Asneed: Agreed, though Reno is cute doing anything, really XD
Kei: It's both bad! Tseng obviously isn't completely comfortable with using Reno against her, but good for her that she doesn't fall for the trick. Reno's a little insecure, and I think he knows that Rufus usually gets what he sets his sights on, even if it's only to play with once. Still, you're right, Reno is kinda stubborn. More on that later, of course! :P Are you curious about Genesis? Not long to wait now! Thanks again! Keep them coming, I will keep the chapters coming!
Chapter 195
"We'll be arriving shortly." Our driver's voice sounded over the intercom. The three of us had been sitting quietly for some time now, with Vincent not being the chatty type in the first place. I wasn't in the mood to, and Yuffie finally figured this out in the end. "What the hell?!" I looked up at the sudden panic in the voice, and suddenly I was being tossed around when the truck hit something big. My fingers wrapped around the seat as tremors rocked the large vehicle. When it came to a sudden stop, Yuffie was flung from her seat and rolled head over heels into the wall. Her collision with the metal was so brutal she passed out on impact. Vincent moved for the door and opened it with force, his gun already in his hand. I followed him outside after he'd hopped down. The truck had come to a standstill near the foot of the mountains, smoke rising up from the hood. Surrounding us were three Death Machines, their canons pointed at us, ready to take us down. It didn't take me long to see we had stranded less than a klick from the entrance to HQ. This was bad news. Vincent was already on the move, wasting no time to get inside and assess the damage. The machines were slow, relying fully on their artillery, and therefore, no match for us. It was easy to sneak up behind them as long as you kept an eye on the others to prevent them from shooting your socks off. Sometimes they tried to swing their large metal arms at me, but a simple roll or crouch was enough to avoid being hit. I took this very carefully though, a sweep like that would knock my head clean off my neck. While I danced with one of the sweepers, Vincent launched himself onto one of the others, his metal claw ripping into alloy. It swung around, trying to throw him off like a bucking chocobo. Vincent didn't lose his footing once, and before long, the machine broke down in a heap of sparks. I let my blades do the same, and then there was only one left.
"Go," I said to Vincent, already assaulting the bot. There was no need for us to do this together, and HQ might be in serious trouble. He didn't need me to tell him twice, or even once, because he was gone before the word had left my lips. I made quick work of this last one, driving my blades into its body before it managed to take a shot. I was just trying to determine where Yuffie had run off to, since she was gone, when I received a message on my phone. I checked it while running towards the HQ entrance, but froze in my steps when I read it. It was from Tifa.
Jerry was assaulted in Edge, they torched his bar. Don't worry Eden, healers say he'll be fine.
Jerry was attacked? I'd hit dial before I knew it and pressed the phone to my ear. "What happened?" I asked Tifa as soon as she answered. "Where is he? How's he doing?"
"Calm down," Tifa said in her motherly way. "He's in Junon infirmary. We wanted to take him to Healin' but since it got destroyed... They got him pretty bad though. Broke a few bones in his face and body. Fortunately it's nothing that won't heal. He's more angry about the bar," She gigged a bit at that. "But that's Jerry for ya."
"Was is the same guys as last time?" Something told me there was no need for me to ask, that I already knew, but I had to know for sure.
"Jerry thinks so, yes," Her voice turned dark. "Don't go doing anything foolish, Eden. There will be plenty of time after this Deepground thing is over. Reeve has contacted Cloud, we'll be joining you in the fight. Till then, Jerry is safe in Junon. Don't worry."
"I'm sorry, Tifa," I thought about how she must be feeling. Now that she had finally found a kindred soul, he got hurt bad. "This must be hard on you."
"Jerry and I are just friends, Eden, but I appreciate your concern. Let's go see him together when this is over, okay?"
"Oh.." They were just friends? Maybe Tifa was out of his league too. His words, not mine. Maybe he needed someone to protect and keep safe in those big arms of his. Someone a little more fragile. "All right. I gotta go, I think HQ is under siege. Talk to you later." When I reached the large door and entered, I found Vincent standing in some sort of courtyard, dead troopers and another spider littering the ground around him. "Sorry," I said, feeling guilty I let him deal with all this alone. "Got a bad news call."
"Trouble?"
"A friend got hurt, but he'll be all right. Just had to make sure." He nodded and led the way up a set of wide, stone steps. The WRO HQ was huge, as tall and wide as a flat. A hangar door opened to us to let us inside the complex. We were greeted by the sounds of gunshots and heavy footfalls. Very heavy footfalls. We looked at each other and bolted down the hallway and around the corner just in time to witness a WRO soldier getting propelled into his colleagues. They tumbled down to the ground together, revealing the problem to us. A large, Behemoth like beast was stomping down the hallway towards us, all muscles and horns and teeth. It didn't take a second for me to recognize it.
"What the hell?" Vincent said beside me, surprising me with his choice of words. Just when I thought I'd seen it all.
"Azul," A soft voice spoke from behind us. The little girl I'd seen in the woods in Whiterun was standing there, along with a taller, older girl with a blond ponytail and glasses. I'd estimated Shelke to be around twelve years old, and I stood by that now that I saw her up close in proper lighting, but I could also have sworn she appeared older underneath the surface, as if she were a grown woman tossed into a children's body. The woman beside her was missing an eye, and an arm, the latter which had been replaced by a metallic substitute. My hand reached for my gun, but the look on Vincent's face told me they weren't the threat here. He shook his head at me ever so slightly, before focusing his attention on Azul again. The beast reared and quickened his pace, coming straight at us now. Vincent and I both grabbed a gun, but we only had time to fire one bullet each before the massive threat reached us, and we had to jump out of the way of its sweeping claws and deadly teeth. We fired off a few more rounds, Vincent's hitting it in the face. Then the woman leaped forwards, trying to hit it on the spine. Azul flung out an arm and slapped her to the side like an annoying fly.
"Shalua!" Vincent called to her as she hit the ground, groaning and gasping in pain. He tried to get to her, but Azul blocked his path, and hit him with a mighty swing. It turned its attention to the little girl, who stood bravely between him and the woman on the floor. I fired off more bullets to get its attention on me, but all it probably did was tickle. Vincent was still on the ground, unable to recuperate from such a blow so quick. Azul then swiped at Shelke, but some sort of shield protected her from most damage. She hit the ground too, but got up right away and held out a ball of materia to him, her eyes glowing with fire.
"The extreme potency of this shield materia is comparable to that of your barrier shield, Azul." She said to him in a flat voice, almost like that of a robot. Suddenly, she wasn't a little girl to me anymore. There was a flash of light, and Azul reappeared, transforming back into himself. I took the moment of distraction to get to Vincent, who was still unconscious on the floor.
"Shelke," Azul said in a deep voice as I shook Vincent by the shoulders, trying to get him to regain his wits. "Why do you stand in my way?"
The girl sighed and put the materia back in her pocket. "I had to protect myself. You were trying to kill me." What was is that Rosso had said? That the little girl was useless? That she would be taken care of before long? My eyes widened in realization.
"Shelke, look out!" My warning didn't come a moment too soon, because Azul moved and threw a mighty punch at her, which she luckily ducked with ease.
"You are no longer required." Azul said to her as she gasped in shock at his sudden hostility.
"No longer...?
"You're no different from the others. Your weak body is nothing without Mako. Your only skill is collecting data from inside a virtual reality. It makes me sick to even think of you as a member of the Tsviets. You and Max, who could only whine and moan about how unfair his life was. Well, good riddance!" Shelke gazed up at him in astonishment. All this must come as a surprise to her. He'd lost me somewhere during his explanation, all that I had heard was him saying those things about my friend. Max hadn't deserved any of what had happened to him, and now they wouldn't even show him some respect for his sacrifice. Nothing Azul said was very relevant to me anymore, I just knew he had to be destroyed. "Weiss has ordered your termination." Azul grinned. Shelke froze, a look of horror on her face.
"Weiss?!"
"Your mission was to identify and locate the keeper of the Protomateria. That is why we uploaded the doctor's data into your neural network. But now, we no longer need it. And we cannot let it fall into the hands of the WRO." He laughed wickedly, sickening me to the bone. How could anyone be so heartless? I'd met some cold individuals in my day, but these freaks topped it all.
"Vincent," I whispered into his ear softly as I shook him gently. "I need you to wake up now. You hear me?" He groaned and shifted in my hands, his eyes fluttering as he came to.
"Your fate has been decided, Shelke," Azul continued in his deep, threatening voice. "It is time for you to return to the Planet." He took another menacing step towards her, his giant form looming over her tiny one. I heard something move behind me and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw the woman get up from the floor silently, getting ready to pounce.
"Vincent..." His eyes shot open at my plea and he jolted up, almost hitting me in the jaw. At the same time, Shelke reached behind her and procured her materia again, freezing Azul in the middle of his transformation, giving Shalua the time to sprint towards her and drag her along to safety. They reached the doors together and punched the panel to open the large metal sliding doors. Vincent was on his feet in a heart beat, pulling me with him to join them. He tossed me through the door and ran inside. We both halted when we heard Shelke argue with Shalua.
"Let go of me." She demanded in her small children's voice. Was she insane? Why in the world-?
"I don't think so," Shalua said sternly, holding the young girl's wrist in a vice grip. "We have ten years to catch up on. I'm not going to let this end here-" I didn't know what exactly their relation was, but there was no time to think about it now.
"No!" I shouted as the doors started to close again. Shalua gasped as Vincent vaulted for the door, calling her name. Then she did the only thing she could possibly do, and to this day, I still admire her for it. She slammed her metal arm in between the closing doors horizontally, stopping them dead. Sparks emitted from the robotic arm, the metal groaned, threatening to give. Vincent and I desperately wrapped our fingers around the doors, trying to pull them apart.
"Get in here!" I groaned through the effort. "Gods...hurry!"
"Why are you doing this?" Shelke asked calmly, still struggling in Shalua's grip.
"You can still get through," The woman replied. "Go on!" With a mighty heave, she flung the girl through the doors, throwing her to safety. "Shelke," She then said sweetly as the girl faced her with shock on her face. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better sister." In the distance, heavy footfalls slowly got closer and closer, filling me with fear.
"What the hell are you talking about, lady, get your ass in here?!" I yelled at her desperately while we were still digging in our heels, trying to keep the door open. The metal casing around the arm broke, the structure inside groaning and bending under the pressure. She ignored it, she ignored me, and she ignored the doom that was approaching her from behind.
"I'm sorry I let you suffer for so long." The doors started to close without mercy, grinding her arm into nothing but steel scraps. "Vincent," She addressed him, her voice sweet and full of acceptance. She had already embraced her fate. "Take care of her, will you?" Vincent groaned as he pulled on the door with all his might, his face set in determination and panic.
"Wait!" He pleaded as Shalua slowly disappeared from view.
"Shelke," Her sister said with so much love it made my heart ache. "I'm glad I was able to find you. And remember, I'll always love you." Then the arm snapped, and the doors slammed shut in our faces, almost taking my fingers with it. Vincent stared at the doors in shock, pain evident on his face. He slammed his fists into the metal in anger, and I knew then that he considered the woman a friend. A close friend.
"Why?" Shelke asked in wonder. I jumped back when something heavy hit the doors, shaking them with the force of it. My eyes traveled to the floor. Liquid was pooling in through the crack underneath the doors, and I didn't need to ask to know what it was. I placed a hand on Vincent's shoulder as I stared at it in horror, gripping onto him more tightly than intended. "Why did she...?" Shelke asked no one in particular. "Why?" She slowly dropped her gaze to the floor, seemingly deep in thought. Did she not understand human emotions? I felt Vincent tremble under my touch. I wanted to comfort him, but I had no idea how. "Shalua..." There was another crash against the metal doors, threatening to break through. It seemed Azul wouldn't give up easily. I let go of Vincent's shoulder as he snatched Shelke by the wrist and dragged her away with us.
My mind kept going back to Shalua's sacrifice all the way to Reeve's command center. Even as we encountered fallen soldier after fallen soldier, and had to take care of some residual troopers, I kept seeing the tranquility that was on her face as she did it. She knew what was coming for her, and yet she'd stayed behind, saving a younger sister who had probably done some pretty bad things in her short lifetime. Her bravery was awe inspiring, reminding me there were still people in the world who would take a bullet for someone else. I looked at Vincent sideways as we hurried down the halls, thinking he was one of those people. I liked to believe that I was too. Shelke still appeared to be in shock, but she had at least started to run on her own accord. The idea that Azul was still outside the main hallway trying to bash his way in did not sit well with me, and I hoped the doors would hold. Or maybe help would arrive. Either that, or Vincent and I were about to have another very rough day. When we reached the command center, we found it in shambles. The place had all but collapsed, leaving Reeve laying among the rubble, looking utterly defeated, but alive.
"Reeve," I breathed as I rushed over to him, immediately checking him over for injuries. "Are you hurt?" Physically, he appeared to be all right.
"I'm so ashamed..." He spoke as if he hadn't heard my question. There was sadness in his voice. "I'm supposed to be a hero of the Jenova War." All around him, live wires were sizzling, computer screens were flashing. "But look at me."
"Don't take all the blame," Vincent said sympathetically. He looked at Reeve's hunched form as he sat on the floor looking lost. "Reeve," Vincent pressed, shaking said man from his daze.
"Huh?" Reeve finally looked up at us, almost surprised to see us by his side. He frowned and his eyes drifted away in thought. I placed a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Vincent in concern.
"You're not thinking of giving up, are you?" Vincent asked boldly. Reeve almost seemed penitent as he averted his gaze. Vincent crouched down beside us, staring hard at Reeve. "I used to be nothing but a stone in a river of time, but three years ago, it was you and the others who taught me I had to move ahead." His intense eyes were settled on Reeve, who seemed taken aback at Vincent's sudden openness.
"Vincent..." Vincent had been open with me before, I knew how he felt about Cloud and the others, about how they had persuaded him to join them. For long, his only goal had been destroying Hojo, but after all was said and done, he'd kept on going. We'd discussed this only yesterday. Vincent looked at the ground for a moment and straightened. Then with one last knowing look at me, he simply walked out. He'd said what he wanted to say, leaving the rest up to Reeve.
"You've come a long way from being a filthy spy." I smiled at him, hoping to brighten his mood. I wasn't good at peptalks, or making people feel better, but I could at least try.
"All I ever wanted was to help people," Reeve shook his head in defeat. "I feel like I've failed everyone." I couldn't help but think that Reeve was a good man, even though he had spied against us after we'd first encountered him. I hadn't met him in person before yesterday, and he wasn't at all what I had expected him to be. Maybe that was a good thing. I hadn't expected him to be so driven and so compassionate, but to me, he was what a true leader should be. Ready to take responsibility.
"Because they found a way in here?" I asked him. "Or because they got their hands on the Protomateria? That's not on you, that's on me. I wasn't strong enough to stop Rosso. Or maybe it's on Vincent, because he let her take it? How about we blame it on goddamn Weiss and his Insanity Squad, since they're the ones doing this to us? Get up, Reeve," I took him by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "If you blame yourself for this, then I'm just as much to blame. Go on, yell at me. Let's have it."
He stared at me wide eyed for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words."I.." He started before his voice grew stronger, sounding more and more like the old Reeve. "I'm not going to yell at you, Eden. I don't blame you for anything."
"Then you'd better take Vincent's advice to heart. We both know it's rare." The door opened and a disheveled looking soldier entered. His hair was standing on end and his clothes were torn, making me fear the worst.
"Sir," He spoke. "President Shinra and the Turks have arrived. They've managed to repel the threat near the gates. They've found..." He swallowed. "They've found Shalua's body, Sir. We've brought her to the lab where she is now kept in an induced coma. Doctor White says things don't look good, but..." He cleared his throat in discomfort. "Anyway, the President is awaiting an escort." I rolled my eyes at Rufus' typical behavior. An escort? He was such a Royal douche.
"Escort them to the lab," He said to the soldier, who nodded and left. "I assume they're here to look at the data Vincent sent?" Reeve gently placed a hand to my back to guide me out of the room, and we took off down the hallway together. I nodded in agreement.
"Guess so. They've also found Genesis, who's on his way here. Let's hope Shinra is ready to play their part in this, we could use them."
Reeve halted in his steps and faced me. "They have actually managed to find Genesis? And he's on our side?" I truly had no idea whose side he was on, but I felt like I was currently the only one who might tip the scale either way. The only thing I had to consider, was whether we needed him that badly or not. I still hadn't decided on my strategy yet.
"Let's say he's neutral for now," I replied, not knowing what else to tell him. "He's agreed to meet with us, which is a start."
"It most definitely is," He said as he continued down the hall. His spirits seemed to have lifted since the arrival of Shinra, and now with the news of Genesis potentially joining our ranks, he must feel a lot more optimistic than mere five minutes ago. "Everyone is coming together. We may see victory yet."
Once we reached the lab, Reeve opened the sliding doors for us and I followed him inside. My eyes immediately fell on Shalua, floating inside a Mako container, the only way to keep her alive. Healers had said it was bad, and considering what she had gone through, I wasn't surprised. Harsh as it may seem, I was more surprised she was still breathing at all. Vincent was talking to Shelke, and they both looked up when we entered.
"Vincent," Reeve addressed him right away. "I agree with you. This is not the time for us to give up. But I need to know something. Those data files you collected from Shinra Mansion, are you sure there were not any more?" Was the data incomplete? Surely, we would have noticed more discs laying around. Lucrecia had left them specifically for him to find. Either there was no more data, or someone else had taken it if there had. Vincent looked at me before he shook his head resolutely.
"I'm sure."
"I see," Reeve said, looking a disappointed.
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked him with a hint of concern.
"Well," Reeve said reluctantly. "The Omega Report.. The file was incomplete."
"Figures," I chortled. "Scientists..."
"To make any sense out of it," Reeve explained. "We are going to require the other half. If possible, I wanted to know more about our foe before we launched the attack on Midgar." All these people and their planning. Why couldn't we just do things the old fashioned way? Assemble, move in for the kill and go home to have a cold one. Why did everything always have to be so complicated? I supposed there was a reason Reeve was WRO leader, and not me. I was blunt force trauma, I wasn't a strategic expert. Shelke, who had remained silent through the entire conversation, standing with her back towards us, slowly turned around.
"Are you speaking of Dr. Lucrecia Crescent's findings?" The men stared at her, wondering how she knew what they were even talking about.
"Yes," Reeve said wonder. "But how did you..?"
"A large quantity of her mnemonic data fragments has been uploaded into my neural network. It was my prime directive to use this data to locate and retrieve the Protomateria." Apart from the fact I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, that last part finally made it clear to us how they kept finding Vincent so easily. We shared a few looks, but all I could do was shrug at them. "However," Shelk continued. "Not only was the data incomplete, but part of her consciousness began interfering with my own thought processes. It was believed that the missing fragments may have been the reason for this. I can attempt to upload the WRO's files on the Omega Report. By combining them with the data I possess, you may obtain a clearer picture of what you will be up against. And perhaps I can regain control of my mind."
"I have no idea what is going on, but I'll take it." I said to Reeve, who looked absolutely bewildered. Our heads turned towards the doors when they opened and in walked the most arrogant posse I had seen in a long time. First came Rufus in his immaculate white suit, blond hair neatly parted, and more ego than his skin-suit should be able to withstand. Following behind him side by side, were Tseng and Reno, who couldn't look more unalike. Tseng -with his impeccably catered hair and nice suit, straight posture and calculated movements- and Reno -casual, aloof and far from immaculate- Last in the pyramid were Rude, looking badass as ever, Elena with her nice haircut and wicked angel face, and-
"Ollie!" I called when I spotted him. I ran over to him and hugged my best friend. I asked myself if Eva knew he was here and if so, whether she was all right with it. I decided against asking him. If he wanted to tell me, he would. Tseng smiled.
"Olliver gave me a call to ask if he could come along. We can always use someone like him. Whatever has happened here? We found Azul outside the main gate, trying to get in. I take it you've had some trouble?"
"You really let him wander around out there?" Rufus asked Reeve, a sneer on his face. "What were you thinking? If I can't see it then it's not there? You always stuck your head in the sand, Tuesti. That is why you were such a failure."
"That's funny," I shot at him, feeling my cheeks flush with anger. Reeve had only recently pulled himself together, and he didn't need someone like Rufus to break him down again. "Because it looks to me like Reeve owns a larger company than you do." Rufus' eyes flashed at me but I refused to yield to him. He didn't intimidate me, he was nothing more than a bully. A bully who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted.
"Would you like some burn cream for that?" Ollie asked him, earning him a glare from both Elena and Rufus himself.
"Watch it, boy." Rufus warned him, before turning his attention back to me. "The word company would imply there are employees involved," He drawled. "Last time I checked, dead people can't work-" I slapped him across the cheek faster than he could have anticipated. He even had the curtsy to look stunned for a fraction of a second.
"I know I said earlier that I wouldn't slap you while everyone was watching," I hissed, not believing how indifferent he could be about the loss of human lives. "But I changed my mind."
"Clearly," Rufus stated dryly. Tseng's hand appeared between us and he held me back.
"Step back, Eden. Calm down. We're here to work together." There was no need for him to restrain me though, I had made my statement. He may not show it, but I had seen it in Rufus' eyes; he knew he'd gone too far. He was only too proud to admit it, or apologize to Reeve. An amused smile crept over his face as he looked down at me, unfazed. My eyes traveled over Rufus' shoulder, to Reno, who stood watching me with an expression halfway between amazement and outrage. I felt like the pet kitten who was doing something bad but amusing at the same time. Rude was watching silently, I could even have sworn I saw a hint of a smile on his lips.
"Reeve," Tseng began once he was certain I wouldn't fly at Rufus' throat. I still stood glaring at him, but my attention was wavering, turning back to the matter at hand. "Can you please show us that data?"
"Certainly," Reeve said and placed the data disc inside the computer. Lucrecia's words echoed from the speakers, the same information that Vincent and I had heard from her hologram back in Nibelheim. I made some space for those who hadn't heard it yet, retreating a little to the background. Ollie came to stand beside me and nudged me in the shoulder. He never cared for briefings anyway. Like me, he just wanted to shoot things.
"You are so shameless, girl," He grinned and lowered his voice to make sure that no one heard him. "Kinda hung out with Reno on the way here. Dude is grouchy as ever. You sure you shouldn't tell him what happened? I think he knows something is up."
"If I tell him what Rufus did," I explained to him calmly. "He will hate him, maybe even quit his job. Or do something else impulsive. I know how he can get. He may not want to admit it, but he has a serious jealous streak."
"Right now, he hates you." As he said this, Lucrecia's soft tones faded, leaving only lettering on the screens.
"No, he doesn't," This, I was sure of. I'd known him long enough now to understand his moods, the way he thought. "He doesn't know how to handle the situation, so he handles it the way he's been taught. The Shinra way. Don't ask for explanations, simply remove the issue from the equation. Which is exactly the reason he thinks we're better off apart."
"Does he even know what an equation is?" He asked me. A chortle left my lips, but I quickly pressed them together to not attract any attention to myself. I had already done enough of that. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side. The doors opened again and in strode Genesis.
