leave it running from here. Now we need to get-"
"Look out!"
Aerith turned her head to who had cried…and rested her eyes on Yuffie. The young ninja didn't stay put long, however…almost immediately throwing her shuriken. The Cetra shifted her eyes to this, and watched it as it shot across the sky and to a part on the floor. She turned and looked to see what it was aiming for before it landed.
Then she realized why she yelled. One of the New Shinra soldiers who had been hit by the grenades wasn't dead. He was seriously injured, but he had regained consciousness. He had been moving slowly while they were guarding the area, and had grabbed something from his side. Moments before Yuffie's shuriken hit him and rendered him motionless for good…he threw the object right at the remaining spy and the EMP Projector.
Aerith's head snapped around again, as she saw a small black object cut an arch through the air, and then touch down right in front of the projector and the spy. As it landed, the spy turned and saw it…and both realized at once that it was a grenade.
The spy's eyes enlarged. He did not turn and run. Instead, he spread out his arms and legs, and moved to leap on top of the explosive…
But it was too late.
Moments later, the man's body was thrown off from the grenade, as his spread out arms and legs caught the brunt of the explosion, allowing him to be thrown away. The blast shook the EMP Projector violently, throwing it forward and smashing its projector component into the ground. A loud eruption of fire echoed through the chamber, causing others to instinctively recoil and shield themselves. Aerith herself was looking at him when this happened, and the noise and flash that resulted caused her to pull back and cover her head.
As the eruption died down, however…she began to sense something even before she could see it, feeling the change before anyone else knew what had happened. Slowly, she pulled her arms down and away from her head, and looked back to the area where the grenade had gone off. The others in the room began to do so as well, ignoring the pounding at the door and turning their full attention to what had happened.
The EMP Projector had spilled forward. The projection portion was intact…but the back of it was now blown open from the eruption, and a few of its insides were twisted and burned. The engine humming had stopped, and it was still. Lying on his back near it, still spread out as he had been a moment ago, was the spy. His body was partially smoking, and Aerith cupped a hand to her mouth as she saw fragments from the grenade embedded in his flesh in several areas, including the neck and torso. These were beginning to leak blood now. His mouth was shut, but his eyes were open and staring blankly at the ceiling, unmoving. He made no signs of life whatsoever.
The shuriken returned to Yuffie's hand a split second later, and on getting it she immediately broke and ran for the man's side. The others were still stunned at what had happened…and were staring at the damage that had been done. What had just happened slowly began to dawn on them as Yuffie reached the spy and bent down next to him. She reached out to feel his vitals…
At this, Aerith pulled her hand away from her mouth, and gave a slow head shake. "Don't bother, Yuffie…" She sadly responded. "I just heard his spirit reenter the Lifestream."
Yuffie dropped her arms in the middle of what she was about to do, and let out a long sigh. She looked down on the man's body, and slowly shook her head. "Poor dummy…" She said aloud as she looked over him. "He had time to turn and get clear…but he was trying to jump on the grenade. No one was near him. So why did he do something stupid like that?"
"…Because he was trying to prevent what just happened…the destruction of the EMP Projector."
The others in the room turned to who had spoken at this, and found themselves looking to Vincent. He pointed right back to the blast zone and the projector, directing their attention back. It was sparking a bit now, but overall was lying down wrecked. And at that…Aerith and the others began to realize the truth, something worse than simply the spy dying. Their machine was ruined. Even if any of them knew how to fix it, they hadn't the time or tools. And they never fired the EMP pulse. As a result…the reactor wouldn't stop. The defense grid was going to stay active throughout the entire battle. With this act, they realized the full magnitude of what had just happened.
Their mission had failed.
Those present stared dumbly for a few moments in silence, not sure what to do next, or where to go from there. However, the silence was very brief, and was soon interrupted with more pounding from the door. Aerith stared on for a moment, still thinking about what was done, but then turned and looked back to the door herself. She didn't like what she saw. Whatever they were using to pound into it wasn't man powered. It had to be some sort of ramming machine…because the door was beginning to bend and poke from what had to be a steel cap.
Barret finally broke the silence from within. He stared at the still sizzling sight, and then finally cursed and kicked the ground. "Son of a bitch! After all we did ta' get this far…!"
Vincent, however, was far more constructive. The others were still quiet and looking down when he straightened up and turned away from the EMP Projector and the dead spy. "…This mission is over." He flatly and coldly announced. "Now it's time to get out of here and get to the Gelinka before 0700."
Aerith turned up and looked to him. Her friends soon did the same. However, the ones who looked the most surprised were those from Wutai, when they turned and looked to the man. They were hesitant, and seemed confused. "But…we haven't finished the mission." One of them finally announced. "We have to complete it before-"
"The mission has failed, and half of us are now dead or missing." Vincent cut off. "There's nothing left for us to do. The EMP Projector is destroyed. Our only alternative now would be to destroy the reactor itself, which we cannot do, and even if we could it would destroy us as well. The only thing left that we can do is save ourselves."
"What about Ragnar and Cloud?" Aerith called back. "We can't just leave them!"
"We do or we die as well." Vincent simply responded. "Every second that goes by makes our chance of surviving long enough to escape narrow."
Aerith wanted to protest to this…but she realized that Vincent was right. Not only her, but the others in the room, including the Wutai soldiers. There was nothing left now. The mission was over. Staying wasn't going to help anything, but it might get them killed. And as for Cloud and Ragnar…there was no way they could hold this position for them. If they tried, they'd be overrun. They didn't even know where they were now, or what had become of them. They did have the time, however, and it said when it was time to head for the Gelinka. Hopefully, that was what they would be doing. In a few minutes, they wouldn't be able to get out at all. And even if they could, they'd miss their flight. If they didn't run before the New Shinra could follow them, then they'd stop the flight before they could even get there.
And yet…the Cetra remembered what Cloud had said before he jumped after Ragnar…
The woman finally shook her head. "We can't leave."
"The matter is no longer up for debate." Vincent answered, turning back to the wall and beginning to walk toward it. "Staying is only going to get you killed, nothing more. We need to get out of this room and on our way."
Aerith frowned. She was going to protest, but she honestly didn't know what she was going to say. She turned and looked to Tifa for support. The woman was anxious in appearance, for she too had heard what Cloud had said before jumping down. But she didn't know what to say either. Vincent was right, after all. Trying to hold here was suicide, and would be ultimately useless. They'd only die as well. But Cloud had said to wait…
"The spies were the only ones who knew the route we have to take to get out." One of the Wutai soldiers protested, breaking off Aerith's train of thought. "Now that the last of them is gone…"
"That was precisely why I looked over the briefing myself." Vincent answered without turning, still walking to the wall.
One of the other soldiers raised their eyebrows at this. "That was classified information!" He retorted. "You could be executed for that!"
"We would all be executed if I didn't." Vincent answered, somewhat harshly. He finally come to a stop at this point, and gestured in front of him. "Here is our exit."
Aerith and the others in the room turned and looked to what Vincent had halted in front of. Most of the room looked like a great shielded dome in and of itself, intersperced with conduits and pipes and the like. Where Vincent was standing right now was in front of a large combination of cables and transformers. It was obviously some sort of electrical relay. It appeared to actually be built into the shielding of the wall rather than on top of it like the rest. It stretched a good ten feet high and ten feet wide. It also had black and yellow bands tied around many of its cables, and numerous warnings about being extremely high voltage.
"We go through here." Vincent answered.
The others turned and looked and saw the numerous warnings on it. It made them all a bit uncomfortable.
"How?" Tifa finally asked. "We can't get through there unless the power is cut."
"It would have been." Vincent responded. "If the EMP Projector had worked."
Yuffie frowned and scowled. "Well a lot of good that does us!" She outburst. "What will we do now?"
"We will do nothing." Vincent answered. "I will get through this. The rest of you will get into the pipe and don't so much as peek over the top of it if you want to live. Now go. We haven't got much time."
On hearing this…Aerith immediately understood what Vincent was going to do. She didn't react, however. Part of it was that she was still holding on for Cloud and Ragnar. Another part, however, was what this would mean. They'd be separated from Vincent now… At any rate, the Wutai soldiers didn't understand this, or what Vincent was planning. But without their spies, they were at a loss as to what to do. The dark man was taking charge and knew more than them, and so they obliged in the end. They turned and began to run back to the pipe to do as he said. Yuffie, also getting this, swallowed in a bit of fear, and then turned to go to the pipe as well. Barret held a moment, but then frowned and turned back to run to the pipe. After all, he hadn't been able to bring his heavier explosives on this mission, so he could do little. That left Tifa and Aerith behind.
Tifa was hesitant, but also knew that Vincent wasn't going to renege at this point. So she turned to Aerith and moved to her, looking to pull her back. However…the Cetra was still pausing. This was just one out of a recent chain of more selfless acts from the ex-Turk. And now, he was grimly standing ready to perform yet another one, not turning around and staring coldly at the wall of electric cables.
As the others went into the pipe and began to hunker down, those three were still out standing, with Aerith looking over to Vincent. The room went silent, save for the pounding…which was nearly making its first tears in the metal door. Though he had his back to them, Vincent called behind him.
"…Get in the pipe."
"Cloud told us to wait for him." Tifa protested. "He said he'd bring back Ragnar."
"Then he'll bring him back to the plane." Vincent simply answered. "If either of them are smart, they won't come back here."
"Wait."
Vincent turned his head slightly behind him at that. His red eye glared behind him, and settled on Aerith. The Cetra was hesitant, but finally took a step toward him.
"Why are you doing this?" She finally asked. "You volunteered for this mission…you took the bullet at the outpost…you're breaking us out of here now…knowing you'll get separated from us. Why do you suddenly want to help us so much, Vincent?"
The dark man glared back at her expressionlessly. For a few fateful seconds, there was nothing but silence. Then…he finally gave a quiet answer.
"…If and when we meet up again…I'll tell you."
The woman blinked at this, and still looked confused. "Vincent…"
However, she was cut off again. At that moment…a new, much louder sound began to occur in the chamber. Both Tifa and Aerith turned their heads to the source, and found that it was one of the other doors. A burning tongue of focused fire had suddenly projected from it. And now, as it hissed and burned, it slowly began to move in a straight line. Seeing this, the women realized what it was. The soldiers on the other side were getting impatient for them to make their move. They were breaking in…cutting their way through the doors… Their time had just shrunk considerably.
At this, Vincent turned his head forward again.
"Get in the pipe now."
Aerith turned back to him. She was going to say more, but this time she did not. Although Tifa didn't want to leave Cloud either, what Vincent said made sense. And Cloud and Ragnar could take care of themselves. What more, they couldn't wait any longer. And so, she reached forward and grabbed Aerith's arm, and then began to drag her back. The Cetra resisted for a moment, letting Tifa practically drag her, but then finally turned to her and gave in. She turned her body around and looked over her shoulder a few times, then turned forward and followed Tifa as she led her away and back to the trench. Soon she was there, and practically being thrown in by the other woman. Tifa jumped in as well, and both of them ducked and hid.
Vincent waited right until this point, but then waited no longer. He knew this would hurt, and he wasn't sure whether or not the others would be safe even when hiding. He only had to hope that his rage would be more concerned with destroying the source of his pain. With that in mind, he inhaled deeply, raised his metal talons…and then plunged them into one of the high voltage cables.
Moments later, as Vincent's closer associates ducked and put their hands on their heads, prompting the Wutai soldiers to do the same, although with some confusion, the dark man arched sharply back and, despite his power and stoicism…screamed in agony. The sound of electricity snapping from the cables was drowned out as his voice echoed throughout the chamber. If they would have seen him, they would have watched as the ex-Turk's body went rigid, every muscle in his body tightening as electricity streamed from every metal portion on his body. For a few fateful seconds, those in the tube cringed as they heard the terrible agony come from the man. The Wutai soldiers, stunned and shocked at what they knew had to be happening, trying to look up to see what madness had driven the man to do this. However…they were seized by the PPA members nearby and dragged back down, for they dared not look.
The electric current began to roast Vincent's flesh. Smoke started to come from him as he screamed, and the smell of burning went into the air. However, the man was still alive. Still capable of feeling the pain…and responding to it with the full measure of his anger and rage. And when it did…special chemicals were set off in his brain. Hormones were released into his blood that quickly traveled through his cerebrum and then the rest of his system.
Vincent's burning muscles began to enlarge and swell. His pink outer layer of skin was shed for a rougher, darker layer underneath. His face and head began to twist and deform, as the back of his tunic was ripped out to let two fleshy lengths unfurl. His boots bulged and began to rip as talons poked out from his feet. His red eyes turned completely blood red. The metal sections of his replacement arm burst out as a new black limb began to grow in its place, throwing the metal aside and expanding until the new limb itself, tipped with thick black claws, was sticking in the cable. As his teeth sharpened, his yell began to grow more animalistic…and finally inhuman…
As long as Vincent's consciousness remained, the man forced his talons to stay in the cable. But now…his mentality faded and was completely superceded by a primal, vicious, and savage beast consciousness.
The monster known as Chaos immediately ripped its arm out, recoiling the limb and looking to it, wondering how that horrible burning feeling had come just from sticking its limb in something. It looked up and to the wall that it had come from. It saw a sparking cable right now, flinging about a bit from the electricity coursing through it. It had been broken by the jab, and now the electricity ran free.
The primary instinct Chaos ran on was to kill any and all life it saw. However…that instinct was superseded when something actually drove it into pain. It recognized that this had hurt it…and immediately its red eyes blazed. A breath so hot it made the air ripple poured from its mouth, and its teeth grit in rage. Madly, it thrashed its tail, unfurled its wings, and then roared as it dove into the cables.
The thing was soon crying in agony, but also in bloody rage. It thrashed about madly as it went into the cables, being electrocuted all over and driven into horrible pain…but all of which only served to fuel its anger. Its talons flashed on both its arms and legs, and it ripped out every cable and sliced through every wire that it came across. It continued to throw itself deeper and deeper into the mess as it thrashed on, but the more it was electrocuted the angrier it became. It slashed harder and more frantically as it gained more pain, and began to actually spit out its deadly balls of flame around it, melting more cables and tearing up more in its wake. It wrapped cables around itself and then ripped them all out at once, all the time roaring like the demon it was.
Within less than half a minute it was over. Chaos stopped thrashing, and then stood its ground. Smoldering all over, and stinking of rotten eggs, it snarled and looked about it. It had turned the power cables into shredded metal. It now stood on a pile of roughly torn, slashed, and bit pieces of cable. The sparking around it had been ceased by it using its hot breath to melt the area. A large hole was now punched through the side of the reactor, and exposed the dark, machinery-filled interior.
Chaos snorted, but then breathed a bit heavy. Mighty as it was, it wasn't invincible, and much of its body was still throbbing and/or numb from its excursion. What more, now that the electricity was gone, it could clearly hear pounding and burning from within. It snapped its head around to the source, and saw that something was banging through one of the closed doorways. Another thing was cutting through another doorway.
The beast hissed. It was in pain, and not in its best shape. Although its instincts told it to kill whoever was doing this…it had a feeling it was in danger. It didn't know how it had gotten in this room with the cables, but it gave it the impression it had been imprisoned in here somehow. Something had to have done it…and given it this painful electric shock. It wanted revenge, but it was in too much pain…and angry as it was it didn't want to get fried again. It looked back out to the maintainence corridor. It saw how dark it was in there…how twisted and maze-like the interior was. It realized that if it went there, it would have plenty of places to hide and recover. And in the dark, it could strike its prey better.
With that in mind, Chaos unfurled its wings, gave a cry, and then launched itself into the air. Without another moment's hesitation, it shot forward and flew through the opening and into the dark interior. Moments later, it not only disappeared…but its cry turned faint and then vanished into the depths of the Dome.
A few seconds later…and those in the pipe finally risked looking up and over the edge. The Wutai soldiers were now fully alarmed. What had just happened had been remarkably similar to the effect a child gets when they watch a scary movie, and then hide their heads and cover their eyes. They had heard some sort of horrible inhuman voice…and it sounded like it had come from Vincent. And now, on looking up and over, they saw that he was gone. All that was left was a gaping hole in the side of the reactor room, leading into the black interior of the New Shinra HQ Dome.
However, Aerith only looked to this for a moment…just long enough to pray that Vincent would be alright. After that, she looked to the other doors. The one being rammed was beginning to show light from the other side. As for the one being cut…it was already halfway done. A moment later, and another tongue of fire went out. This time from the third entrance. The enemy was pouring in fully now. If they were going to leave…it had to be now.
The woman swallowed at this. She felt this was betrayal…but she also knew Vincent was telling the truth. They had no choice.
As quickly as she could, she pulled herself up and over the edge of the pipe, and then began to run as fast as possible to the opening in the reactor room.
To be continued...
