Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 7 characters all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of them. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
SHARDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 14
Cloud ran at full speed following Barret down the corridor. He was beginning to become agitated at how long the passageway was leading. Once again they were on another catwalk, except this one was more narrow then the other and the pit was engulfed in the dark glow of mako energy. He clenched his fists nervously as thoughts of Zack washed through his mind.
"Pick it up Cloud!" Barret yelled, breaking him away from his morbid thoughts. "The reactor's just up ahead! Keep your wits about you! We gotta be ready for anything."
Cloud nodded crisply and sped up.
Not too far behind him, Aeris was having similarly troubling thoughts. She constantly thought back to that instance when Zack had heroically saved her. 'I can't believe I froze… what's wrong with me. I know how to fight now. Why can't I defend myself?'
Aeris forcefully shook these troubling thoughts from her mind. She had failed to fight for herself the first time but now she was determined to not let that insecurity stop her again. She gripped the staff in her hands tightly. She absently thought back to the night before when jessie had given it to her.
****
"Here you go Aeris!"
"What's this for?"
"You're going to be going on the mission tomorrow right? You'll need something a little stronger then a pipe won't you?"
Aeris blushed. "Yes… I guess so but… well… this is asking too much from you. You've already helped me out a great deal. I couldn't-"
"Don't worry about it Aeris. Just take it. It may save your life tomarrow."
****
Aeris focused her attention back on her staff. It was finely carved and beautifully designed to Aeris eyes. Jessie had told her it was a special staff that was handed down to the Avalanche members when they had first started in their war against Shinra. It was given to them by the Elder of Cosmo Canyon as a symbol of support for their cause. Since no one in Avalanche fought with a staff at the time, they merely put it away in a safe place, never really bothering to use it. Finally, Jessie decided that, after seeing Aeris fight, the staff was destined to be with her.
Aeris closed her eyes slowly. 'I hope I can live up to such an honor.'
"Hey!" Tifa called from next to her. "Are you ok? You don't look to good."
Aeris nodded briskly, training her mind back to the present situation at hand. "Yeah I'm fine. Just thinking that's all."
"Better be careful of that."
Aeris gave a quizzical eye. "Excuse me?"
"It's not good to think too much on a mission." Tifa elaborated. "It has a tendency of getting people killed."
"Oh…. Thanks."
"Not a problem." Tifa said with fake cheerfulness in her voice. Aeris was a nice girl to talk to and all that but she couldn't help feeling slightly jealous of her connection with Cloud.
"Hey you two! Get over here!" Barret's loud voice boomed in from the distance. Tifa and Aeris quickly rushed towards them.
Cloud and Barret had finally made it to the reactor core and were now currently standing at the end of the long narrow corridor. Cloud found himself mesmerized at the sight of the large device in front of him. 'Is this really the core for the sector 4 reactor?' He thought to himself in wonder.
"So how do we go about this?" He asked, turning towards Barret.
"Right. Stand back. I'm going to activate the detonator device. I'll set the timer for about 10 minutes. That should give us enough time to get clear of the blast."
"Ok." Cloud pulled out his long Buster sword and held it at the ready. "If any trouble comes down this way I'll make sure it doesn't reach you while you work."
"Good." Barret pulled out the detonator and the equipment needed to attach it to the reactor, then scrambled to the task at hand. Jessie walked up alongside to assist him. Meanwhile Aeris and Tifa stood next to Cloud, providing backup.
Immediately afterwards, a loud noise rang out overhead.
"What the hell?" Cloud grumbled, tightening his grip on his buster sword.
The sound grew louder and more oppressive as it got closer to them. Cloud and the others clutched their ears in pain as the horrendous blare grew even louder.
"What is that?" Tifa asked through clenched teeth.
"I don't know." Cloud replied. "Be ready. If my guess is correct, we're going to be in for a fight in no time."
As if in response to Cloud's comment, a huge Mechanical artillery robot came sailing down on them. Aeris quickly jumped out of the way as the thing nearly landed on her.
"Aeris are you alright?" Cloud asked running up to her.
"Yeah don't worry about me… Look out!"
Too late. Cloud looked up only to see a huge metal barrier heading his way. Before he could react, the barrier hit him at full force, knocking him painfully to the wall.
Tifa immediately reacted and rammed her fist into the back of the robot. The machine turned around and trained its gattling guns on her.
"Tifa!" Aeris screamed. She pushed herself to her feet then ran forth and struck her staff against the guns, throwing the aim off to the side.
Tifa ducked slightly while the bullets zipped by her shoulder. "Thanks." She muttered then got back up to her feet.
The machine trailed back away from the group some then slowly the insides of it began to open and two large arms came out of it. Each arm had its own beam cannon.
"Uh oh." Aeris said as each of the extensions began to pulsate.
"Both of you get out of the way!" Cloud yelled from behind them. He was still shaking the dizziness from his head while rising up to his feet. "I can take care of this. You two cover me!"
"But Cloud-"
Before Tifa could finish, Cloud ran in towards the machine. It trained its cannons towards him and fired. Cloud deftly leapt over the deadly attack and landed behind the mechanical monstrosity.
"Eat this!" He said, roughly driving his sword deep into its cooling vents. The machine twitched a bit then stopped all together. The charging cannons began glowing hot read and suddenly the machine began to melt from the inside.
"Wow! Way to go Cloud!" Aeris squealed in glee. She was slowly becoming invigorated by the heat of battle.
"Get back!" Cloud yelled forcefully. "This thing may blow up at any second." He lowered his blade then ran a few steps towards Barret. "How much more time do you need?"
"Just a few more minutes then we're all set."
Cloud nodded but didn't see as the machine behind him suddenly came to life once again.
"Cloud behind you!" Aeris and Tifa both screamed at once. This time Cloud reacted in time. The machine charged in to ram him. Cloud swiftly dodged to the side then swung his sword forth, slicing off its right arm.
"How the hell can it still be moving after overheating like that?" He grunted in anger. The machine twirled to the right, nearly catching him with its left arm. Cloud ducked and jumped back a few steps.
Tifa closed in again delivering a dolphin kick to its back. The robot jerked forward from the force. Aeris quickly erased her shock at how powerful Tifa's attack was and ran in to attack the monster next. She weeved in closer to the unprotected openings where the arms had come from. With a forceful jerk, Aeris struck the end of her staff into the robot's main circuitry.
Immediately, the machine was engulfed in electricity as it began to convulse violently.
"Nice shot Aeris!" Cloud yelled then ran up to the machine once more. It swiftly turned around and fired off another one of its beams. Cloud barely dodged the attack as part of the beam ripped through the side of his shirt.
Cloud ran in faster and swung horizontally, further gutting the machine in its weak spot. He jumped back as the thing began to lose balance. The sparks flying off its coolant vents were starting to worry Cloud greatly.
"This thing's gonna pop at any second now. Barret how much more time?"
"Almost done." Came the dark man's distracted reply.
Cloud found only one solution left. With all the speed he could muster, he ran in towards the machine once more and drove his sword into the side of the machine, driving it over the edge of the catwalk using the momentum of his attack.
Cloud roughly yanked his sword free of the machine as it plummeted listlessly towards the bottom of the reactor core.
Suddenly the whole structure began to shake violently. The whole tunnel where the machine had fallen quickly burst into flames. Several explosions could be heard at other ends of the reactor as well.
"Damnit!" Cloud swore as he fell back on to the catwalk. "I must have set off some kind of a chain reaction."
Tifa kneeled down to his aid. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine Tifa. But how's Barret doing over there?"
"We're all set." Barret said, standing up and running towards them. Jessie quickly packed up her tool supplies and followed pace.
"Uhh guys I think we need to get out of here…" Aeris said as she looked down the bottom of the catwalk from the other side of the reactor core. "Like right now!" She continued anxiously. Barret walked up next to her and looked down curiously to see what she was so worried about. He immediately brought his head back and yanked her arm.
"$HIT! Come on people! The girl's right! Let's get the hell out of here! This whole place is gonna blow and if that fire reaches the reactor before we get to safety then we can all kiss our @sses goodbye!"
Cloud stood up with the help of Tifa and they quickly followed the others.
Barret ran as fast as he could. A loud beeping noise came from his belt. Still running at full speed, he pulled out the device and brought it up to his lips. "This is Barret, what is it?"
"Zack here. We've got explosion's coming all out of the woodwork here, what the hell is going on down there? Are you guys ok?"
"We're fine Zack, just taking care of some Shinra trash. How are things up top?"
"We managed to clear the guards out momentarily but I don't know how long that's gonna last. You guys better hurry it up!"
"We really don't have much of a choice. That explosion is likely to reach the detonator. If it goes off, we're all done for."
"What?"
"Just wait for us up top Zack. We'll be there as fast as we can! Over and out." And with that, Barret closed the connection and attached the communicator back on his belt. "Let's move people!" He said, running faster. Tifa and Cloud had managed to catch up with the rest of the group and now they were all running at full tilt.
A loud hiss rang out in the air and suddenly the floor burst open right next to Tifa. Jessie quickly pushed her out of the way as flames erupted from the protrusion. Unfortunately she lost her footing and tumbled into the steam-filled hole. At the last minute, Jessie gripped the edge of the hole with both hands, ignoring the scalding pain and she held on for dear life.
"NO!" Tifa screamed as she saw her friend hanging helplessly over the edge. Cloud rushed up to her and threw his arm out. "Grab my hand!" He yelled.
Jessie reluctantly released her right hand from the edge of the hole. Cloud grabbed it tightly and quickly yanked her up. Immediately, the hole erupted again with fiery flames and acrid fumes. Cloud looked on at the close call and sighed heavily. "Are you ok?" He asked.
Jessie grimaced as she looked down at her badly burnt leg. Cloud knitted his brows together in determination then kneeled down. "Climb up on my back." He said. "I'll carry you out."
"But you can't! I'll be too much of a burden."
"Just do it!" Cloud yelled back.
"Hurry up!" Tifa prompted as she saw the flames quickly becoming more erratic. Jessie climbed onto Cloud's back and he quickly hoisted her up and ran faster towards Barret and the others.
****
Zack looked anxiously back and forth from the entrance of the reactor core to the long narrow catwalk. He clutched his sword in growing agitation.
"Where are they?" Biggs grumbled, voicing Zack's own thoughts.
"They'll be here soon. Just be patient." He said, wishing he could believe those words himself.
The door quickly burst open and out came Barret, running at full speed. He stopped slightly to look back at them all.
"Come on! There's no time to waste! That detonator could go off at any second now!"
"Where's Cloud and the rest?" Zack asked.
"Right behind you!" Came Cloud's voice from inside the reactor. Aeris and Tifa were running along side him while Jessie was hoisted up over his back. "Lets get the hell out of here!"
A smile rose up to Zack's face as he saw that his friends were relatively unhurt. "Ok, let's beat it!"
Together they all ran as fast as they could up the ramp. The ground began to shake violently beneath them. Huge chunks of the upper parts of the structure began tumbling down over them. The exit to the long catwalk was still far in the distance.
"Move!" Barret yelled at the top of his lungs. "This whole place is falling apart!"
"We're moving as fast as we can!" Zack yelled back.
"We won't make it outta here in time!" Wedge moaned dejectedly.
Cloud caught something out the corner of his eye. "Hey everyone, over here! I think I see something!"
Cloud swiftly veered to the left. Much to the surprise of everyone else, directly under the catwalk they were currently on, was another catwalk that lead into a side corridor leading out. "If we take that partition out, we may have a chance of getting out of here faster."
"The risk is too great!" Barret said stubbornly. "We better just stick to the plan!"
"The hell with that!" Zack pitched in. "If we stick to the plan then we're all dead meat!"
"I… think we should take the risk." Aeris Added.
"I agree with Aeris on this one." Tifa said.
Barret looked at everyone under his current command. "So then I take it your all willing to go with this plan?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Fine then. We'll play it your way for now. You better be right." Without another word, Barret quickly jumped over the edge onto the next catwalk then ran up to the partition. "Jessie! I need you and Biggs to get this thing open on the double!"
The two Avalanche members quickly followed suit. Everyone else began filing after them. Zack clutched Cloud's shoulder. "Hey good work buddy. You may very well have just saved our lives."
Cloud turned to Zack and was about to reply when suddenly the ground shook violently once more. Both Cloud and Zack tumbled down onto the second level. Zack pushed himself up off the ground then hoisted Cloud up to his feet. "Damn! This place is tearing apart! Let's get out of here!"
Cloud nodded then stood up. Together they quickly dashed for the door.
Barret and the others were already through the partition and running through the catwalk on the other side. Biggs was now carrying the injured Jessie on his back. "Hurry up!" They could hear Aeris frantic voice yelling from across the door.
Zack and Cloud ran through the opening and sped up closer towards the group. "It look's like there's an exit at the end of the hall over there!" Zack said with a smile.
Cloud nodded but only ran faster. "We better catch up or it may not matter for us!"
Suddenly Zack jumped back, yanking Cloud along with him as bullets sprayed across the ground in front of them.
"What the hell?" Barret said from the other side of the walkway.
"THAT IS FAR ENOUGH AVALANCHE!"
Everyone looked up to see a Shinra helicopter lowering dangerously close to the catwalk. The door swung open revealing the robust form of President Shinra. He smiled arrogantly as he regarded them all. "Well well well… If it isn't the infamous group who have proven themselves to be a very annoying thorn in my side."
Barret growled in anger. "Shinra you bastard! Get down here so I can give you a 'proper' greeting!" He hoisted his gun arm to add emphasis.
This only amused Shinra more. "Hmph, unlike you, I am not that stupid. No I don't think I will be lifting a finger against you. It is not a president's place to deal with such insignificant problems after all. That's what he has underlings for."
"You arrogant, conceited, bastard! Be a man and fight me!"
"I'm sorry but I really don't feel like it. You do not pose enough of a threat for me to break my nails over. But don't feel too bad. I've brought a replacement whom I am sure can keep you occupied." He then smiled devilishly. "At least long enough for the reactor to blow up. I really must commend you on a job well done. This catastrophe seems to be powerful enough to take out the whole reactor area. I'll wager there's about roughly… 3 minutes left before the whole place goes KABOOM!" The President broke out into hardy laughs as the helicopter began to rise once more. "Farewell Avalanche, be assured to know that your deaths will be made as an example to others who dare to defy my rule."
With that, the helicopter took off and flew away.
"That bastard!" Barret seethed, shaking his gun arm up at the retreating figure.
However, he stopped in mid-swing as he saw a large object heading straight for them. It came plunging from the skies like a meteor then crashed down hard on the concrete in-between them. Much to Cloud's shock, it was nearly an exact replica of the same robot they fought earlier in the Reactor core. However this one was different. It had more artillery then the other with huge rocket launchers on its back and blades attached to its gun arms.
"Be careful." Zack said, unsheathing his buster sword. "This thing could be quite a problem."
"No kidding!" Cloud commented from next to him, likewise unsheathing his own sword. "We just got finished fighting a robot similar to this one in the reactor core. They don't go down easy."
Zack grinned slightly. "Then we'll just have to hit harder!" He quickly ran up to the machine, then swung his sword towards its left gun arm. The robot seemed to sense the attack and dodged accordingly.
"$hit!" Zack hissed then came back around, swinging the other way. Cloud followed in, stabbing at the armor casing on the robots back.
"They need our help!" Aeris said from on the other side of the machine.
"Damn! That bastard Shinra really nailed us good this time!" Barret grumbled.
Jessie Biggs and Wedge all took their places and began firing on the attacking robot.
Barret stood back to follow suit. "Tifa run in on its blind side. See if you can knock out it's location monitors. If you take those out, it won't be able to track us and we can make a break for it. The rest of you give her an opening but make sure not to fire too close!" They all nodded and Tifa rushed in with her attack. Aeris ran in next to her, twirling her staff like a baton.
"What are you doing?" Tifa said as she ran up closer to the robot.
"I can fight too!" Aeris said then rushed up and struck her staff into the robot's side.
Tifa grumbled then followed up with a round-house kick to the neck of the droid.
The robot spun around, preparing to hit back on the two girls. Cloud, seeing an opening, rushed in and dug his sword into the machine's right arm. It wagged around violently, spinning Cloud in every direction.
"Damnit! Hold on Cloud I'm coming!" Zack yelled. He ran in close, then drove his sword home inside the robot's chest cavity. The Machine began to convulse repeatedly. It whipped out it's other arm and rammed it hard into an unsuspecting Zack. The black haired mercenary flew back landing painfully onto the ground.
"Zack!" Aeris cast a concerned look towards the downed mercenary then looked back towards Cloud who was still being flung around wildly.
"Aeris stand back!"
Aeris turned to see a very calm Tifa. But that wasn't what surprised her so much. Tifa was now glowing with energy as it emanated from her body.
Aeris stood back looking in awe at the dark haired renegade. Tifa suddenly snapped her eyes open and rushed towards the robot with lightening speed.
"BEAT RUSH!" She screamed as she pummeled the robot continuously with her fists. The machine reeled violently from every attack. It's arm flung out, throwing Cloud high into the air and sending him crashing down to the ground below.
After the last hit the machine sagged back, sparks shooting violently out from its insides. However, Tifa wasn't done. She quickly followed up with a dolphin kick, which smashed the face plate off and dealt a critical blow to its main sensors. Finally she finished it up with a power punch which caved in the chest, pushing the robot back even further.
Tifa fell to the ground in exhaustion as the energy slowly left her body. Barret and the other Avalanche members stood back in shock.
"Wow good work!" Barret said. "Now let's clear out! We're still on a time limit people!"
Tifa looked up at her handiwork then suddenly gasped as she caught sight of Cloud's still form.
Aeris saw Tifa's concerned look and held her hand out to stop her. "Don't worry about it Tifa. I'll get him."
Zack groggily lifted himself up off the ground shaking his head vigorously. This was definitely not one of his days. He looked up and saw that the machine wasn't moving.
"What happened?" He asked curiously.
Aeris smiled as she ran up to the dark haired mercenary. "Tifa took care of him. Don't worry, we've won."
Zack smiled then took a tentative step forward towards Cloud. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
Cloud's eyes fluttered open. He shifted then clutched the side bar trying to stand up.
"Hey Cloud, you ok?" Zack asked in concern.
"Yeah, I'm-"
BOOOOM
Suddenly the reactor core erupted in flames throwing a forceful wind their way. Everyone fell back against the sidebars. The robot tipped over while Zack slammed into the ground a few feet away from the machine. He heard a faint beeping sound, which caused him to look up in interest.
His eyes quickly widened in surprise. "Oh hell!" He hissed then pushed himself up to his feet. "Everyone run! This machine was set on a self destruct timer!"
"Move!" Barret yelled running towards the exit.
Zack bit his lip looking up at Barret and the other retreating Avalanche members. 'We won't be able to catch up with them in time!'
Zack grabbed Cloud's arm. "Cloud, Aeris! We gotta run the other way! We won't make it if we follow them!"
Cloud cast a worried look towards the Avalanche members then ran towards the already retreating forms of Zack and Aeris.
After only a few feet, the machine erupted into a huge explosion. The momentum sent Cloud flying violently over the edge. He screamed in alarm as he disappeared into the mist below.
"CLOUD!" Zack yelled then ran towards where his comrade had fallen. The following explosions grew louder and more apparent. Suddenly the whole catwalk was engulfed in fire and smoke. Aeris screamed in fear as a huge brick fell towards her. Zack yanked her out of the way and clutched her in his arms just before the boulder hit. "Hold on to me!" He yelled then ran towards the opposite exit. Unfortunately, the supports broke apart and the catwalk slowly crumbled beneath them. Zack and Aeris screamed as they plummeted towards the endless pit of darkness below. The last thing Zack saw was the blurred form of Tifa running towards the edge of the catwalk, calling out Cloud's name in vain. The rest was darkness.
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Author's note: Thanks for reading. Please be aware that I may not have captured Tifa's limit break to the exact replica of the one in the game. My apologies for that. I haven't played in a while and so I'm not positively sure. I hope that hasn't taken away from the story in any way. Please stay tuned for chapter 15.