Final Fantasy 7: The Hojo Clone
By Co V Schuler
Part 2: The Second Cetra
Chapter 21 (Continued a few minutes after the end of Chapter 20)
Part 1 of Chapter 21 The Following Part of Chapter 21 is the POV of Team 2
Yuffie Kisaragi walked down the hill, her eyes watching the enlightened Mako reactor. About four hours until dawn; they were attacking early, when they figured Shinra would expect it. Hopefully wouldn't expect it. Lights surrounded the reactor, lighting it up like a flare.
Yuffie was with Vincent, and their mission was to plant a bomb inside the reactor and get out in fifteen minutes. The fifteen minutes is the amount of time that Barret, Tifa, and the somewhat-injured Red XIII have to live before retreating. They will attack for fifteen minutes and then retreat…Vincent and Yuffie have fifteen damn minutes to get in and out.
Vincent didn't think it could be done, but he kept that thought to himself. No need to kill the others moral while it was high. Vincent was ready, the Sniper CR in his holster at his side, the Aurora Armlet weighing him down, and the different kinds of Materia inside each of his weapons and armor. Mostly summons to distract the Shinra troops while he and Yuffie tried to get by them. He did have some anti-paralyze/slow items too. Shinra always used slow and paralyze.
Yuffie had her basic weapon, the Twin Viper, because she couldn't find any of the other ones. They were gone from her bottom dresser drawer but this one would do just fine. She had the Fire Armlet, since most Shinra and SOLDIER troops attacked with fire. Most of the Materia on her was healing and a few MASTER attacks. Mostly the good stuff.
The five warriors reached the patch of woods and split up without words. Vincent turned and started heading west, while the other team just stopped and started equipping themselves. Team 2, Vincent and Yuffie, had twenty minutes to get up the long way to the reactor, without being seen nor detected.
In twenty minutes, the Highwind would attack the reactor and Team 1 would go berserk on the reactor with the Highwind. Team 2 would sneak in the back way…
We need more time to have an actual plan, thought Vincent as he walked through the plains to the west side of the mountain. The reactor will be activated today, and we have to destroy it tonight or, like Bugenhagen said, the Planet will suffer more damage in a few minutes than it did with Meteor hitting it. Vincent shook his head.
Yuffie was watching the silent Vincent walk. He seemed like a movie actor; the gun in his hand, the cloak moving in the wind. The very cold wind, Yuffie realized.
Winter had moved in on the Planet, and it was supposed to snow tonight, with all the clouds gathering around the area.
Yuffie thought she heard running and saw Vincent starting to run. She sprinted to catch up to him and asked, "What's going on Vincent?"
With no hint that he was out of breath, Vincent said, "We don't have time to walk around. The path we are taking is much longer than we thought. If we kept walking, we would reach the reactor at dawn."
"Oh shit," Yuffie said without realizing it. "So we have to run there?"
Vincent nodded and started sprinting.
Oh shit. How we gonna make it up that trail before the Highwind attacks even if we do run? As if answering her question Vincent swerved left and started running up a dirt road. "Vincent," she whispered as she ran. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Taking a shortcut," he replied, without a hint that he was out of breath.
"But this road is used for cars and trucks! What if a patrol comes down here? Then we are-!"
Vincent suddenly stopped, grabbed her arm and pulled her into some foliage on the side of the road. "Vincent! What the-," she started to say but he put his gloved hand over her mouth. "Mm-mm mgh mf!"
Suddenly Yuffie heard a noise and a three-wheeled truck drove by, four soldiers in the back looking around. They heavily armed with some major assault rifles. The truck drove by and a few seconds later, Yuffie whispered, "How did you know they were coming?"
Vincent grabbed into the air behind Yuffie and pulled out a snake. "I see in the dark. Through a vampires eyes, shadows are light and light is a shadow. You almost got killed by this one snake."
Yuffie shivered as Vincent threw it back into the woods. "Lets move," he said and they got out and kept running up the hill. Yuffie kept up with Vincent, but she was slowly tiring. Every few minutes, a truck would go down the road, but never one going up.
Strange but Shinra. Shinra. The name that strikes hatred into the hearts of Avalanche.
The hill never ceased to keep going up; but a hundred yards to the top, Vincent stopped running and walked into the woods. Yuffie asked, "Vincent, what are we doing? The reactor is that way."
"You don't want to go there on the main road, do you?"
"Oh." Simple enough. They went through some foliage and came upon a game trail. The lights of the reactor were beginning to show through the woods.
Vincent started walking up it when both of them heard a voice.
"Well, well, well. Who would've thought we would find terrorist game on a game trail?" Vincent looked up and saw five men, all with their rifles aiming at him and Yuffie. "Yuffie, we are prey. I suggest you run before-," the man who had spoken first cut off Vincent.
"Run? Ha! There are more men down the trail than up the trail you assholes. Oh…wait a minute…you are…Avalanche assholes. Yeah…I remember you, Mr. Valentine. Your picture was at Junon all over."
"True," Vincent admitted. "But your soul will be condemned to part of the GI tribe if you don't let us pass."
The man roared with laughter and the other men laughed nervously with him. "The GI tribe! Avalanche is crazier than I thought! Ha ha…ha ha…" The man stopped laughing when Vincent said, "I have confronted some of them myself. They aren't very nice."
"Well then," the man said. "Maybe we should have all the fun before we are dead." The man jumped out of the trees and looked at Yuffie. "A pretty one. Your girl?" Vincent didn't move or say anything.
"Good…I think I'll have her to myself then." Vincent knew he couldn't move without getting shot to death. But he would do it this man wasn't bluffing. The man took another step toward Yuffie and Yuffie said, "You keep your dirty hands off me. I do have Ninja experience punk!"
"Really?" The man suddenly lit up the area as green magic swirled around him and he cast 'slow' on Yuffie. Then he cast paralyze and she couldn't move.
I have to help her, Vincent thought. As the man walked by Vincent, Vincent karate chopped the man's neck. The man fell to the ground and gunfire erupted from the trees. Vincent dove to his right, while releasing his Sniper CR from its holster and firing into the air. He felt a cold pain hit his left knee as he hit the ground.
The leader of the group was starting to get up and Vincent aimed and fired. The bullet flew true; straight through both of the man's knees. The man screamed and Vincent silenced him. Two more instances of sharp pain reminded him of the people in the trees.
They couldn't see him very well but through the dark, Vincent could see them perfect. Vincent fired at two of them, then a third. Two fell from the trees, their heads separated from their necks. The third man started screaming something about his legs and the fourth and last man had jumped out and was running.
Vincent shot the fleeing man and then finished the one screaming about his legs. Vincent slowly got to his feet, feeling where his enemies had gotten hits on him. Two in the chest and one in the leg.
Damn, he silently cursed. Vincent grabbed an item from his waist and threw it at Yuffie. When it hit her, powder erupted from it and when the smoke disappeared, Yuffie was running toward Vincent. "Vincent! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
She gasped when she saw the blood reflect the light from the reactor. Yelling was heard in the distance and Yuffie looked up and saw soldiers running her way.
When she looked back down, Vincent wasn't there. "I'm in the trees," said Vincent, his voice coming from above. "I will snipe out soldiers from here. You take the bomb-," something fell from the trees and landed at her feet, "-and go complete our mission."
She hesitated.
"Move it Yuffie." And she did what she was told. Getting the bomb and tying it around her belt, she started running toward the reactor. Men were running towards her but suddenly, without gunfire to warn them, they started falling down, blood spraying from their bodies.
Yuffie just kept running and she heard from the north side of the mountain, "For Kalm and Avalanche!" The other group was charging. The plan might work, thought Yuffie. She saw a trap door that looked like it might go into the cellar. Yes! She ran to and tried to break through by jumping on it.
Lightning was popping out of the sky in some places. She saw flashes of fire in some places and she saw Ice3 hit a soldier running towards Team 1. They were definitely attacking.
Damn! It won't break! She stepped back and casted Fire3 on it. It melted and she jumped in. More soldiers charged toward her and the hill that the other members of Avalanche were charging but Vincent was getting most of them.
She took a few steps forward, unable to find a light switch that would reveal the contents of the cellar and the exit. She kept crawling along the wall when she felt a switch. Yes again! She flicked and…
"Oh no."
Cannons were blazing from the Highwind outside, assault rifles firing and people screaming and yelling…but Yuffie forgot all that when she turned on the lights. The cellar was being used for storage.
Storage for bombs and guns and ammo. And Materia in one corner. Materia grinning at the sight of the Materia. It looked like Command Materia, most of it, but there was some green Materia.
She laughed and ran over to it, grinning wildly. She started stuffing some in her pockets, some in her cleavage. Realizing she couldn't carry all of it, she took off her belt and tied it around the bottom of her pants. Stuffing all the rest of the Materia down her pants, the belt there to make sure none fell out.
Greed had en-captured her but she had forgotten all about the mission. This was valuable Materia. I could…a noise from the cellar door. She spun around to find two soldiers looking at her in amazement. Not at all the Materia that she had, but at her body.
"Whoa!"
"She is a hot one!"
"Yeah…lets get her!"
Yuffie yelled something and started to run but fell down immediately. She couldn't run because of all the Materia she had. Damn!
"Alright!"
"She's making it easy!" The two soldiers grabbed and shook her. Materia spilled out of her pockets and out of her shirt.
"Whoa!"
"No kiddin'! This bitch is good! Oh…but wait. I think we have something down here." The man reached down the middle of her shirt and the other one laughed. The man pulled out more Materia. "Cleavage hiding. Cool!"
"Let's see what else she is hiding," the other said and they both laughed.
The man reached down her shirt and laughed. "Nice and so-," he started to say when a bullet when through his head. Blood splattered onto the other soldier's face and he started to say, "What the fu-," when a bullet went through the middle of his throat.
Yuffie was shaking as she buttoned her shirt back up and looked at the doorway. "Vincent," she cried. She got and slowly walked toward him. "Vincent, help me set the bomb. Here," she tossed the bomb at him and he caught it.
He was wounded but ignoring the pain. Blood was running down his body but he didn't pay attention to it. He walked over to a wall and attached it to the wall. Tifa had made the bomb during night; she said that one the fuse was lighted, Team 2 would have two minutes to get as far as they could.
Vincent set the bomb up and looked at Yuffie, who was stuffing her pockets full of the Materia. "Yuffie, forget about the Materia, we gotta get the hell outta here."
She looked at him. "Are you kidding? This is some good stuff." She opened her shirt and put the last Materia orb into her cleavage and then buttoned her shirt. "Let's go," she said.
Vincent's vampiric abilities were slowly healing him, forcing the three bullets out of him. It hurt badly but Vincent started walking away from the bomb.
Suddenly, there was a huge crash right outside the melted trap door and a helicopter blade spun into the room. "AAA," Yuffie shrieked and Vincent just closed his eyes. Noise of metal bending and groaning in protest filled his ears.
He opened his eyes and immediately saw that the lights were out. That helped his vision. Then he saw the helicopter blade. It had turned and gone into a wall, the blade going right through Yuffie's stomach and into the wall.
"Yuffie," he yelled. "NO! NOOOO!" He ran to her and saw she was still breathing. Good; she is still alive but how do I get this thing out of the wall so she can move?
Vincent calmed himself, trying to think clearly when he heard a door opening. He instinctively pulled out his CR and turned to see two soldiers staring at the crashed blade inside the cellar.
"How the hell did this happen," one of them said. The other soldier shook his head and exclaimed, "That is an Avalanche member. Get hi-," he was silenced by a silenced gunshot. Vincent turned the CR a few degrees to his right and pulled the trigger again.
The other soldier fell; his stomach a few feet away from the rest of his body.
Vincent looked back at Yuffie realized there was no way he could pull the helicopter rotor our to the wall. He would have to pull Yuffie out of the blade. "Oh shit," Vincent said when he realized it was the only way. Reluctantly, he put each of his hands around her waist and around torso.
And praying that it would work, he pulled with all his strength. For a few seconds, she didn't move but then Vincent realized he had fallen on the floor, Yuffie's unconscious body on top of him.
"Yuffie, wake up," he said. He rolled her off of him and pulled some 'cure' Materia from her armor. He focused on the magic as green swirls of mist surrounded him and small lights floated around. Purple, red, and green flickers of light circled her and she started coughing up blood, her wounds healing fast.
"Yuffie, wake up. Come on, we have to get the hell outta here."
Slowly she opened her eyes and said, "Ouch."
Vincent realized she was in shock. Oh no! I have to hurry and blow this place. Team 1 must be retreating soon.
Vincent carefully picked her up and hoisted her limp body over his shoulder. He was aware that his wounds had stopped healing, his body and powers unable to heal him when he was moving around too much.
He cast Regen on himself and Yuffie and then headed for the door. Two bodies were crumpled around it, and just for good luck, Vincent avoided stepping over them. On his way out, hit did a very small fire spell and lit the fuse. He then started running, through empty hallways and red alert lights flashing.
Keep going Vincent! You can do it, you can do it. You love Yuffie; you must save her. I can do it. I can DO IT!!!!!
"I can DO IT!!!" He yelled it out and it gave him more courage than he ever thought he could have.
Yuffie groaned and Vincent suddenly realized that she was pretty heavy. All the Materia she has!
"Vincent," he heard her whisper in his ear. "I can run now. Put me down."
He stopped running and put her on her feet. "Let's go," she said with determination and started running. The belt wrapped around her legs was now wrapped around her knees, so she could run fast and still have all the Materia.
"Better hurry Yuffie. I have already lit the fuse!"
Yuffie blinked and then said, "Oh boy. In that case, I will see you at the Highwind; I'm running for the woods."
At the next intersection of hallways, she turned left and Vincent kept running straight. Why did we just separate? He suddenly realized that woods would be the way she went. "Oh," he said and turned around. He made a right and saw her running through a door that lead outside.
"Hey stop," a voice yelled from behind. Vincent didn't stop. "I said stop!" Vincent didn't stop and suddenly there was pain his back and his left leg stopped working. "AAA," he yelled as he fell to the ground. He pulled out the CR and looked behind him.
A soldier was running toward him, about to fire again. He shot him through the right shoulder and then in the torso. "Yuffie! Help."
Through the still open door, Vincent saw Yuffie turn around and start running back to him. When she reached him, she bent over and Materia spilt out of her shirt. "Damn," she said as she started picking it back up.
Vincent suddenly said, "Run Yuffie; you have about thirty seconds."
She stopped and bit her lip. She could get the Materia or she could pick up Vincent and get out of there. She started picking up the Materia. "Its okay Vincent. We are going to get out of here." She kept on picking up the Materia and stuffing it down her shirt.
There was still some left on the floor when she picked up Vincent and she told Vincent to get the last two orbs. He complied and when he had them both, she started running with Vincent slumped over her shoulder. She's stronger than I thought, thought Vincent.
They made it out of the building with ten seconds to spare. Yuffie ran down the dirt road and suddenly she realized that Vincent wasn't hanging onto her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.
"Vincent," she called. He was lying on the ground about twenty feet from the Shinra building that was about to explode. "No," she screamed and started running back but the building exploded and she was lifted off the ground. As she flew, her world seemed to go into slow motion.
She watched Vincent's body get covered in fire as she flew away, unable to do anything about the love of her life. Suddenly, a piece of metal flew from the explosion and hit her head.
She landed on the ground, her head bleeding from the injury. She tried to get up but couldn't. She had been blown at least a hundred yards away from the building. She groaned in pain and suddenly lost consciousness, the wound in her head starting heal from when Vincent casted Regen on her.