It's been a while since an update, and this is a rather short one. There's reasons for that. First is that I'm still busy in school. Second is that I wanted to hold off posting until I could see everyone's response to the last chapter (you'll find out why in a moment). Third...my grandpa died last night. We've been spending a lot of time just waiting for it to happen. For over twenty years he wanted to die ever since his wife, my grandma, died, and so I just pray he's at peace now, and that he's happy again.
In a way, I'm almost glad that moments like this happen. It may sound corny, but being able to weep and mourn over someone else kind of lets you know you're still alive inside, and that the things you really care about keeping aren't things. Sadness reminds us of our own humanity and mortality, and reminds us about how valuable the time we spend together is. I'm very grateful to God that one of the last things I let my grandpa know before he died is that, in spite of everything that had happened between us, I loved him.
I guess the message I want to give you all from this is to try and be at peace with those around you as much as possible. You never know when one of them might be taken away, and when they are...I think we all want the last memories we share of each other to be ones showing how much we loved and cared about them.
After all, as the Bible says, "You do not know the day or the hour."
Cloud again failed to look where he was going, and smashed his head into a valve. After giving a mild yelp of pain, he peeled his tender forehead off of it and kept going, repressing the urge to yank out Event Horizon and hack it off. That was the seventh time in the past two minutes he had bashed his head trying to worm his way through the maze-like dome. And for all the moving he had done, he had a feeling he was nowhere closer to finding Ragnar, Sephiroth, Tifa, or anyone else.
Cloud had nothing to go on down here. There was some industrial illumination, but very little else. He definitely couldn't hear anything in the midst of all of this equipment except for it. He saw nothing moving except the huge machinery. This was like a giant engine, and he was some bug running around in it.
Cloud thought he had heard something that sounded non-mechanical a minute ago. Unfortunately, it was coming from the other side of a wall of conduits. He had to scan it for a moment to try and find a spot that had enough of an open space to crawl through, and then hope that none of those pipes were hot or toxic. He had found a narrow passage where the pipes spread out enough for a man to squeeze through, and currently he was maneuvering his body through the small opening. It was too long to simply leap into it, but too uneven to slide through as well. He had to pick his way through the interior networks of pipe…and it was a pain in the rear. He kept having to twist himself and his sword, and kept banging parts of his body against things.
At long last, however, Cloud saw that it opened up ahead. He worked himself forward a bit more…and then finally was able to reach out and put his feet against metal ground again. Anchoring his body, he grit his teeth and pulled himself the rest of the way through. He twisted his body slightly, but then finally yanked out the rest of the way and stood. He grinned on doing so…finally being free…and looked out to see where he was…
His enthusiasm died. Nothing was here except more walls of pipe, now creating four separate branches: two at his sides, and a fork in front of him. The ex-mercenary stopped here and groaned, rolling his eyes. This wasn't getting him anywhere. He'd never find the kid at this rate. This was wonderful. Where did he go now? Groaning, he looked back at the paths. He scanned them over for a moment, trying to see if anything distinctive came from them. The second one on the right looked shorter, so it would be easier to check out and come back…but the next one to the left looked like it went down…
Over here.
Cloud blinked, and shook his head once. Even as he did this, his body seemed to unconsciously turn all the way to the left and begin to take a step in that direction. Suddenly, he had forgotten all about the other three paths, and found a strong urge light up in his brain telling him to go left. The ex-mercenary's face turned to puzzlement. He looked down and at his body…and saw that it was already making to go left. This only confused him more. Why did he just do that? Why did he want to go that way all of the sudden?
And yet…somehow…he suddenly thought that left was the right way to go. Something subconscious within him believed it completely, even though he had no evidence to back that up.
Cloud hesitated a moment more…but then figured that direction was as good as any. He turned the rest of his body and began to jog down the leftmost path.
For a little while, Cloud found himself just moving alongside the wall of conduits that he had crawled through. The pathway he had taken stretched long in its direction, not branching off or presenting any turns. As he went this way, he soon realized he was putting a lot of distance between himself and the original crossroads. And yet, he continued to run. Something about it still seemed right. He didn't know why, but it just did.
As Cloud ran on, he finally did see one change. The path he was taking continued to go straight, but up just ahead was another opening on his right, perpendicular to his path. This one was in a darker, narrower tunnel, and Cloud hadn't had much desire to go into it as he approached. That was especially since he still felt that going straight was the right way…
This way.
Cloud blinked again, and once more shook his head. He had another wave of thought come over him, seeming to almost make him drowsy…or affect his thinking in some other way. And yet, on hearing it…he realized his feelings had changed. Now, something inside him was telling him to take the side path. And it was telling him strongly that this was the right direction to take. Cloud was confused, and tried to think about the path he was on again. But suddenly…he felt nothing about it. It seemed like a random direction…even the wrong direction. His feelings told him to turn here now. Cloud again didn't understand this…but nevertheless felt more strongly about this than he had about any "hunch" he ever had. He supposed that was good enough reason. And so…he made the turn when he reached it.
This new passageway was far darker than before. It still had illumination, but it was spotty now, like lamps on a street. He found himself rushing forward in mostly darkness, which was only broken occasionally by a circle of light projecting downward. The light illuminated small parts of the corridor, but did nothing but reveal more conduits and pipes, or occasionally a passage to the side.
Cloud ran down this for another minute or so. Though it was dark, he could tell by changes in the air and the periodic lights that he was passing by numerous other openings. But he didn't feel he should turn down any of them, only the desire to keep going forward. Still, he heard nothing. Cloud began to grow a bit warm from the heat of the interior of the Dome, and began to wonder yet again if he was following the wrong way, going on a hunch that was unjustified. However, that thought was crowded out of his mind when he came on an X intersection…
Turn left.
Again, Cloud felt a pressing urge within him pushing him to the left. His body once again began to turn even without being prompted. This time, he let it. He wasn't sure what this feeling was inside him…but he still felt it had to be leading him somewhere correctly.
Cloud emerged into one long hallway. However, unlike the others, this one had no illumination along it at all. The ex-mercenary immediately ran into darkness, and continued to do so for a long length. He knew just how long it was because he could see the end. It alone had industrial lighting, and pretty good at that. He could clearly see, even from a far distance, that it was some sort of cylindrical chamber. It was still lined with pipes and equipment like everywhere else, but even from a distance he could tell that it was different from the rest. The feeling was stronger than ever for him to go there, even though he could see nothing but a dead end…
However, as Cloud ran closer and closer…he noticed something else. There were faint objects up ahead. They were close to the ground, but they were moving slightly, crossing the ground in short bursts. He had no idea what these things were, and due to the orange lighting he couldn't make out much color. But they were the first sign of life he had seen since he had begun his search, and so he figured they were interesting enough to merit further examination. With that in mind, he kept running forward.
The things stayed close to the ground as Cloud came closer, seeming to move in short bursts toward the center of the chamber with time. Cloud started to make out some detail on them…but not much. They seemed pretty uniform, save for some sort of coat on the outside. He started to see other things ahead too. The ground was evidently as rough and uneven as the walls around it, covered with pipes and valves and control panels as well. Because of that, the objects raised and fell as they moved around.
At long last, Cloud reached the opening from tunnel into the corridor. As he neared, a wave of fresher air hit him, and he realized that wherever he was, it opened up vertically into a much larger chamber. It must have been some sort of vertical passage. However, that was the least of his concerns when he looked into the chamber…for he saw what was moving.
It was a well known fact that mako reactors were notoriously dirty, as well as severely mutagenic. In rural areas, the local fauna…and occasionally flora…that came into contact with mako waste became gruesome, violent abominations. Even in a relatively lifeless area like Midgar, mako waste had made contact with local insects, mice, and other bits of slime and mold to produce deadly results. This reactor in the Dome was no different.
Three gigantic, hideous, mutated brown rats were in the chamber. This was what Cloud had seen moving. Each one of them was the size of a large dog, and their skin was spotty, diseased, and mangy. The flesh had peeled back around their teeth, revealing their dangerous incisors. Their large red eyes gleamed in the industrial light with a monstrous luster, revealing their tortured, mutated mentalities and their ravenous hunger.
The three of them had been converging on the center when Cloud arrived. However, on seeing the new arrival, they turned and looked to him instead. They immediately bared their giant incisors and hissed. They had just found a good meal, and they were not eager for someone to come and take it from them. They began to make a sort of hideous barking sound…some louder, mutated version of their normal squeal.
Cloud stared at them in disgust a moment. But then, his battle mentality took over. He reached behind him and seized the hilt of Event Horizon, and ripped it out in a flash. As he did, the nearest rat hissed and scurried forward to attack. Cloud saw this happen, and as it lunged for him, he himself leapt forward into the area, side stepped, and then brought his blade down and into the giant rat as it sailed by. His tip pierced it over halfway through the head, and as he pushed it through it he tore an enormous gash through the side of the beast, nearly cutting it in two. Needless to say, the animal was already dead from loss of blood pressure by the time it hit the ground. With that done, Cloud swept his now-blood-stained sword up and aimed it in front of him. His blue mako eyes focused on the other two, and he began to advance on them, looking large and terrible.
The remaining two were more hesitant now. But as Cloud neared, one of them reared back and leapt at him, hissing and baring its giant incisors as it did. Cloud responded by simply twisting his sword down, and then up and around in a circle. When he did, he reached out, caught the creature with his weapon, and literally smacked it out of the air and to the side. In the process, his huge blade sliced through its pectoral girdle, and on landing the head and neck, lower arms, and rest of the body fell into separate pieces.
The final rodent backed away at this. It continued to hiss and spit at Cloud…but it also knew that if this new predator had already killed two of its kind when they responded to it with violence, it would die too most likely. With that in mind, it hissed one last time, but then turned and rushed away to an extremely narrow gap in pipes on the floor. Showing that it was a true rat, it somehow compressed itself enough to squeeze its body through this hole and vanish, to see if it could get leftover carrion later.
Cloud slowly exhaled after this, and began to replace his sword in his sheath as he turned back to the room.
A second later…his grip loosened on his blade, and then let it fall to the ground entirely. He didn't even notice it had happened when he did so…for the world had turned silent to him, and all of his focus was on the center…what the rats had been converging on.
There was Ragnar…or what was left of him.
His body was sprawled out over the crooked, uneven floor, and he was motionless. One of his upper arms was horribly twisted inward…looking compound fractured. One of his legs was soaked in blood from what looked like having been stabbed through. Blood was frothed around his swollen lips, and half of his face had been beaten in. His entire body was coated with lacerations and bruises…and he was deathly pale. But worst of all…there was his chest.
Cloud saw a fountaining of blood had come from the center of his chest, spreading over the rest of his torso. It originated right over his heart.
The ex-mercenary went motionless. He stared blankly down at the body…his eyes wide with horror…his lower lip hanging loose with fear. He…he was a piece of meat. A piece of bloody meat. He hadn't been in a duel…he had been tortured. He had been played with by a sadist. And now…he realized in terror…he looked like he had been put out of his misery…the same way Aerith…
No…not again…
Cloud felt a cold fear seize his heart, and his muscles seemed watery. He began to wobble on his feet, staring at the fallen youth. And still…Ragnar did not move. He stayed still…pale… It filled his mind with horror…terror at what had happened… Was he really…?
Cloud somehow snapped out of it. After all, he was a man of action, not emotions. Quickly, he rushed up to the side of the bleeding youth. As he drew near…he became conscious of a smell. At first, he thought it smelled like rot…but then he realized it was too acrid. It was mild now, fading…but he didn't really care. Smells were the farthest thing on his mind now. As soon as he was at Ragnar's side, he crouched down next to him. He looked the youth over…and saw how fresh all of the blood covering him was. This hadn't happened too long ago… Then, he looked back to his chest…and saw the massive amount of blood covering it.
The ex-mercenary felt his heart slow, and his throat began to tighten. It was too much to hope for… Seeing him now…he was gone. He had to be gone. He saw the final wound right there. Cloud wasn't a man who cried…but nevertheless he felt his eyes begin to sting. Part of his brain screamed in rage. Why hadn't he listened to him? Why hadn't he run away? Why did Sephiroth have to do this to him? Why didn't he just kill him decently? It fueled him with hatred for the fiend…but that wouldn't take away the sadness that was coming up. He was feeling a growing emptiness in him…and his body was feeling more tight, as if it was about to burst.
He knew it meant nothing…that it was too late…that it was more of a child's fantasy and refusal to believe the truth that he saw…
But still…he slowly leaned his head over the bloody body, bringing his head up to the mouth. As he did…fearful…terrified at the result…he felt himself slowly turn his head to the side, so that the cheek was facing Ragnar's body. He brought it forward a few precious millimeters more, and aimed it over the mouth. He closed his eyes, and tried to swallow his rapidly increasing breathing. He prayed with all his heart…
Then…to his surprise…a miracle happened.
He felt a very faint breath touch his cheek.
Cloud snapped his head back in surprise, and turned and looked down at him. Sure enough…his eyes confirmed it. The blood on his lips was very slowly moving in and off, with tiny ripples. Somehow…he was still alive. But that was impossible… He had been stabbed…
Cloud looked to the chest again from this distance. On doing so…he caught another whiff of the smell. And this time, it was far more distinctive and he recognized it. He had smelled it before countless times on the battlefield. It was the smell of roasted flesh. However, this wasn't from a major burn. This smell was from something far smaller…
As he looked down to the chest for the source, he indeed saw a mark right over the center of the chest. It was long and horizontal…perfect for a blade. And yet…that wasn't all. The flesh had been seared over it. It had been cauterized shut.
Cloud stared at this a moment, realizing that he had seen a mark like this before. But then…it suddenly struck him…
Dr. Tumahab…
The ex-mercenary remembered what had happened with Aerith, when she had been resurrected. That doctor with them…he had sealed up her wounds again, and then did something to her so that they healed afterward… He looked over Ragnar's body again on realizing that. And sure enough…something was happening here too. His wounds were all present, but each one, even the serious ones, had clotted and ceased bleeding. What he was looking at was fresh, but it wasn't flowing. That meant that this flow had to have stopped abruptly and recently. But this meant…that doctor had attended to Ragnar. But how? When? How had Ragnar gotten here? How had that doctor gotten here?
Tumahab…
Wait a minute…
That…sounds like…Bahamut backward…
Cloud felt himself stiffen a bit. Again…he was reminded that Ragnar's history had as much reality given to the mythological portions as the historical ones…
Nevertheless, the man snapped out of it, and looked back down to the youth. Relief flowed through him, realizing that he was still alive. Ragnar had taken a horrible beating…but he could recover. Whoever his guardian angel was, he had to thank for that. But he was still in terrible shape. It would probably drive him into agony to even move with those injuries. And he was already so pale from blood loss…he had to be incredibly weak at this point. He had to get out of here and to a medic as soon as possible.
Thinking of that, Cloud bent his head down closer to the youth's head.
"Ragnar." He called out. "Ragnar. It's Cloud. Can you hear me?"
The youth lay motionless.
"Ragnar!" Cloud called out louder. "Talk to me!"
Here, the youth spasmed. He abruptly gave a violent twitch, and arched his head one way. He gasped in a breath of air, sounding ragged and half choked.
"He…" Ragnar slowly rasped, barely above a whisper. "He…he killed…me…" After saying this, the youth let out another gasp, and collapsed again.
Cloud frowned. He should have guessed the kid wouldn't be conscious. Right now…he was lucky to not be comatose. From his spasms, Cloud realized it was only a matter of time before the horrible trauma his weakened body had been through drove him into shock. That could kill him even with the injuries closed. He needed to get him out of here while he still had time.
With that in mind, the ex-mercenary began to reach down to get in a gentle position to lift Ragnar's body up.
"This is going to hurt you, kid." He warned the youth. "But I have to get you out of this Dome and to a doctor before it's too late."
Sephiroth finished cleaning his blade, and returned it to the fold of his coat. That had almost been a waste… The fool actually thought he would be struck from behind by a weakling twice in his lifetime. At any rate, it was going to come to that sooner or later. It was no longer his concern. He had other things to attend to now. With that in mind, he continued to walk away from the bloodstains he had covered the floor with, and back to the elevator.
The place was silent. Only a few distant sounds of machinery working pervaded it.
And yet, as Sephiroth walked…he heard a very faint sound, barely louder than a whispered exhale…lightly touch the ground farther behind him.
At that…the dark man stopped walking, and slowly raised his eyes to look ahead of himself.
A smile spread across his face.
"…You finally came."
For a brief moment, silence was the only answer. But then, very slowly, calmly, and with the voice of having nearly limitless wisdom and knowledge…a man answered.
"Isn't that what you wanted?"
Sephiroth kept his smile and gave a small snort. "You should have come a few moments ago. I already finished the boy."
"Oh…don't worry." The man slowly answered. "He's alive. I have seen to that… That is more than I can say for what you will be soon."
Sephiroth let out a chuckle at this, and slowly turned around to face his new opponent.
He was just as Mother said he would appear. Not in his full glory…but rather as a humanoid. He was clothed in purple robes, although it looked like beneath he wore some sort of mythril armor. He wore a seven-spired helmet that looked like a crown. His hair was white and yet looked perfectly healthy, and his face looked supremely old as well as fair and young. Just like himself…his blue eyes blazed with a power that defied his human flesh, and a mentality that defied that of the most ancient dragon.
Sephiroth realized he was fortunate enough to witness, in the flesh, the legendary Bahamut.
"…Did you teach your disciple his habit of making empty boasts?" The dark man asked in response to Bahamut's last statement. "And if you care so much for him, why did you save his life? Do you not know that I'll only bring him further pain in our next meeting?"
"That is assuming you survive this meeting." Bahamut darkly answered, his ancient voice shaking the chamber. His body was as firm as stone, and his expression dark and grim. "You've shed enough innocent blood to make Griever itself blush. And I know what you're planning. And I know that you are risking something that threatens yourself as well as all life on this world."
"Do you now." Sephiroth calmly answered, not at all miffed by this.
"I won't waste my breath on trying to change your mind." Bahamut continued. "Besides…if I've interfered this much in human affairs already, I might as well go the full way. I am the servant of Gaia. I protect it against those who would harm it. And I will destroy all of those who prey on the innocent."
With that, Bahamut reached his hand out to his side. Moments later, an eruption of light went out from his palm. For anyone else, it would have been blinding, for it filled the entire area with dazzling light. But to Sephiroth, he didn't even wince. His pupils narrowed somewhat, but that was all. At any rate, the flash died down soon enough. When it did, it revealed a new item in Bahamut's hand. A great, slightly curved sword was shimmering in his grasp. One look at it showed how deadly it was. The metal was serrated oddly, as if to make it some sword of flame-shaped emblem, although it was a shimmering pale metal. The handle was made out of what looked like dragonscale.
Slowly, Bahamut curved this blade around and placed it in his opposing hand. He wrapped his grip around it and tightened, and then raised the weapon into the ready position.
"How boring." Sephiroth simply replied as he reached into his own black coat. A moment later, he was drawing forth Masamune from the abyss once again, and shifting into ready position himself. "I was hoping to fight you in your true form."
"By now…I thought you'd be used to not getting what you want." Bahamut answered without change in expression.
Sephiroth didn't alter either. He merely went into ready position and stared at the esper. Bahamut stared back, darkly and emotionlessly. Both were frozen for a few short moments.
Then, Sephiroth made his first move. Lunging forward, soaring above the ground with his speed, he tore at the beast. However, the esper showed no surprise, and didn't move until Sephiroth was on him and bringing his blade against him. He intended to give the esper just a cut for starters before hitting him away…
However…such was not to be. Bahamut's blade swung out and intercepted it. Sephiroth immediately put out another cross slash to knock it back, but Bahamut's sword matched the move and intercepted it as well. The esper didn't even shift weight, nor avert his dark gaze.
How impressive… Sephiroth thought. The boy didn't even see me move when I attacked him like this…
With that in mind, the dark man broke off and stood in front of Bahamut a moment. For a brief second, the two hesitated again, both of their blades aimed at each other. But then, he attacked again, this time putting more power into his already astonishing speed. He sliced out again…but for his efforts found nothing. Bahamut intercepted once more. He brought his blade back and around again, and once more met with failure. After that, he swung back one more time, and brought his blade down with a heavy blow in an attempt to beat Bahamut down under his power.
Not only did the esper move to intercept this blow…but on doing so he held it perfectly. Again, he didn't shift weight, and he showed no strain. He merely glared at him. Sephiroth himself stood his ground and pumped his own power into the chop, although he showed no strain or upset either. However…that was different from what was running through his mind. Both men did quiver slightly around their blades as they locked, but neither of them looked like they were really trying. To the Jenova mutant's astonishment, Bahamut appeared to be perfectly matching him in strength. He wasn't even showing any signs of pain like the boy did…
He's even stronger than I thought he'd be…
This will be interesting after all.
With that, Sephiroth yanked his blade away, shot back, and then lunged forward again for another attack, flying across the ground as he did so.
"Pull in tighter, Phoenix Leader! I ain't gettin' my ships shot to hell so that you can get your ass blown out of the sky!"
Mack swallowed at the thought, but did as he was told. He angled himself inward a bit more, moving so that he was more positioned over the prow of the Sierra. Everything inside him told him not to, and that he was crazy for even being here. The Sierra was likely to be destroyed in this maneuver, and them with it. And pushing in closer would only make the airships more of a prime target. However, they had no choice. He sighed uneasily, and then gunned up his ship further, mimicking the acceleration that the rest of the attack squadron was going through.
The formation roared over the enemy fleet, and soon left them behind as they headed straight for the shore. Squadron 1 was still intact. Squadrons 8 and 11 had replaced 2 and 3 now, and were shooting forward along with them. Each was still in full capacity, meaning a total of nine fighters. Just below them, forming a giant flying shield, was the Excalibur and the Sierra. Both were fully arming their weapons and countermeasures, and staying put right below the squadrons to act as their protection. Behind them, the Wutai Gold Navy was beginning to break up. The New Shinra was now driving destroyers forward to try and separate them. They were losing the ability to fight, and were taking more damage. They could only hold for this one run. If it failed…the operation failed.
As expected, Mack saw the destroyer guns cut off when they went by them, and focused back on the fleet. And just like before, he saw the enemy defense grid light up as the weapons turned their full attention to them. They were warming up to fire again…but this was no longer Mack's concern. His only problem now was getting there as fast as possible. Licking his lips anxiously, he tightened his grip on the controls and watched as they went forward a bit more. Then, just as they reached the same point at last time, the enemy opened fire with its initial ground guns.
This time, there were no maneuvers involved…only an increase of speed that forced the fighters to accelerate to keep up. The huge ships couldn't afford to dodge. They had to take bullet fire as it peppered against their hulls. Fortunately, the airships were a bit more durable, and aside from small showers of yellow sparks nothing happened.
That changed soon. Missiles began to be fired again, forcing their ships to unload the countermeasures. However, they weren't only firing flares and chaff. Their own machine gunners opened fire, and began to try and shoot down the missiles as well as blast the ground below with their own firepower. A few moments later, and the airships began to dump salvos on the enemy too, countering their own artillery with their firepower.
As Mack passed over the shore again and onto the mainland, the full stream of New Shinra firepower began to come to bear. They were shot at with all available missiles and guns, and began to get blasted from behind as well as in front. Countermeasures were applied more liberally as they went on, and Mack saw the fighters in the rear getting clipped, forcing them to tighten their formation up. But there was no drop in speed. The airships kept moving forward. The missile payload became heavier as they went on, and soon…Mack began to see balls of fire erupt from beneath him, against portions of the hull of the airships. The massive aircraft buckled under them…but kept moving forward with low reduction in speed. Though they were taking hits, the airships continued, still trying to blaze a path to victory.
Sighing nervously, wondering what price the people below were paying…Mack began to move to his onboard computers and adjust to begin targeting.
Looks like we may actually make it…
Commander Torunga thought this with a sigh as he read the latest preliminary report. Apparently, the last test run they did on the rods showed 94 percent effectiveness. This was good. It wasn't enough for a fully operational shield, but it was very close. It was just a matter of micro-adjustments now. They could still make a partial one at this, and one that would last for a few hours. This could be considered "operational" by the higher ups. They did have power now, because the reactor was finally working. The only thing now was to get the shield activated. And that would happen soon.
Well…soon enough.
Torunga looked up from the output sheet telling the latest results and in front of him. What he saw was the "command center" for the Gauntlet of Zeus. It wasn't much, if anything, to look at. The only thing that worked in here was the light switches for now. They didn't even have heat in the small building. The controls that would work the cannon and all of its subfunctions were currently lying in piles of partially gutted consoles around the room. The electricians were struggling to get them ready, but it would be hours yet before they could do anything with the controls. It didn't really matter, however. They would get done today, and that was what was important.
Of course, Torunga thought ruefully, this would now mean that the New Shinra would believe they could get anything out of him after a few cracks from the whip. If that was the case, then there was no telling what was going to become of them. This was probably only the first of many future threats, in which they would expect more and more from him just by intimidating him and his crew into squeezing blood from stones. That wasn't a very pleasant thought… However, he could rejoice for now. They had succeeded in this operation at least.
As the commander observed the work being done on the command center, his train of thought was interrupted by a ringing from his waist. He turned and looked down to rest his eyes on his radio. Immediately, he assumed that it was the higher-ups, wanting to see if he had done as he was told. With that in mind, he reached down and picked the radio off of his side, pushed a button, and then held it to his ear.
"This is Commander Torunga."
"Commander, we have a situation." A voice quickly answered on the other end, sounding fearful and urgent. "The facility is in danger. A group of fighters being guarded by two airships has broken off from the rest of the fleet and is headed straight for your location. We think there's a good chance that they know you're there, and we have no idea how close they need to be before they can fire a missile. We're trying to shoot them down, but odds are not good that we'll be able to do so before they can get into any sort of firing range. You have to raise the shield right now."
Torunga's temporary enthusiasm suddenly vanished. Instead, his eyes widened in disbelief as he listened into the other end, showing his growing alarm. "What? An attack? We're being bombed?"
"Affirmative, commander. And if you don't react soon the Gauntlet of Zeus is going to be destroyed. We estimate anywhere between twelve to twenty minutes."
Torunga released the call button and practically dropped the radio. He looked around in fear a moment, but also cursed inwardly. So much for the officers keeping this place a secret. Now he and the rest of his crew could die after they had put so much time, energy, and blood into making this damn thing. He had been laboring for months of bad weather, deadlines, equipment problems, and threats to get this thing underway. A great part of him wanted to destroy it himself for all it had cost him...but more of him was outraged at the fact that they had done so much only to face destruction now. They had to protect it…but they couldn't. Unlike what the officer had said on the radio, they were unable to raise the shield yet. The electronics that would enable that wouldn't be ready for hours. In front of him, the console was still in pieces. They couldn't even push a generic button to raise shields right now, and they had no radar to tell when exactly an attack was coming.
With that in mind, Torunga realized that their priorities had changed.
He looked down the electricians. "All of you…drop what you're doing right now. You have eleven minutes to get the switch operational that activates the shield, and activate it, or we all die."
Aerith banged her shin, and nearly cried out. She stumbled a little for a moment. But then, she pushed herself up and forced her body to keep running. She banged her other shin a moment later, and then stubbed her toes. However, she clenched her teeth and forced herself to keep going. She realized she couldn't be here any longer.
Something…within the Planet…was agonized.
Aerith nearly jumped out of her boots a moment later as she heard a spurt of gunfire behind her. It echoed deep within the dark recesses of the Dome…and was soon answered with another, farther-away spurt. It sounded as far away as last time…so that meant they weren't being gained on. But that didn't mean they weren't still in mortal danger. The last few units were now bumbling their way wildly through the maintenance corridor of the New Shinra HQ Dome. They still had their flashlights, and up ahead of her Aerith saw a few beams darting around, seeing which way to go and also acting as a beacon for those who were farther behind. They didn't dare turn on more than a few. The others had to blunder on as best they could through the unlit areas. Darkness was their only advantage now…
They were somewhat spread out, and constantly passing each other as they ran on. The only thing Aerith knew for certain was that Yuffie and Barret were in the rear, using their own weapons to keep their pursuers at bay. They had hardly gotten ten feet into the opening that Chaos had made before the doors were opened in the Reactor. By the time the light of the chamber was beginning to fade, the first few soldiers had come in. Barret greeted them with a spurt of gunfire, making them hunker down for fear of an ambush, and buying them more precious time. But they soon recovered, and were now being chased through the depths of the Dome. Every so often, Barret or Yuffie would attack. Thanks to the darkness, the enemy had no idea whether or not their quarry was stopping for an ambush or was just giving out some parting shots. They were forced to duck and guard for a few moments. However…Aerith knew that couldn't last forever. They would turn on the lights soon…and then they'd be done for.
Aerith looked at the time.
0640 hours.
That left them twenty minutes, she realized. If they weren't at the plane in twenty minutes, they'd be stuck here. And that would mean Cloud and Ragnar would be stuck here… She still had no idea where they were, and she could only hope they hadn't been spotted or captured…or worse. As it was, they barely knew where they were going. The ones in the lead had pulled out their compasses, aimed them to the southwest, and had just been running that way the best they could. They had no idea if they were going in the wrong direction, or if they would reach an obstacle they couldn't overcome. But this was the way of the airfield, and this was a good an option as any.
Ragnar…Cloud… Aerith thought as she kept running. Wherever you are…I hope you're heading for the exit.
To be continued...
Author's Note: After having a rather somber opening...I am very glad to present you with this one word...
PSYCH!
To clarify things and address potential critics, Ragnar wasn't resurrected. Even after the heart stops, there is still a few minutes before the body starts suffering tissue death. Ragnar was run through in the last chapter and left to fall down the pit. However (I'll address this later in the story but I might as well tell you now to alleviate confusion), Bahamut came in as he was falling and caught him. He sealed his mortal wounds and fed a bit of his regenerative energy into him to keep him from bleeding and restart his heart. Then he left him for Cloud to find. BTW, in case you're wondering about temporality, the timing of the sections in this chapter aren't in exact chronological order. Bahamut was supposed to be giving Cloud mental suggestions to lead him to Ragnar while he was fighting with Sephiroth.
So to the critic, yes and no. Yes, I did have Ragnar live. No, I didn't bring him back from the dead. For reference, despite how it may seem, there are only two ways in this story to come back from the dead.
1. Phoenix's Omniapex Phasia (which isn't a factor since she died way back in The Griever Saga)
2. The Crystal Stone (which also isn't a factor, as it needs 999.5 years of sunlight before it can work again)
Everything else is "special cases" of not really dying. (i.e. The Four Fiends can't die because they are the embodiment of the dark sides of the Four Crystals. Neo Bahamut didn't die, but became dormant due to injuries.)
