By a Fraction of a Degree
A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129
Rated T for Violence and Language.
I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.
Part III: Demons
Chapter 56, More Secrets from Shinra Mansion
June 16th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008
Kunsel and Denzel had just reached the top of the stairs when the SOLDIER saw that the boy was getting tired. "Why don't we rest a bit before we go on," he suggested.
Denzel sat down on the last step below the ladder that would take them up into the Sector 4 Plate, and leaned against one of the support beams that kept the stairs stable. There was an awkward silence for a moment and Kunsel reached into his pack, unearthing some rations he generally kept with him. "Are you hungry?" he asked.
The boy looked over and saw that he was offering him an energy bar. He nodded after a moment and accepted the food, pulling the wrapper open and eating hungrily. He winced a little after a moment. Apparently leaning forward had hurt him. That was when Kunsel noticed the bandages. He should have known, he guessed. Perhaps it was because of all the reactors in the immediate vicinity, but somehow Midgar had become the epicenter of the Geostigma epidemic.
He was about to ask if the kid was all right to continue when he heard a question. "That SOLDIER, the one who saved me, his name is Cloud, right?"
"Yeah," Kunsel answered.
Denzel smiled. "He was really awesome on the bridge."
The SOLDIER sighed. "That was really dangerous though."
The kid thought about it for a bit before nodding. "When we went over the side, I didn't know if we would make it. But then he made that force field and…" he suddenly went quiet again, thinking. "Can all SOLDIERs do that?"
"Some can, if they have the right materia," Kunsel said. He looked up at the ladder. "We should probably get going."
Denzel had finished with the energy bar by now and he nodded again, this time in agreement.
"Do you think you can climb up or do you need help?"
Denzel considered the ladder and the look of discomfort was evident. Seeing this, Kunsel draped the boy over his shoulder. "Hang on tight, okay?" he said.
This the boy did, and Kunsel climbed up the ladder before throwing back the trap door. They hurried along in silence, even though in his own mind, Kunsel found himself thinking about Luxiere. Just what had happened to him? From the sound of what Shears had told him, it seemed almost as though someone had actually gone into his mind. Kunsel had heard of normal brainwashing techniques before, but to totally eradicate one's previous memories, replace them with new ones and give a person a new identity. It was a frightening prospect.
What sort of hell had he climbed out of, that its denizens would do things like this? He sincerely hoped that Zack and the others would find some answers in Nibelheim because they were answers that he desperately needed. He continued to ponder the question in his own thoughts, even as they snuck through Midgar's backstreets.
After a while, they drew near the street where he'd first seen Denzel playing with the model airplane and the boy pointed to a nearby door on the other side of the road. "That's my house," he said.
"All right," Kunsel answered. "I'll be watching until you get inside. Next time, stay out of trouble."
Denzel once again answered with a nod and then walked out of the alley and up to the door of his house. He was greeted by a woman who was probably his mother, and before the door shut, Kunsel heard her demand angrily "Where have you been?! We've been worried sick!..."
Deciding it wouldn't do to stay so near the scene of their escapades from earlier this morning, Kunsel turned and made his way back towards the safe house, making doubly sure that no one was following him. Especially not any curious children.
June 17th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008
Elena was riding in an elevator deep below the Shinra building. By now, she was well below the plate level, ground level, the sewers of Midgar, even the fifth level basement, which was the furthest below she'd ever gone before. Tseng was feeding her the instructions through her PHS as Heidegger was providing them. SOLDIER 1st Class Bradley, and SOLDIER 1st Class Herche, the two top ranking SOLDIERs in the entire unit were behind her on the elevator along with a few Troopers.
Her ears popped uncomfortably as the elevator ground to a halt, and the sight that met her eyes was staggering. They were standing on a bridge to another support tower that also descended into the gloom below them and out of sight. This was already outside of the blueprints and judging by the depth of the gap below them, there was still a long way to go. How had such a thing not been noticed? Had it all been built under here by the denizens themselves?. "All right sir, we've reached the lowest that last elevator will go. We're seeing a bridge across a huge gap leading to a door. Proceed?"
"Affirmative. If the information from Heidegger and Scarlet is correct, then once you've passed through the door you should come to a large elevator. Proceed with caution. According to them, the President's entrance is down that shaft, however, due to the fact they've refused Scarlet and Heidegger's communications since the incident they reported to us, it's hard to say what sort of reception you'll receive."
"Roger that. We're beginning our approach." Holding her gun in her hand, the Turk nervously walked along the catwalk with the two SOLDIERs flanking her. Upon reaching the end, she typed the code Heidegger had given them into the keypad and after the door whooshed open, they found themselves on the large platform Tseng indicated. This was above and beyond all doubt an elevator shaft, even though the elevator cables were supported by a single central beam poking up through the center of the floor. A control panel stood nearby. "Elevator shaft confirmed, preparing to descend," she said into the PHS.
She moved to the panel while the troopers boarded and was about to hit the switch to descend when suddenly one of the other troopers spoke up. "Ma'am? We've got a heat source approaching us from above." The Turk looked up at where the trooper was pointing. There was definitely something flying around up there.
She listened intently. If she didn't know any better she could have sworn it sounded like small helicopter blades. A second passed, and then another and she went for her PHS. "Sir, we may be about to make contact with something flying around in the shaft. We're not sure what it is but…"
That was when the object fired a spray of bullets at the squad on the platform, and Elena returned fire along with everyone else…
Vincent stood on the bridge early that morning as Cid stood at the wheel of the Highwind behind him. The Corel mountains were flying by underneath them as they were drawing closer to the point where they blended with the Nibel Mountain range. It wouldn't be long now before they returned to Shinra Mansion. The place where Lucrecia had conceived Sephiroth with Hojo. The place where he had allowed the most dangerous being in the world to come into existence at the expense of the one he respected most. The place that lay at the heart of his sins…
…It had been over thirty years ago. Vincent stood in the music room of the Shinra mansion, by a small coffee table. Across from him was an attractive woman about his age in a lab coat, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. He spoke smoothly and professionally as he made his introduction. "Vincent Valentine reporting for duty ma'am. I've been assigned to you as protection."
The woman seemed taken aback for a moment and he heard her mutter something that sounded disturbingly like "No…"
"Hmm?" He gave her a questioning look.
She pulled away from him, deep in thought. "Why would they… send his…"
"Excuse me?" He asked the previously unspoken enquiry a little more directly now.
The woman seemed to have finally remembered he was there, because she looked up at him at that moment. "Oh… I apologize. This is… the first time I have ever met anyone from the Turks." She smiled and held out her hand to him to shake. "Lucrecia Crescent. Pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. Valentine…"
"Morning Vincent," he looked up and noticed that Zack was standing next to him. He must have just gotten up. They had been flying through the night and it was still early morning.
"Good morning," he answered.
The dark-haired SOLDIER was standing next to him looking grimly out over the mountains. "So, are we getting close?" he asked.
"It should be another hour or so," Cid reported.
Zack nodded. "I see," he said at last. He let out a sigh. "To tell the truth, it's not something I'm really looking forward to, but… well, like last time, it's something we have to do I guess."
Vincent grunted in agreement and the two of them stood there in silence for a little before Zack tried to break the silence again. "I told this to Cloud the last time, but I think I should probably tell you now, you don't have to face this alone. You never said anything to us before, but we know something happened to you down there and it had to do with Hojo. So we're in this together, all right?"
Vincent looked away. It seemed Zack's naturally protective tendencies were being extended to him as well. "Your concern is not unappreciated, though I do not think it necessary."
"You're part of GUARDIAN. It's going to happen anyway," Zack said.
Vincent chuckled softly. "Well then, I suppose we're all about to get another glimpse of hell."
"I think we got a bit of that back in Midgar too, come to think of it," Zack muttered. He turned his attention to Cid. "Has there been any word from the Renegades about what they found in the other reactors?"
"Yeah," Cid answered. "We got the contact a couple of hours ago. There's elevator shafts in all eight of them. They were real hard to spot, especially with Shinra investigating too, but it seems like Rufus is gearing up for something big. Reeve's even got a Cait Sith lookin' into it, though it seems the cat hasn't infiltrated deep enough to get any real good dirt yet." He pulled a cigarette out and stuck it in his mouth before reaching for a lighter.
"Really tense situation out there, isn't it," Zack observed.
"No shit," Cid agreed. "It's like we're sittin' on a land mine and waitin' for it to blow."
It was at that moment when Vincent looked behind him and realized that Cloud had appeared at the entrance to the bridge along with Aerith and Yuffie.
"Oh yeah," Cid offered as he nodded to the others. "Got a little more news. It seems Veld had Mao and Tanjuu doing a little pokin' around here for somethin' so they'll be waitin' when we get to the mansion."
"Always good to have help," Zack said. He had not taken his eyes off the Nibel Mountains since they'd appeared a few minutes ago under the sunrise.
Rufus stood in the President's Office atop the Shinra Building, looking at a series of statistics and bulletins on a large projector with Tseng. It had been about an hour since Elena had returned, the forces with her repelled by the machines that had been left to guard the way in. A contingent of troops now waited at each elevator shaft in the reactors as well as just above the president's entrance. He reached for his PHS. "Reno, what's your status?"
There were sounds of someone walking on the other end and then Reno answered "We just finished our survey of the area. It seems clear."
"I see," Tseng said. He turned to Rufus. "Sir?"
Rufus looked at the projector as he spoke. "Tell Reno to back out for the moment. The investigation and containment operation will commence immediately."
Veld stood on the viewing platform of a skyscraper in the business district near Mako Reactor 6, looking down at the activity below through a pair of binoculars. He wasn't the only one. A number of sightseers on the building were watching the goings on with interest. All the better. It made it easier for him to blend in. They had been investigating the various reactors in plainclothes through most of the day and now, he could see that the squad of soldiers both normal and enhanced, were beginning to move. A small explosion caught his attention just as his PHS went off. It was Lou.
"Sir, it looks like they're blowing open the shaft at Reactor 3."
"Yes, they're doing the same here at 6." His PHS beeped and he confirmed that he had three more missed calls. One from Shears, one from Elfe, and one from Rod. Knowing that each of them had gone to investigate one of the other reactors, he had a feeling he already knew why. "Stand by for further orders. We'll wait and see if Rufus has things in hand for now."
The Highwind flew into position near the entrance to Nibelheim. No one was here. All of Shinra's employees had fled when it was clear that Rocket Town was lost. It was uncertain where they had gone, but now, all the rebuilt houses stood vacant, the mako reactor lay dormant in the mountains, and all that remained of Cloud and Tifa's childhood home were the memories of an attempt by Shinra to cover up their misdeeds. It was a town of ghosts in more ways than one.
As they reached the main gate, he saw Mao and Tanjuu waiting for them and Zack hurried forward to greet them. "Glad to see you guys. So how have things been going?"
The two at-large renegades nodded and Mao gestured that they follow him. "We only got here just recently ourselves, but I think the staircases are mostly stable." They began making their way across the deserted cobblestone path to the hill that led to the mansion.
"That's good," Zack said. "Though obviously we're most interested in the stuff below ground."
Tanjuu nodded. "It seems to be mostly functional. We got the lights running on a generator we discovered behind the mansion. Hopefully, that should keep us able to see while we're here."
"Have you seen anything relevant to our search?" Vincent asked.
They had passed the well and the hill was beginning to slope upwards now. "None that I've been able to tell," Mao answered. "Though we've only just started so that's probably not surprising."
They continued the climb up the hill and through the wrought iron gates until at last, Mao threw open the door and everyone was able to take a look inside. It did indeed seem as though without anyone to maintain the building, the mansion was finally beginning to fall apart a little. A few of the floorboards had been pushed up by vines beginning to peak out from under them and while it was hardly a jungle in here, Vincent found himself thinking that if left to its own devices, the place probably would start falling apart sooner or later.
Cloud finally spoke, moving towards the stairs with his hand on his sword. "The sooner we finish here the sooner we can leave."
"I won't argue with that," Zack agreed.
"It doesn't seem so bad," Cid said, falling in step behind the two swordsmen. "A little old, maybe."
"You weren't with us last time," Aerith pointed out. She turned to Zack with a serious look. "Zack, you and Cloud don't have to go down if you don't want to."
"I'll be fine this time," he assured her. Aerith decided not to argue the point further, and so the party cautiously made its way up the stairs and towards the bedroom leading to the secret door. It wasn't long before they reached it, and Zack pulled it open without ceremony, looking down into the darkness with no small amount of apprehension. "Careful guys. There's no telling if the Sahagin population hasn't done some growing while we were gone."
"I'll just stay up here," Yuffie said at last. "Slimey Sahagins and dusty old books aren't any fun at all."
"All right," Cloud said. "You can keep watch then."
"As if anything's gonna show up." Yuffie sat down in a chair by the door, folding her arms impatiently. Mao produced a flashlight and the seven of them began to descend into the dark. It was not long before they were traveling through the old stone tunnels and shortly afterward, they came to the intersection that led to the crypt where Vincent's coffin had been on the left, and the lab up ahead.
They had almost reached the door to main lab when he heard Zack say "So, I guess the first thing we should check out would be the library, huh?"
"That makes the most sense," Mao agreed, reaching for the door. "Although, we shouldn't forget the second lab through the crypt to the right."
"That was Lucrecia's," Vincent said. Everyone looked back at him, apparently not having expected him to say anything.
"Who?" Cid turned look at him.
"You mean Sephiroth's mom?" Zack asked.
Vincent nodded in the affirmative. "She was conducting research of her own down here."
"How about we split up then?" Cid said, fiddling absentmindedly with a cigarette from the band of his aviator goggles. "Might be able to cover more ground that way."
"Not a bad idea," Tanjuu agreed. "So who goes where?"
They spent a little time dividing themselves up and soon Cloud, Cid, and the two Turks went into the lab to investigate the library, leaving Zack, Aerith and Vincent in the darkened cave. Deciding he didn't care to make conversation, Vincent walked to the crypt on the right side of the cavern and through it without hesitation, pulling on the chain that drew back the secret door and leading the way down what he now saw to be a line of cells. Privately, he was disconcerted by this. These cells had not been here the last time he remembered walking this corridor. Had they been built during the years he'd been asleep? It was possible. He had been down here thirty years after all.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Aerith speak behind him. "Zack?" He turned and noticed the swordsman was clearly making a conscious effort not to look at the cells.
"Don't worry about me, Aerith. I'm not gonna flip out like last time. I'm fine. I just hope Cloud's doing okay…" Zack said, trying to be reassuring. Aerith nodded and simply held his hand as the two of them continued towards Lucrecia's library.
Vincent turned away from the couple and continued onward. Zack didn't gawk at him while he faced his own demons. It was only right that he return the favor.
It was not long after that he strode into the library. He had a few memories of this place. Most of the time prior to his 'death', he had spent in the upper levels but there had been points where he'd run items down to the scientists here while they were working. Now, it was all empty, save for Lucrecia's books. To his left lay a doorway that appeared to lead to another lab. Red eyes glanced over the bookshelves until he noticed something sitting on a table nearby. It was a small data recorder with a crystal housed in it.
He heard Zack and Aerith walk in after him as he approached the table and reached for the recording device. It wasn't a common model. Probably one of Shinra's inventions that had never been released to the public for fear of losing control of the tech. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to examine it. Perhaps it was curiosity as to what reason Lucrecia would have had to keep such a thing, but all thought of the whys and wherefores was wiped from his mind when after picking up the small globe, it suddenly lit up. When his eyes adjusted, he opened his mouth in surprise.
"Lucrecia…" he murmured softly. He noticed Zack had stopped his searching at the shelves, as had Aerith, both their attentions drawn to the person now standing in front of the door they were facing.
"Vincent… Right…?" The woman spoke. "Have you come… to check up on me…?" She smiled sadly as she spoke, and then walked forward across the room. His suspicions were confirmed when she passed through him like a ghost through a wall. That was all she was. A hologram. A recording from a time long since passed. She seemed uncertain as to the best way to continue, but upon completing her walk across the room she continued. "Omega. His awakening is upon us."
She spoke the words as though reciting a passage from a book. "Soul wrought of terror corrupt, quelling impurity purging the stream, to beckon forth an ultimate fate. Behold. Mighty Chaos. Omega's squire to the lofty heavens… I came across this passage while studying the scriptures of the Ancients. The chronicles of yore. Omega. The end. Just as all other sentient beings, he too was born of the lifestream. However, his only purpose is to cleanse the planet of all things living and lead their immortal souls through the abyss of ether to a new beginning, far, far beyond the never-ending sea of stars. Just as life circulates through our planet, so too does our planet through the universe, or at least in theory. However, what I can be certain of is, if Omega awakens, then all life as we know it will end. And when omega has embarked on his journey to the cosmos, our planet will wither, and die."
Lucrecia's image turned to face him. "I will leave a copy of my records here for you Vincent. Though I… I cannot imagine what help they might be, if any at all… Just remember…" Her voice broke as she tried to stop herself from sobbing and she looked down at her feet. "I am so sorry…" As the woman's image disappeared from view, the crystal dissolved in Vincent's hand. Ignoring everyone else for a moment, he walked back to the desk, spotting a red computer disk next to the recorder, and picked it up.
"What was that all about?" Zack asked coming up behind him. "I don't mean to pry, but it sounded serious."
"I am not certain, though her mention of Chaos is troubling," the man admitted.
"Why's that?" Zack asked.
Vincent placed the disk in his pocket. "Chaos is the name of one of the beings within me."
Aerith had been listening with rapt attention up until this point but now she approached the two men from the other side of the desk. "So that's what the Planet was saying when we found you."
Zack looked confused and Vincent raised an eyebrow as the flower girl went on. "I couldn't make much of it, because it was saying so many other things at the time, but it did say something about Chaos being awake in you. I didn't know what that meant at the time. It didn't seem terribly worried though." She frowned. "I haven't done much reading of the Cetra texts, but I think I have heard the Planet talk about Omega on occasion, usually like it's not supposed to do anything for a really long time."
"That's a relief," Zack said. "Maybe it's just a misunderstanding?"
"We can hope," Vincent said, beginning to walk to one of the shelves and look through its contents. "But even so, we should find out what's on this disk as soon as possible."
Seeing that as their cue to get busy, Zack and Aerith resumed searching the bookshelves for anything relevant to an army of top secret super-soldiers.
Cloud was looking through a small pile of books that he remembered Freya had left on the desk while Cid and the two renegades were digging through the shelves when he happened across a series of reports that had been discarded from the main pile for some reason. Leaning in and lifting up the papers, he was about to start reading when he heard Cid cough dramatically behind him. Turning to see what the matter was, he noticed that the pilot seemed to have been covered in a cloud of dust, and it was beginning to settle around him. The source was revealed to be a stack of old anatomy books he'd pulled from the top shelf. The pilot was uttering a few curses as he attempted to put the books back on the shelf, having identified them properly.
"Doesn't look like there's anything here," he said.
"Whatever you do, don't use a lighter," Mao suggested. "With all that dust you'll light up like a candle."
"No shit, genius, you think I don't know that?" Cid returned, grumpily pulling out what appeared to be a pamphlet on lab protocols for Hojo's assistants as he dusted himself off. "Rule #1, always make sure hands are washed and tools are clean and sterilized. Outside agents can compromise experiments… This doesn't look helpful…" He tossed the pamphlet to the side and Cloud turned his attention back to the report in his hands. He had been reading for several minutes when something caught his eye. It was a list of SOLDIER Deployment records. Sephiroth's first military deployment was among the first, along with Genesis, Angeal, and several others whose names he didn't know, though most of them weren't of note. However, a few entries caught his attention.
"07/13/1977
President has requested the 14th SOLDIER Division moved to Midgar from Junon. 1st Class Gabriel to assume command of unit."
"Has anyone ever heard of the 14th SOLDIER Division?" He asked.
"The what?" Tanjuu asked.
"The 14th SOLDIER Division," Cloud repeated.
Mao frowned and took a look at the report over his shoulder. "I think there used to be, but it's listed as disbanded following... 1978…" His voice trailed off as he continued to read over the swordsman's shoulder and Cloud continued to scan the document.
11/02/1985
Contact from Hollander's sycophantic lackey Solomon. Uprisings have broken out. SOLDIER Unit established as permanent force. Word has it they have taken to the role, calling themselves the Lost Force. It is good someone's down there to keep order. Especially when the President still seems determined to use Hollander's failure as a source of future experiments.
"The Lost Force…" Mao muttered. "This must have been that report Kunsel was talking about when we were here last time. I didn't know what he was talking about when he mentioned it but with the events in Midgar, it suddenly makes a lot more sense."
"You don't think those people in the reactor were with the Lost Force, do you?" Cid asked, also coming over to take a look.
"From the pictures you sent, I'm not sure. The one thing I do know is that they definitely look like the guy that took the Professor," Mao reached for a cleaning cloth in his pocket and took a moment to clean his glasses before reading a few other entries aloud.
"04/08/1992.
1st Class Gabriel was slain on the Wutai Battlefield while gathering the wounded. 1st Class Keter to take command.
10/01/0000
1st Class Hester was slain on the Wutai Battlefield. 1st Class Coach was authorized to bring assailant to Nibelheim.
10/15/0000
Those bottom-dwellers stole my work! Subject A removed from Nibelheim by Tsviets on Solomon's orders. He will pay for this!"
"The professor was a piece of work wasn't he?" Cid commented.
"You can say that again," Cloud muttered, taking a moment to massage his temple. He suddenly found himself thinking back to that moment the last time they'd been down here, when he'd remembered being strapped to that table in the other room. After a moment he stood. "I think… I need some air," he said. With that, he walked back out into the cave and towards the stone spiral staircase leading back up to the main part of the house.
In the depths of the elevator shaft, hundreds of feet below Mako Reactor 5, a squad of SOLDIERs was rappelling down into the dark. A 3rd Class SOLDIER listened to the sound of his fellow squad members breathing into their mics. What would they find down there?
The dark was only lit by the dim glow of SOLDIER eyes as the squad continued deeper and deeper, the ropes lowering them further and further away from the light. At last, he felt solid ground under his feet.
"We've hit the bottom," their squad leader said to the team above them through his communicator. "Disengage ropes."
The SOLDIER did as ordered, reached for his sword in the process, and stood at the ready until the whole squad was set. A cursory look around the bottom of the shaft put them at the entrance to a tunnel that seemed to lead somewhere. If only he could see where.
His superior officer looked in his direction. "Scout the terrain, we'll be right behind you."
He nodded and walked a short ways into the dark. It was quiet as a tomb down here. He could hear his own breathing and even the slight suction of his boots squishing into moist clay. Swallowing hard, he gripped his sword in his hand and continued a little further.
That was when he looked ahead and off in the distance, he caught sight of an eerie blue glow before being mowed down in a hail of bullets.
Not long after that, a powerful force overran the SOLDIER squad like a wave, climbing up the shaft as though running across horizontal ground. The crew at the top of the shaft only had a few moments advanced warning before the outpouring of men and gunfire. Like erupting geysers, the mako reactors began to bleed men and women, and ground zero, where the largest of these eruptions was taking place, would later be determined to be directly under the Shinra Building…
June 18th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:00 AM, Mideel Central Time
It was nearing the early morning hours as Cissnei walked back to the lodge through the woods. It had been a long couple of days scouting for any remaining Shinra forces, but it had been her own choice. She'd thought Zack would be coming back yesterday and though she couldn't possibly bring herself to say so in front of him, she'd been wanting some space. It wasn't that she was jealous… Okay, maybe a little… but she'd known all along that Zack's heart belonged to Aerith. It was what had enabled them to catch him on the road to Midgar. It hadn't been a surprise when he'd proposed. Aerith was the kind of girl most guys could only dream of. Even so, part of her still hurt even as she smiled at the news and congratulated him.
It hadn't hurt nearly as much as when she'd told him her real name, but she still felt the need for some distance.
The lodge pulled into view after a moment and she made her way to the front door, just in time to see Tifa walk out with a water bottle in her hand. Upon seeing the former Turk, she smiled. "Good to see you're back. Things have been a little busy."
"Oh?" Cissnei fell in step with her as she walked the recently built path towards the planning room. Tifa explained where everyone was before adding "Reeve's on duty right now in case there's any news." She gestured to the water bottle in her hand.
The two of them continued until they reached the large cabin where meetings were now held, past the rooms Cid and Shera occupied when they weren't in Rocket Town or aboard the Highwind to the main room, which had been set up with a communications terminal at one end and a table for meetings down the center. Reeve sat at the desk clearly trying not to fall asleep, with a Cait Sith next to him. He looked up to see the two of them enter. "Did the bar just close?" he asked.
Tifa nodded. "I brought you some tea." She offered him the water bottle and he took it gratefully.
"Thank you," he said, taking a drink from it and stretching before turning his attention to the screen on his right. "I called Veld a short time ago. He says the military is investigating those shafts we discovered in the reactors. The Cait Sith unit I still have in Midgar has been watching the developments with Rufus quite closely. But right now, it seems they're waiting to see what the army finds down those elevators."
"Has there been any word from Zack and the others?" Cissnei asked.
Reeve shook his head. "Not since they left the Highwind to check Hojo's library in Nibelheim again."
"I can't believe they went back there," Tifa said shaking her head. "Especially considering what happened last time."
"They felt it needed to be done, I suppose," Reeve took another sip of his tea before nearly spitting it out.
"Hot?" Tifa asked.
Reeve reached for a napkin and shook his head, his attention glued to a screen on the left side of the desk. "That is Cait 6's visual data," he said. "He's watching what Rufus is seeing from a ventilation shaft in the president's office."
Cissnei moved in to take a look. On a projector in the president's office, just over Rufus's head, she was seeing security camera images from almost all the reactors as he was talking animatedly to someone by PHS. Out of each reactor, SOLDIERs and troopers were fleeing, some stopping to defend, only to be mowed down by men and women in mako suits. There was no question who was dominating the fight.
For several minutes, the three of them watched in shock. The enemy soldiers just kept coming and coming. It was like there was no end to them. Finally the direct line they had hacked into Shinra's existing communications grid rang to life. Reeve picked it up. "Yes?" He listened for a moment. "Cait's been showing us the whole thing. I agree. All of you get out of there now." Hanging up he looked at the others. "The safe house is being abandoned. Whoever is in charge of this operation, they are taking Midgar like it was nothing."
June 17th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:15 PM, Midgar Standard Time
In the coastal town of Howling Point, a small group of men and one woman, now clad in a more comfortable pair of jeans and a button down shirt, were seated around a table at a local inn when the news came onto the television.
"Strange activity continues at the reactors. It appears SOLDIER and military police units have been called though we still have not had an official statement from the president. A spokesman says they are monitoring the situation and will let us know if there is any further… Hang on… The SOLDIERs are falling back. What are those men coming out of the reactor?"
Freya watched the report from in between a couple of her SOLDIER companions, her mind reeling from the implication. What had happened in Midgar during her absence. Was Kunsel still in there? What was going on? Suddenly her PHS rang and she brought it to her ear. "Yes?"
"It's Reeve. Get to Kalm immediately."
"Roger that." She paused before a thought occurred to her. "Are Kunsel and the others all right?"
"He's evacuating with that SOLDIER he found. He and the renegades will be out of the city soon. They'll meet you in Kalm."
"Got it." Hanging up she turned to the SOLDIERs. "Guys, we have an emergency. Seems we won't be leaving the Eastern Continent so soon after all."
June 17th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:45 AM, Nibel Mountain Time
Cloud had just walked to the base of the ladder up to the Highwind's weather deck when one of the ship's crew called down to him with a salute. "Commander Strife Sir! There's an urgent message coming in from Commander Tuesti! He wants to talk to everyone as soon as possible!"
Cloud nodded and assuring the man he'd return soon, he hurried back to the Mansion and past Yuffie on the way to the stairs. Shortly afterward, everyone returned to the surface and it wasn't long before they had gathered on the bridge. Once everyone was assembled, the man at the communications terminal opened a channel. "There you are. Things have become rather busy since you left."
"What is it Reeve?" Zack asked.
"Perhaps it would be better if I showed you."
After a moment, images of the chaos in Midgar played across the holo-projector in front of the com-station. All of GUARDIAN that was present watched in surprise and shock. It was almost inconceivable to every single one of them that SOLDIER would be driven back, and yet, at every single reactor Shinra's forces were being pushed back in droves. "I guess they've shown us where they're comin' from," Cid said.
"The SOLDIERs," Yuffie murmured, leaning in to see better. "Why can't they fight them?"
"It's probably partly due to us," Reeve said. "Because we've been stretching them so thin, Midgar has been weakened to the point where it was an easy target. Especially if the enemy's numbers are consistently as high as they seem to be."
There was a heavy silence permeating through the main deck of the Highwind as the group watched the recordings. It wouldn't be long before Midgar was completely overrun, and as things stood there wasn't a thing they could immediately do, except perhaps go and help the survivors.
"How bad is it?" Zack asked after a moment, clasping his good hand around Aerith's.
"It's hard to say at this time… But if we assume the worst, then… in the words of our esteemed colleague Captain Highwind…"
It seems we've had ourselves a very full chapter this time around. I hope everyone was able to follow what was going on all right.
That being said, due to my much touted backlog having thinned a bit in the last few weeks, next week will be a catch-up week, which means there will not be a new chapter until the following Thursday the 18th/Friday the 19th at the usual time (Midnight). I do this because it is my hope that I can maintain the standards I would like to hold myself to, and the quality you expect when I post these chapters every week. I'm still deciding whether or not there will be another interruption later down the road, but if there is, I will always let you know in advance.
I apologize for any inconvenience... and the evil cliffhanger... ^^;
See you in a couple of weeks!
