On the way to Midgar, both Cloud's and Nanaki's condition took a turn for the worst. Nanaki was starting to show signs that he was in serious pain, and now and again, he would lose all feeling in one of his paws and would crash to the ground. Cloud however, was much worse off...
"Oh, God...he's collapsed!" Marlene knelt by Cloud, listening. Not breathing...She put to fingers to his throat. No pulse...oh no! "Nanaki!!"
"Here!" He dropped the de-fibrillator just beside her. "Do you know how to work this thing?"
"No!" She opened it and took out the two pads. "You?"
"I wouldn't even be able to handle these?" He glanced across to Reno, who was leaning against the far wall. "Hey, give us a hand here!"
Reno chuckled to himself. "You think that I would want to save him? This is like a dream come true. I get to see Cloud Strife die!"
Nanaki growled. "We'll get no help from him!" Meanwhile, Marlene was desperately trying to alter the voltage. "Damn it!" She grabbed the pads and attached them to Cloud's chest. "Work damn you!!" She released the voltage, sending an electrical current straight into Cloud's body. He didn't even twitch.
"What?!" She checked the voltage readout. That's way to low! She turned the dial, increasing the voltage as far as it would go. "OK, let's try again!" She attached the pads to Cloud's chest.
"Marlene, if the voltage is too high, we could cause permanent damage..."
"Clear!"
Cloud's body arched up in the air as if a lighting bolt had struck it, and then lay still. For a second, Marlene was worried that she might have killed him...
And he started breathing again. For a few moments, there was no sound to be heard except the hum of the engines and Cloud's breathing. Marlene was aware that she herself had stopped breathing and she took a deep breath inward.
Behind her, Reno's face was one of disappointment. "Well..."he finally said. "I'd say that you did a pretty good re-enaction of a hospital drama." If looks could kill, Reno would have gone right through the Highwind's bulkhead.
They entered Midgar early the next morning, Reno leading the way, holding a flashlight, Marlene bringing up the rear. The ruins had remained untouched in ten years. After the Meteor incident, a rescue effort was launched to pull survivors from the records. However, very few people who were pulled from the wreckage were still alive, and even fewer people actually survived more than a day after they were rescued.
She looked at Cloud, who had gone very pale. Despite Marlene's insistence that he should remain on the Highwind, he had come along anyway. He isn't going to give up until he finds a cure, even if it's pointless that he accompanies us. She looked at Nanaki, who was keeping a close eye of Reno. It was then that a thought struck her. The ruins did look very similar wherever you where, but weren't they going around in circles?
"Cloud?" she whispered. He turned in her direction. "How far would you trust Reno?"
"As far as I could throw Meteor!" he whispered back. "I don't trust him, and he obviously wants me dead, but we have no other choice." He looked at Reno. "Someone like Elena probably wouldn't have as many grudges against me, but it was just the luck of the draw that you found him first."
The journey lapsed back into silence. Eventually Reno shouted "We're here!"
The laboratory had largely remained untouched by the destruction of Meteor, except that a few of the glass bottles had been smashed. At one corner of the room, there was a huge bookshelf, at another, several glass bottles filled with coloured substances. And at the other side..."
"It's one of those cloning containers from Nibelheim..." Cloud whispered. Seeing the look on Marlene's face, he explained that himself, Sephiroth and Zack had come across the cylinders sixteen years ago in the Nibelheim mountains. Cloud had rumoured that Sephiroth might have been created in this way to be the perfect soldier.
"I don't know much about it, but using one of these, it might be possible to alter a human's DNA structure with this device," he concluded. He studied the control panel embedded into the wall next to it. The main problem is that to cure this disease, we may have to make some alterations to mine and Nanaki's DNA code, and I don't know where to start..." Slowly, he turned his attention to the bookshelf.
"Looks like we've got some reading to do..."
"Oh, God...he's collapsed!" Marlene knelt by Cloud, listening. Not breathing...She put to fingers to his throat. No pulse...oh no! "Nanaki!!"
"Here!" He dropped the de-fibrillator just beside her. "Do you know how to work this thing?"
"No!" She opened it and took out the two pads. "You?"
"I wouldn't even be able to handle these?" He glanced across to Reno, who was leaning against the far wall. "Hey, give us a hand here!"
Reno chuckled to himself. "You think that I would want to save him? This is like a dream come true. I get to see Cloud Strife die!"
Nanaki growled. "We'll get no help from him!" Meanwhile, Marlene was desperately trying to alter the voltage. "Damn it!" She grabbed the pads and attached them to Cloud's chest. "Work damn you!!" She released the voltage, sending an electrical current straight into Cloud's body. He didn't even twitch.
"What?!" She checked the voltage readout. That's way to low! She turned the dial, increasing the voltage as far as it would go. "OK, let's try again!" She attached the pads to Cloud's chest.
"Marlene, if the voltage is too high, we could cause permanent damage..."
"Clear!"
Cloud's body arched up in the air as if a lighting bolt had struck it, and then lay still. For a second, Marlene was worried that she might have killed him...
And he started breathing again. For a few moments, there was no sound to be heard except the hum of the engines and Cloud's breathing. Marlene was aware that she herself had stopped breathing and she took a deep breath inward.
Behind her, Reno's face was one of disappointment. "Well..."he finally said. "I'd say that you did a pretty good re-enaction of a hospital drama." If looks could kill, Reno would have gone right through the Highwind's bulkhead.
They entered Midgar early the next morning, Reno leading the way, holding a flashlight, Marlene bringing up the rear. The ruins had remained untouched in ten years. After the Meteor incident, a rescue effort was launched to pull survivors from the records. However, very few people who were pulled from the wreckage were still alive, and even fewer people actually survived more than a day after they were rescued.
She looked at Cloud, who had gone very pale. Despite Marlene's insistence that he should remain on the Highwind, he had come along anyway. He isn't going to give up until he finds a cure, even if it's pointless that he accompanies us. She looked at Nanaki, who was keeping a close eye of Reno. It was then that a thought struck her. The ruins did look very similar wherever you where, but weren't they going around in circles?
"Cloud?" she whispered. He turned in her direction. "How far would you trust Reno?"
"As far as I could throw Meteor!" he whispered back. "I don't trust him, and he obviously wants me dead, but we have no other choice." He looked at Reno. "Someone like Elena probably wouldn't have as many grudges against me, but it was just the luck of the draw that you found him first."
The journey lapsed back into silence. Eventually Reno shouted "We're here!"
The laboratory had largely remained untouched by the destruction of Meteor, except that a few of the glass bottles had been smashed. At one corner of the room, there was a huge bookshelf, at another, several glass bottles filled with coloured substances. And at the other side..."
"It's one of those cloning containers from Nibelheim..." Cloud whispered. Seeing the look on Marlene's face, he explained that himself, Sephiroth and Zack had come across the cylinders sixteen years ago in the Nibelheim mountains. Cloud had rumoured that Sephiroth might have been created in this way to be the perfect soldier.
"I don't know much about it, but using one of these, it might be possible to alter a human's DNA structure with this device," he concluded. He studied the control panel embedded into the wall next to it. The main problem is that to cure this disease, we may have to make some alterations to mine and Nanaki's DNA code, and I don't know where to start..." Slowly, he turned his attention to the bookshelf.
"Looks like we've got some reading to do..."