Chapter 11: The Lobby Battle
Kyle's eyes pop open, his tube has been raised up to the 68th floor once more, Aeris is sitting there, in-front of him. He doesn't seem to notice her like he always would. He seems... distracted by something. She looks at him and speaks softly;
"You're awake.."
He doesn't look at her, he acts like he didn't hear her. She blinks and speaks again;
"Is there.. something wrong?"
He then looks down at her, wishing he could speak.
"Soon.. I.. no... we shall be free Aeris..."
He thinks to himself.. wishing he could tell her.
"Are you.. alright Kyle?"
She asks as she looks him in the eyes and seemingly knows the answer..
Meanwhile.. Cloud, Tifa and Barret walk in through the front door, and a huge room opens up before them. Clear elevator tubes are on the wall to the right of them, a sign that looks like it's made of pure crystal with "ShinRa Incorporated" in big red letters, and behind that is what looks like a pickup truck. A bulletin board filled with papers is located near some comfy looking chairs. A stair case is on either side of the lobby which leads to the second floor. A woman behind a desk looks at them and speaks;
"Excuse me.. do you have an appointment?"
Cloud looks at her and simply replies;
"No.."
"Well then.. your going to have to leave"
She says but she falls silent as Cloud lifted his sword up so she can see it.
"I don't think so..."
He says in a low tone. She screams and pushes a button which sets off an alarm, and then hides under her desk.
"Awright... now the fun starts!!"
Barret says as a group of ShinRa soldiers come out of an elevator on the far side of the lobby. Cloud, Tifa and Barret get ready to fight as the soldiers head straight for them. Cloud charges right for the soldiers, his sword ready to slice them apart. They get their guns ready for the kill. They aim. They fire. Cloud knew they would use guns, the cowards never use swords. Just before the bullets hit him he jumps up, and before they can aim he screams;
"BOLT!"
The Lightning Materia glows green. Sounds of thunder can be heard from above as energy rips through part of the stairs and strikes the soldiers. It causes their guns to melt slightly, but that doesn't matter as the soldiers are dead.. the energy was enough to stop their hearts. Cloud lands and looks around. Tifa's voice comes from behind him;
"Cloud.. more are coming!"
But she was too late, they were already there, and once had his sights set on Cloud head. Just as he fires Tifa runs toward Cloud and manages to knock him out of the way, the bullet barely gets her, but it causes a pretty nasty looking wound as part of the bullet ripped at her flesh. She screamed a little as they landed, and the soldiers get ready to finish them off but as they lifts their guns, they're shot by Barret. It's never smart to turn your back to him. Cloud gets up and kneels next to Tifa, who is in a lot of pain, she's on her stomach and from his angle she looks like she's holding her stomach.
"Please don't be to badly hurt... please don't die on me..."
He says as he turns her over, and sees the wound on her arm, just below the elbow.
"I don't think... I'll die.. from such a... small wound..."
She says in a pain filled voice. A voice is heard above them;
"Hurry up!!!"
More soldiers.. sounds like a lot of them. Barret runs over to Cloud and Tifa and speaks;
"Come on lets go!"
Cloud nods slightly and helps Tifa up, and they make their way to an elevator. The door opens and they get in. Some soldiers fire as the door closes.
"So now where do we go?"
Barret asks.
"I don't know.. the highest floor that we can get to..."
Cloud says as he looks at Tifa's wound. Barret looks at the panel and it says;
"All floors above the 59th floor need a Keycard to verify that you have the proper clearance."
Barret pushes a button that's marked "59" and the elevator moves.
"Tifa, it doesn't look all that bad.. try healing it with that Restore Materia you have... and... thanks.. for saving my life.."
Cloud says as she pulls out the Restore Materia.
"I couldn't let... my best friend die... now could I?"
She says as she holds it up to her wound. The Materia glows green and the glow slowly starts to heal her.
Chapter 12: Within the ShinRa Building
The elevator door opens, and they step out. They step into a dull looking floor, it has few windows and a few chairs. Cloud backs up as he sees some guards.
"There are a few guards up ahead... I wonder if they have a Keycard we could use..."
Cloud says as he looks over his shoulder at Tifa and Barret.
"Well lets find out.."
Barret says as he gets his gun-arm ready. Cloud looks at him and speaks;
"Barret... we need a way to do this without making much noise.. they don't know we're on this floor yet... and I don't think your bullets will get through their armor..."
The guards do indeed have thick armor on their chests, arms and legs.
"So then.. what do we do?"
Tifa asks in a low voice.
"Hmmm..."
Cloud mumbles as he looks at them and then at Tifa.
"I may have an idea... it involves you Tifa."
Cloud says as he looks her over slightly.
"What would I have to do?"
Tifa asks... not expecting what he's going to say next. Cloud replies;
"Well... since they're men.... and since they're guarding a boring little hole such as this, and ShinRa does make their guards work long hours..."
He stops to take in a breath and then goes on;
"What does that have to do with the plan Cloud?"
Tifa asks, wishing he would get to the point. Cloud then speaks again;
"Well Tifa.. it's simple... I've noticed that you've um.. well.. "grown".. and noticed that guys have been staring at certain areas of you.. so I was thinking that..."
"You don't mean that you want me to..."
Tifa says as she cut him off. Cloud nods and then goes on;
"You'll have to use your "charm" on them..."
Her face turns a bright shade of red and she speaks in a low tone;
"Cloud.. I'm not like that..."
"It's the only way Tifa, all you have to do is get them to turn there backs to us and keep them turned, we'll sneak up behind them and knock them out, a chair to the head should work since they have no head gear."
Cloud says in a reassuring voice.
Tifa looks at the floor.. not sure of what to do. She takes in a deep breath and then looks at Cloud and speaks;
"Alright... I'll do it... but I've never done this before..."
Cloud puts a hand on her shoulder and tries to reassure her;
"Tifa.. if they're anything like most men, they won't notice if you make a mistake. Just flash a smile, bring the attention to your um.... "talent" and they won't even notice any mistake you make. Trust me on this.. I should now.. since I am a guy....."
A semi-smirk forms on her face and she looks right at him and speaks;
"Since when have you been noticing my 'talent'? Am I some kind of sexual object to you? Or maybe a fantasy?"
Cloud's jaw kinda drops.
"Well um... uh... no.. of course not Tifa... what ever made you think that?"
He says in a broken voice and her smirk grows a little bigger.
"Well the fact that you've noticed that I've 'grown'.. and just now the fact that it took you a while to answer me... and the fact that you got the idea for me to do this."
Cloud stays silent as she speaks, making no attempt to make a defense for these charges.
"I thought so... we'll talk about this later..."
Tifa says as she walks away from them and toward the guards. Cloud looks at Barret, whose smirking and he gets slightly annoyed at him.
"Wipe that smirk off your face damnit..."
Cloud says in an annoyed tone. Barret's smirk grows and he speaks;
"So Cloud... didn't think you'd be thinkin' 'bout her like that.."
Cloud grows more annoyed with those words.
"I do not.. she's my friend.. that's all... I don't have fantasies about my friends... even if they're..."
Cloud then trails off and goes silent.
"If they're what Cloud?"
Barret says, trying to get him to talk. Meanwhile, Tifa walks over to the guards.
"Excuse me gentlemen.. I'm kinda lost.. can you help me?"
She says in what she thinks is her "sexist" voice.. she's really bad at this. The guards turn as and look her over, checking out her "talent" as she walks to the right of them, swaying her hips and such.
"You see.. I was just minding my own business when these mean terrorists came in and started killing people... one even tried to rape me."
Tifa says as Cloud watches and listens. He shakes his head and sighs, speaking in a low voice;
"This is pathetic... I don't think they're gonna fall for this..."
But surprisingly enough they do.. well kind of... the guards turn slightly and walk toward her, both getting ready to rape her themselves. She turns and faces them.
"Will you help me?"
She says in her "sweet, innocent" voice. Cloud and Barret both grab a chair and sneak up behind the guards. Just as the guards were about to make their move, Cloud and Barret slam the chairs into the guards' heads, knocking them out. Cloud and Barret then search the guards, finally finding a Keycard.
"Alright we have it.. lets get going..."
Cloud says as he walks over to the elevator and pushes a button. The doors open and he steps in, followed by Barret and Tifa. Cloud places the Keycard into the slot and the computer scans it.
"You have clearance to the 60th floor"
The computer says in a female voice. Cloud pushes a button marked "60" and the doors close. Once the door close, the elevator starts to go upward.
A minute later it stops and the doors open. Cloud's head pops out and he looks around. The floor they're on isn't very great, to the left and right are these oddly shaped pillars, and in front of the elevators are 2 rows of statues, each row is broken into 2 sections. The row closest to the elevator has 8 statues in total, and the one closest to the northern wall has 6.
Four ShinRa soldiers stand guard behind the northern most statues. The statues form a sort of barrier that blocks access to the stairway they need to get to the next floor. Cloud walks out of the elevator and walks around.. looking for a door or something. Tifa and Barret stay inside the elevator until Cloud motions for them to come out. It appears that they now see Cloud as their leader. Cloud walks to the left of the elevators and locates a door. He then comes back to the elevators.
"Alright I found a door.. lets get going."
Cloud says in a low voice. Cloud goes to the left and walks to a door, followed by Tifa and Barret. He then opens the door and steps in, followed by the others. The room has a bunch of screens in it, each one showing an image from a camera that's in that room. One screen shows some soldiers standing near the statues that are closest to the northern wall. They move about every 30 seconds, watching the elevators. It was pure luck that they got to that room before they were spotted.
"We have to sneak past those guards using the statues to cover ourselves. I'll go first... and when I'm at the other side, I'll motion for one of you to do the same as I did.. alright?"
Cloud says as he slowly opens the door that's on the right side of the small room they're in. Both Barret and Tifa nod as Cloud opens the door and sneaks behind the closest statue. He's watched the movement and believes he's gotten the pattern down. Once every 30 seconds he hears the boots of the guards make a noise as they move and as they move he sneaks behind another statue. Ten and a half minutes pass as they all sneak past the guards and into the small room that was on the other side of the larger room. They all climb the stairs to the next floor, wondering what challenge await them.
They finally get to the 61st floor and open the door, since the staircase on each floor is within a small room. They enter a rather large room that looks rather comfy.. it appears to be a lobby of some kind. On the South wall are elevators, and all around the room there are windows. In the very center of the floor there is a huge tree, and around the base are bars that protect its water source. Five small circular tables are around the floor, each with 4 chairs. To the left of the tree are four large, longer tables that are bent in the middle so they kind of look like boomerangs.
Our brave group splits up and start to walk around, looking for a Keycard, because in order to get to any floor above the 60th, you need a Keycard to prove that you have the proper security level. Both Cloud and Barret have no luck, but Tifa does. She walking around looking for a Keycard, not looking where she's going and bumps into a guy that looks like he's important. The guy turns, since his back is to her and he likes what he sees.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention..."
Tifa says in her normal voice. The guy gets this sly smile on his face, he's planning something.
"It's alright... say... are you new here?"
He asks in a pathetic attempt to start a conversation. Tifa nods and goes on;
"Uh yeah... I just got here a few minutes ago.. I'm not really used to this place.. I mean.. it's so big.."
The guy comes to the belief that he can, with some work, get her into bed.
"Well... I'd be happy to show you around. And since I am a high ranking executive, it would be in your best interest to get to know me..."
He says in his cocky tone as he inflates his ego. He's kind of high ranking, but not so high ranking that he gets invited to executive meetings.
"That would be nice.. the only problem is... I don't have clearance to any floors above this one.."
She says as she starts in with her sweet, innocent voice, knowing that if this guy is as important as he says he is, she might be able to trick him into giving her his Keycard. The guy pulls out a Keycard and speaks:
"No problem, we can use this, I have clearance as high as the 66th floor."
She smiles, thinking of how to get the Keycard out of his hands without having to do anything with him. While all this is going on, Cloud and Barret have stopped looking and are now watching Tifa as she uses her female charm on this poor loser. Cloud is mentally laughing, thinking this guy has no chance and yet he keeps trying and Barret is about to burst into laughter.
"You know.. I could really go for something to drink, could you please go get me something?"
She says in a cute tone.. she's working this guy.
"Sure thing.. I'll also get something... here, hold onto this while I get the stuff.. since my hands will be full.."
He says as he hands her the Keycard and then walks off to go get something to drink... leaving her alone with the Keycard. She turns and sees Cloud and Barret and walks over to them looking victorious.
"I got a Keycard..."
Tifa says in a triumphant tone. She then notices that Cloud has a small smile on his face, or could it be a smirk?
"We know you did... you manipulated that poor sap..."
Tifa smirks and then replies;
"Call it what you want.. but I'm the one who got a Keycard."
Cloud walks toward the elevator and speaks;
"I got word that an executive meeting is being held on the 66th floor. We should go and check it out... we might learn where Aeris is being held."
Barret and Tifa follow Cloud to the elevator. He then pushes the button and as the doors open they all get in. Tifa then inserts the Keycard in the slot and that now familiar female voice is heard;
"You have clearance to the 66th floor."
Tifa pulls out the Keycard and Cloud pushes the button marked "66." The door closes and the elevator goes up as that poor sap comes back holding two cups in his hands. He then stands there, wondering where Tifa went.
Chapter 13: The Meeting
The elevator stops and the doors open. Cloud, Tifa and Barret walk out into a rather large floor. The floor is broken up into 7 rooms. The one in the very center is the largest.. it's the executive meeting room. It holds a massive table that can easily sit 30 or more people. There are 6 lamps on the table each about 5 feet apart, they give off a soft greenish light. There are about 12 other lights mounted on the walls, 4 near the door, 6 on the walls, 3 on each side, and 2 more near a window on the North wall. At the North end of the table is a chair larger then others, that is were President ShinRa sits.
The meeting is already in session as some voices are heard through the door, but you can't make them out. Cloud goes to the door and tries to listen in but all he hears is;
"Mhpejdkshjfhjdjd"
Or something of that nature.
"Damn... can't make out what they're saying..."
Cloud says in his frustration. Some foot steps are heard coming toward them and a voice or two.
"Did you hear those voices in the bathroom or was it just me?"
One voice asks in an attempt to make sure that he's not going insane.
"Nope.. I heard it as well...."
Another voice says, confirming that the other is not insane as he had once thought. The foot steps seem to end and the sound of a door opening is heard and then the footsteps are heard for a moment and then the sound of a door closing is heard.
"Voices in the bathroom....."
Cloud says, back in his thinking stance.
"Maybe somehow the voice of the ShinRa vermin can be heard in the bathroom."
Barret says in a rare moment of enlightenment.
"I was just thinking almost the same thing Barret...."
Cloud says as he starts to walk to the left.
"I want hear these voices for myself..."
Tifa says as she follows Cloud, and Barret just follows them. So they walk, each time they pass a door they look to see if it's marked "BATHROOM," and finally, at the end of the hallway, they reach the bathroom. Cloud opens the door and walks in, checking to see if it's empty and as fate would have it, not a person is seen within the walls of the bathroom.
"Alright guys come on in.."
Cloud says while in the bathroom, and Tifa and Barret both enter. They start to hear some faint voices and Cloud looks around. He then opens one of the stall doors and then he look above the toilet and sees an air duct.
"Must be where the voices are coming from..."
He says as he gets on top of the toilet and pushes the vent up and to the left.
"Cloud... you're going to make us crawl around in the air ducts aren't you?"
Tifa asks as she look up at him.
"Good to see you're on the same page as I am..."
Cloud says as he climbs into the air duct.
"Damn man... I wonder if I'm gonna fit in that tiny hole..."
Barret says as he walks up to the stall. Tifa hops on the toilet and reaches up with no luck.. she's about two inches too short even when she jumps up.
"I could use some help here.."
Tifa says in a frustrated voice. Cloud turns around and pokes his spiky head through the air duct. He then looks at her and smirks;
"A little too short for the job I see Tif."
"Very funny.. now help me up."
She says with an annoyed tone as she looks up at him. He lowers his right arm toward her and she grabs a hold of it. She then starts to use it as a piece of rope and Cloud then gets a pained look on his face and shouts;
"Oww.. ow! Tifa that hurts! You're to heavy to use my arm as a piece of rope."
"HOW RUDE!!!"
Tifa says as she finally gets into the air duct, giving Cloud a pissed off look. Cloud crawls away in a hurry and then holds his poor elbow and shoulder.
"Awright kids.. stop playin' around."
Barret says as he gets onto the toilet and then grabs a hold of the air duct. Cloud and Tifa both start crawling as Barret gets in. They head toward the voices and finally come to an air vent. Upon looking down they see meeting room.
Below them they see President ShinRa sitting nearest to the window. He's a short man with blond hair, he wears a red suit that doesn't really look all that good on him.
To his right sits Palmer, one of his "yes men". He's a cowardly, plump, old balding man who wears a gray suit.
Next to Palmer is Heidagger, a semi-plump man with a beard that wears a green suit, he's the guy that Tseng, leader of the Turks, reports to, and he's also one of President ShinRa's "yes men."
To Heidagger's left is a blond haired woman in a red dress. Her name is Scarlet, the only female among the group. She acts like she's constantly having her period most of the time, she's the head of Weapons Development.
Finally, sitting next to Scarlet is Reeve, head of Urban Development. He seems to be the only one who has a problem with ShinRa's evil doings.. to a certain extent that is.
"What is the estimated damage caused by the fall of the Sector 7 plate section?"
President ShinRa asks, looking at Reeve.
"The estimated cost is 7 billion Gil... due to the fact that we set up so many factories before it fell... the estimated cost to rebuild is.."
Reeve is about to finish when he's cut off;
"We're not rebuilding.. now that we have the Ancient, she will lead us to the Promised Land, and that's where we shall build Neo-Midgar.... raise Mako rates by 15% in all areas."
President ShinRa says in his normal, powerful tone.
"Rate hike, rate hike, rate hike!!! And please put in the space program as well!!"
Palmer says as he jumps up and down, seemingly happy by the news.
"Scarlet and Heidagger will spilt up the profits."
President ShinRa says as he looks at Palmer.
"Oh pooh...."
Palmer says as he slumps back into his chair.
"But sir... won't the rate hike make the people lose faith in the company?"
Reeve asks in his concerned tone of voice and President ShinRa shakes his head and speaks;
"No.. the ignored people will trust ShinRa Inc. even more."
Suddenly the door opens and a man in a white lab coat and glasses enters.
"Ah Hojo.. just the man I wanted to see... tell me the status of the Ancient."
President ShinRa says as the man closes the door behind himself and then turns, facing those in the room.
"As a specimen she's rather poor.. I've done a few tests and so far there is an 18% difference between her and her mother.. however our tests will most likely take 120 years to complete.. we need a specimen that can last that long."
Hojo spoke in a semi-grim tone, which causes President ShinRa's face to get a serious look.
"And how do we do that? The Ancient we have and her mother are the last ones on this planet..."
President ShinRa trails off as Hojo nods and then speaks;
"That's true, so we would have to breed her to get one.. but it couldn't be a human, that would only cause further destruction of a pure Ancient bloodline."
President ShinRa doesn't seem pleased with this news.
"So how could you breed her without the child being tainted with more human blood?"
President ShinRa asks, which causes Hojo to pace a bit, he always does this for some reason. He finally stops after a few moments of this pacing and looks at them all and speaks in a very 'matter-of-fact' tone;
"Very simple... we just use a male that isn't really human, and I just happen to know of one.."
President ShinRa looks confused and then it comes to him;
"You mean the 'boy' don't you?"
Scarlet laughs a little and then speaks;
"First he's our weapon and now he'll be used like a stud-horse."
Hojo gets an annoyed look on his face, he doesn't like the idea of Kyle being compared to a horse. He controls his anger and speaks in his 'normal' tone;
"I wouldn't compare him to a horse, but in a manner of speaking yes. They do seem to get along rather well, and I am interested in seeing what powers their child could have."
President ShinRa smiles at the thought of having another powerful weapon to do his bidding and he smiles as he replies;
"Do whatever is needed to get them to produce a child Hojo."
Hojo simply nods and walks to the door.
"Understood.."
Hojo says as he opens the door and then leaves quickly.
"All right.. that's all for today.."
President ShinRa says as he stands up. The others stand and they all leave, talking amongst themselves.
Chapter 14: Jenova and Red XIII
"I wonder who this "boy" is... and why he's so special..."
Cloud says as he, Tifa and Barret still look down on the meeting room.
"Well... lets go find out shall we?"
Tifa says as she starts to crawl backward toward where they had entered.
"I don't care who he is, jus as long as we get Aeris and get the Hell outta' here.."
Barret says as he too crawls backward. They all get out of the air duct and walk out of the bathroom. They then walk down the hall and come to the front of the meeting room, where Hojo just happens to be standing. He's seemingly searching for something in his lab coat as Cloud, Tifa and Barret see him and hide behind a wall.
"I wonder what he's looking for..."
Cloud says in a low voice.
"We should follow him.. he might lead us to Aeris..."
Tifa says as she watches Hojo, who finally pulls out what he was looking for, a Keycard. He then starts to walk away and Cloud, Tifa and Barret slowly start to follow him. Hojo, whom is now followed not-so-closely behind by Cloud and the others, walks into a room, and then up the stairs. Once on the next floor he inserts the Keycard and the door opens. Hojo then walks out of the stair-case room, and then Cloud, Tifa and Barret slowly make their way up the stairs and out the door, which, as luck would have it, was left open by Hojo.
The 67th floor seems larger when compared to the others, as it's broken up into 2 sections.
The first half is made up of 1 large room that contains monitors and computers, as well as many prison cells, which is the building very own jail.
The other half contains a room that controls two special elevators. The first is used to lift specimens to the northern part of the 68th floor, while the second is used to lift and lower Kyle's tube, but other tubes can be placed on it and lifted like his was. This section contains a few specimens, and other things in boxes and such.
Hojo walks into the second half of the floor and stops in-front of a glass tube. Cloud, Tifa and Barret hide behind a wall section and watch as Hojo taps on a glass tube that holds a creature that looks like a lion, only it has red fur and the tip of it's tail looks like it's on fire. It has what looks like scars and a "XIII" on one of it's legs. A guy in a dark blue suit walks into the room, and makes his way to Hojo, whom has turned to face him.
"I want this specimen transported upstairs. Use the elevator that was used to lift Pisces."
Hojo says as he looks at the tube that contains the lion creature. The guy nods and replies;
"Yes sir."
Before walking away from Hojo.
"We'll just see how Pisces reacts when she's threatened..."
Hojo says as he walks to the second elevator in that room. He gets on and is lifted to the next floor and Cloud and the others come out of hiding. Tifa walks up to the tube that holds the lion creature and taps it as well, it appears to be asleep.
"I wonder what he meant by 'how Pisces reacts when she's threatened...' do you guys think this "Pisces" could be the same person that was in that story Aeris' mom told us?"
Tifa says as she continues to tap the tube, but the creature doesn't move. Cloud looks around a little and sees what looks like a pressure chamber. He then replies;
"Maybe..."
As he walks closer to the chamber. He notices a plate, which on it reads;
"Jenova"
Cloud then looks into the chamber and sees what looks like the body of a woman and has no head. He then seemingly gets freaked out by this and holds his head, dropping to his knees. Suddenly, Cloud is pulled into a flash back... he's inside a Mako Reactor, standing behind a younger Tifa, who is holding the head of her dead father.
"Sephiroth.. ShinRa... SOLDIER.... Mako Reactors... I hate them all!!"
The younger version of Tifa screams as she gets up, holding what looks like Sephiroth's Masamune, a nasty looking 6 foot long Katana. She then runs forward, toward another section of the Mako Reactor and then suddenly it all ends.. and he's "back" in the ShinRa building. Barret looks at him in shock and speaks;
"Yo.. you awright man?"
Tifa turns and looks at Cloud. She then runs over to him and lucky happens to catch him as he falls backward.
"Jenova.... Sephiroth's.... so... they've brought it here...."
Cloud says in a low tone.
"Jenova?"
Barret asks as he turns and looks into the chamber.
"Where the Hell is it's head? This thing is stupid..."
He says as he turns back to Cloud, who has finally regained his control. Cloud then stands up, shaking off those old feelings.
"I suppose.. anyway... lets get going... I have a feeling Aeris is close..."
Cloud says in a low voice as he starts to walk toward the elevator, and he's followed by Tifa and Barret, but just before they get to it, Cloud stops as something to the right has catches his eye. He turns and walks over to the object, which he discovers is a green crystal.
"A piece of Materia... what is it doing here..."
He asks himself as he places it in a pocket for later use. Barret and Tifa have already gotten to the elevator and are waiting for Cloud.
"Hurry your spiky ass up!"
Barret yells, he doesn't like waiting. Cloud walks to the elevator and they all get in. Cloud then pushes the button, as he always does and the ol' elevator moves upward.
Kyle's eyes pop open, his tube has been raised up to the 68th floor once more, Aeris is sitting there, in-front of him. He doesn't seem to notice her like he always would. He seems... distracted by something. She looks at him and speaks softly;
"You're awake.."
He doesn't look at her, he acts like he didn't hear her. She blinks and speaks again;
"Is there.. something wrong?"
He then looks down at her, wishing he could speak.
"Soon.. I.. no... we shall be free Aeris..."
He thinks to himself.. wishing he could tell her.
"Are you.. alright Kyle?"
She asks as she looks him in the eyes and seemingly knows the answer..
Meanwhile.. Cloud, Tifa and Barret walk in through the front door, and a huge room opens up before them. Clear elevator tubes are on the wall to the right of them, a sign that looks like it's made of pure crystal with "ShinRa Incorporated" in big red letters, and behind that is what looks like a pickup truck. A bulletin board filled with papers is located near some comfy looking chairs. A stair case is on either side of the lobby which leads to the second floor. A woman behind a desk looks at them and speaks;
"Excuse me.. do you have an appointment?"
Cloud looks at her and simply replies;
"No.."
"Well then.. your going to have to leave"
She says but she falls silent as Cloud lifted his sword up so she can see it.
"I don't think so..."
He says in a low tone. She screams and pushes a button which sets off an alarm, and then hides under her desk.
"Awright... now the fun starts!!"
Barret says as a group of ShinRa soldiers come out of an elevator on the far side of the lobby. Cloud, Tifa and Barret get ready to fight as the soldiers head straight for them. Cloud charges right for the soldiers, his sword ready to slice them apart. They get their guns ready for the kill. They aim. They fire. Cloud knew they would use guns, the cowards never use swords. Just before the bullets hit him he jumps up, and before they can aim he screams;
"BOLT!"
The Lightning Materia glows green. Sounds of thunder can be heard from above as energy rips through part of the stairs and strikes the soldiers. It causes their guns to melt slightly, but that doesn't matter as the soldiers are dead.. the energy was enough to stop their hearts. Cloud lands and looks around. Tifa's voice comes from behind him;
"Cloud.. more are coming!"
But she was too late, they were already there, and once had his sights set on Cloud head. Just as he fires Tifa runs toward Cloud and manages to knock him out of the way, the bullet barely gets her, but it causes a pretty nasty looking wound as part of the bullet ripped at her flesh. She screamed a little as they landed, and the soldiers get ready to finish them off but as they lifts their guns, they're shot by Barret. It's never smart to turn your back to him. Cloud gets up and kneels next to Tifa, who is in a lot of pain, she's on her stomach and from his angle she looks like she's holding her stomach.
"Please don't be to badly hurt... please don't die on me..."
He says as he turns her over, and sees the wound on her arm, just below the elbow.
"I don't think... I'll die.. from such a... small wound..."
She says in a pain filled voice. A voice is heard above them;
"Hurry up!!!"
More soldiers.. sounds like a lot of them. Barret runs over to Cloud and Tifa and speaks;
"Come on lets go!"
Cloud nods slightly and helps Tifa up, and they make their way to an elevator. The door opens and they get in. Some soldiers fire as the door closes.
"So now where do we go?"
Barret asks.
"I don't know.. the highest floor that we can get to..."
Cloud says as he looks at Tifa's wound. Barret looks at the panel and it says;
"All floors above the 59th floor need a Keycard to verify that you have the proper clearance."
Barret pushes a button that's marked "59" and the elevator moves.
"Tifa, it doesn't look all that bad.. try healing it with that Restore Materia you have... and... thanks.. for saving my life.."
Cloud says as she pulls out the Restore Materia.
"I couldn't let... my best friend die... now could I?"
She says as she holds it up to her wound. The Materia glows green and the glow slowly starts to heal her.
Chapter 12: Within the ShinRa Building
The elevator door opens, and they step out. They step into a dull looking floor, it has few windows and a few chairs. Cloud backs up as he sees some guards.
"There are a few guards up ahead... I wonder if they have a Keycard we could use..."
Cloud says as he looks over his shoulder at Tifa and Barret.
"Well lets find out.."
Barret says as he gets his gun-arm ready. Cloud looks at him and speaks;
"Barret... we need a way to do this without making much noise.. they don't know we're on this floor yet... and I don't think your bullets will get through their armor..."
The guards do indeed have thick armor on their chests, arms and legs.
"So then.. what do we do?"
Tifa asks in a low voice.
"Hmmm..."
Cloud mumbles as he looks at them and then at Tifa.
"I may have an idea... it involves you Tifa."
Cloud says as he looks her over slightly.
"What would I have to do?"
Tifa asks... not expecting what he's going to say next. Cloud replies;
"Well... since they're men.... and since they're guarding a boring little hole such as this, and ShinRa does make their guards work long hours..."
He stops to take in a breath and then goes on;
"What does that have to do with the plan Cloud?"
Tifa asks, wishing he would get to the point. Cloud then speaks again;
"Well Tifa.. it's simple... I've noticed that you've um.. well.. "grown".. and noticed that guys have been staring at certain areas of you.. so I was thinking that..."
"You don't mean that you want me to..."
Tifa says as she cut him off. Cloud nods and then goes on;
"You'll have to use your "charm" on them..."
Her face turns a bright shade of red and she speaks in a low tone;
"Cloud.. I'm not like that..."
"It's the only way Tifa, all you have to do is get them to turn there backs to us and keep them turned, we'll sneak up behind them and knock them out, a chair to the head should work since they have no head gear."
Cloud says in a reassuring voice.
Tifa looks at the floor.. not sure of what to do. She takes in a deep breath and then looks at Cloud and speaks;
"Alright... I'll do it... but I've never done this before..."
Cloud puts a hand on her shoulder and tries to reassure her;
"Tifa.. if they're anything like most men, they won't notice if you make a mistake. Just flash a smile, bring the attention to your um.... "talent" and they won't even notice any mistake you make. Trust me on this.. I should now.. since I am a guy....."
A semi-smirk forms on her face and she looks right at him and speaks;
"Since when have you been noticing my 'talent'? Am I some kind of sexual object to you? Or maybe a fantasy?"
Cloud's jaw kinda drops.
"Well um... uh... no.. of course not Tifa... what ever made you think that?"
He says in a broken voice and her smirk grows a little bigger.
"Well the fact that you've noticed that I've 'grown'.. and just now the fact that it took you a while to answer me... and the fact that you got the idea for me to do this."
Cloud stays silent as she speaks, making no attempt to make a defense for these charges.
"I thought so... we'll talk about this later..."
Tifa says as she walks away from them and toward the guards. Cloud looks at Barret, whose smirking and he gets slightly annoyed at him.
"Wipe that smirk off your face damnit..."
Cloud says in an annoyed tone. Barret's smirk grows and he speaks;
"So Cloud... didn't think you'd be thinkin' 'bout her like that.."
Cloud grows more annoyed with those words.
"I do not.. she's my friend.. that's all... I don't have fantasies about my friends... even if they're..."
Cloud then trails off and goes silent.
"If they're what Cloud?"
Barret says, trying to get him to talk. Meanwhile, Tifa walks over to the guards.
"Excuse me gentlemen.. I'm kinda lost.. can you help me?"
She says in what she thinks is her "sexist" voice.. she's really bad at this. The guards turn as and look her over, checking out her "talent" as she walks to the right of them, swaying her hips and such.
"You see.. I was just minding my own business when these mean terrorists came in and started killing people... one even tried to rape me."
Tifa says as Cloud watches and listens. He shakes his head and sighs, speaking in a low voice;
"This is pathetic... I don't think they're gonna fall for this..."
But surprisingly enough they do.. well kind of... the guards turn slightly and walk toward her, both getting ready to rape her themselves. She turns and faces them.
"Will you help me?"
She says in her "sweet, innocent" voice. Cloud and Barret both grab a chair and sneak up behind the guards. Just as the guards were about to make their move, Cloud and Barret slam the chairs into the guards' heads, knocking them out. Cloud and Barret then search the guards, finally finding a Keycard.
"Alright we have it.. lets get going..."
Cloud says as he walks over to the elevator and pushes a button. The doors open and he steps in, followed by Barret and Tifa. Cloud places the Keycard into the slot and the computer scans it.
"You have clearance to the 60th floor"
The computer says in a female voice. Cloud pushes a button marked "60" and the doors close. Once the door close, the elevator starts to go upward.
A minute later it stops and the doors open. Cloud's head pops out and he looks around. The floor they're on isn't very great, to the left and right are these oddly shaped pillars, and in front of the elevators are 2 rows of statues, each row is broken into 2 sections. The row closest to the elevator has 8 statues in total, and the one closest to the northern wall has 6.
Four ShinRa soldiers stand guard behind the northern most statues. The statues form a sort of barrier that blocks access to the stairway they need to get to the next floor. Cloud walks out of the elevator and walks around.. looking for a door or something. Tifa and Barret stay inside the elevator until Cloud motions for them to come out. It appears that they now see Cloud as their leader. Cloud walks to the left of the elevators and locates a door. He then comes back to the elevators.
"Alright I found a door.. lets get going."
Cloud says in a low voice. Cloud goes to the left and walks to a door, followed by Tifa and Barret. He then opens the door and steps in, followed by the others. The room has a bunch of screens in it, each one showing an image from a camera that's in that room. One screen shows some soldiers standing near the statues that are closest to the northern wall. They move about every 30 seconds, watching the elevators. It was pure luck that they got to that room before they were spotted.
"We have to sneak past those guards using the statues to cover ourselves. I'll go first... and when I'm at the other side, I'll motion for one of you to do the same as I did.. alright?"
Cloud says as he slowly opens the door that's on the right side of the small room they're in. Both Barret and Tifa nod as Cloud opens the door and sneaks behind the closest statue. He's watched the movement and believes he's gotten the pattern down. Once every 30 seconds he hears the boots of the guards make a noise as they move and as they move he sneaks behind another statue. Ten and a half minutes pass as they all sneak past the guards and into the small room that was on the other side of the larger room. They all climb the stairs to the next floor, wondering what challenge await them.
They finally get to the 61st floor and open the door, since the staircase on each floor is within a small room. They enter a rather large room that looks rather comfy.. it appears to be a lobby of some kind. On the South wall are elevators, and all around the room there are windows. In the very center of the floor there is a huge tree, and around the base are bars that protect its water source. Five small circular tables are around the floor, each with 4 chairs. To the left of the tree are four large, longer tables that are bent in the middle so they kind of look like boomerangs.
Our brave group splits up and start to walk around, looking for a Keycard, because in order to get to any floor above the 60th, you need a Keycard to prove that you have the proper security level. Both Cloud and Barret have no luck, but Tifa does. She walking around looking for a Keycard, not looking where she's going and bumps into a guy that looks like he's important. The guy turns, since his back is to her and he likes what he sees.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention..."
Tifa says in her normal voice. The guy gets this sly smile on his face, he's planning something.
"It's alright... say... are you new here?"
He asks in a pathetic attempt to start a conversation. Tifa nods and goes on;
"Uh yeah... I just got here a few minutes ago.. I'm not really used to this place.. I mean.. it's so big.."
The guy comes to the belief that he can, with some work, get her into bed.
"Well... I'd be happy to show you around. And since I am a high ranking executive, it would be in your best interest to get to know me..."
He says in his cocky tone as he inflates his ego. He's kind of high ranking, but not so high ranking that he gets invited to executive meetings.
"That would be nice.. the only problem is... I don't have clearance to any floors above this one.."
She says as she starts in with her sweet, innocent voice, knowing that if this guy is as important as he says he is, she might be able to trick him into giving her his Keycard. The guy pulls out a Keycard and speaks:
"No problem, we can use this, I have clearance as high as the 66th floor."
She smiles, thinking of how to get the Keycard out of his hands without having to do anything with him. While all this is going on, Cloud and Barret have stopped looking and are now watching Tifa as she uses her female charm on this poor loser. Cloud is mentally laughing, thinking this guy has no chance and yet he keeps trying and Barret is about to burst into laughter.
"You know.. I could really go for something to drink, could you please go get me something?"
She says in a cute tone.. she's working this guy.
"Sure thing.. I'll also get something... here, hold onto this while I get the stuff.. since my hands will be full.."
He says as he hands her the Keycard and then walks off to go get something to drink... leaving her alone with the Keycard. She turns and sees Cloud and Barret and walks over to them looking victorious.
"I got a Keycard..."
Tifa says in a triumphant tone. She then notices that Cloud has a small smile on his face, or could it be a smirk?
"We know you did... you manipulated that poor sap..."
Tifa smirks and then replies;
"Call it what you want.. but I'm the one who got a Keycard."
Cloud walks toward the elevator and speaks;
"I got word that an executive meeting is being held on the 66th floor. We should go and check it out... we might learn where Aeris is being held."
Barret and Tifa follow Cloud to the elevator. He then pushes the button and as the doors open they all get in. Tifa then inserts the Keycard in the slot and that now familiar female voice is heard;
"You have clearance to the 66th floor."
Tifa pulls out the Keycard and Cloud pushes the button marked "66." The door closes and the elevator goes up as that poor sap comes back holding two cups in his hands. He then stands there, wondering where Tifa went.
Chapter 13: The Meeting
The elevator stops and the doors open. Cloud, Tifa and Barret walk out into a rather large floor. The floor is broken up into 7 rooms. The one in the very center is the largest.. it's the executive meeting room. It holds a massive table that can easily sit 30 or more people. There are 6 lamps on the table each about 5 feet apart, they give off a soft greenish light. There are about 12 other lights mounted on the walls, 4 near the door, 6 on the walls, 3 on each side, and 2 more near a window on the North wall. At the North end of the table is a chair larger then others, that is were President ShinRa sits.
The meeting is already in session as some voices are heard through the door, but you can't make them out. Cloud goes to the door and tries to listen in but all he hears is;
"Mhpejdkshjfhjdjd"
Or something of that nature.
"Damn... can't make out what they're saying..."
Cloud says in his frustration. Some foot steps are heard coming toward them and a voice or two.
"Did you hear those voices in the bathroom or was it just me?"
One voice asks in an attempt to make sure that he's not going insane.
"Nope.. I heard it as well...."
Another voice says, confirming that the other is not insane as he had once thought. The foot steps seem to end and the sound of a door opening is heard and then the footsteps are heard for a moment and then the sound of a door closing is heard.
"Voices in the bathroom....."
Cloud says, back in his thinking stance.
"Maybe somehow the voice of the ShinRa vermin can be heard in the bathroom."
Barret says in a rare moment of enlightenment.
"I was just thinking almost the same thing Barret...."
Cloud says as he starts to walk to the left.
"I want hear these voices for myself..."
Tifa says as she follows Cloud, and Barret just follows them. So they walk, each time they pass a door they look to see if it's marked "BATHROOM," and finally, at the end of the hallway, they reach the bathroom. Cloud opens the door and walks in, checking to see if it's empty and as fate would have it, not a person is seen within the walls of the bathroom.
"Alright guys come on in.."
Cloud says while in the bathroom, and Tifa and Barret both enter. They start to hear some faint voices and Cloud looks around. He then opens one of the stall doors and then he look above the toilet and sees an air duct.
"Must be where the voices are coming from..."
He says as he gets on top of the toilet and pushes the vent up and to the left.
"Cloud... you're going to make us crawl around in the air ducts aren't you?"
Tifa asks as she look up at him.
"Good to see you're on the same page as I am..."
Cloud says as he climbs into the air duct.
"Damn man... I wonder if I'm gonna fit in that tiny hole..."
Barret says as he walks up to the stall. Tifa hops on the toilet and reaches up with no luck.. she's about two inches too short even when she jumps up.
"I could use some help here.."
Tifa says in a frustrated voice. Cloud turns around and pokes his spiky head through the air duct. He then looks at her and smirks;
"A little too short for the job I see Tif."
"Very funny.. now help me up."
She says with an annoyed tone as she looks up at him. He lowers his right arm toward her and she grabs a hold of it. She then starts to use it as a piece of rope and Cloud then gets a pained look on his face and shouts;
"Oww.. ow! Tifa that hurts! You're to heavy to use my arm as a piece of rope."
"HOW RUDE!!!"
Tifa says as she finally gets into the air duct, giving Cloud a pissed off look. Cloud crawls away in a hurry and then holds his poor elbow and shoulder.
"Awright kids.. stop playin' around."
Barret says as he gets onto the toilet and then grabs a hold of the air duct. Cloud and Tifa both start crawling as Barret gets in. They head toward the voices and finally come to an air vent. Upon looking down they see meeting room.
Below them they see President ShinRa sitting nearest to the window. He's a short man with blond hair, he wears a red suit that doesn't really look all that good on him.
To his right sits Palmer, one of his "yes men". He's a cowardly, plump, old balding man who wears a gray suit.
Next to Palmer is Heidagger, a semi-plump man with a beard that wears a green suit, he's the guy that Tseng, leader of the Turks, reports to, and he's also one of President ShinRa's "yes men."
To Heidagger's left is a blond haired woman in a red dress. Her name is Scarlet, the only female among the group. She acts like she's constantly having her period most of the time, she's the head of Weapons Development.
Finally, sitting next to Scarlet is Reeve, head of Urban Development. He seems to be the only one who has a problem with ShinRa's evil doings.. to a certain extent that is.
"What is the estimated damage caused by the fall of the Sector 7 plate section?"
President ShinRa asks, looking at Reeve.
"The estimated cost is 7 billion Gil... due to the fact that we set up so many factories before it fell... the estimated cost to rebuild is.."
Reeve is about to finish when he's cut off;
"We're not rebuilding.. now that we have the Ancient, she will lead us to the Promised Land, and that's where we shall build Neo-Midgar.... raise Mako rates by 15% in all areas."
President ShinRa says in his normal, powerful tone.
"Rate hike, rate hike, rate hike!!! And please put in the space program as well!!"
Palmer says as he jumps up and down, seemingly happy by the news.
"Scarlet and Heidagger will spilt up the profits."
President ShinRa says as he looks at Palmer.
"Oh pooh...."
Palmer says as he slumps back into his chair.
"But sir... won't the rate hike make the people lose faith in the company?"
Reeve asks in his concerned tone of voice and President ShinRa shakes his head and speaks;
"No.. the ignored people will trust ShinRa Inc. even more."
Suddenly the door opens and a man in a white lab coat and glasses enters.
"Ah Hojo.. just the man I wanted to see... tell me the status of the Ancient."
President ShinRa says as the man closes the door behind himself and then turns, facing those in the room.
"As a specimen she's rather poor.. I've done a few tests and so far there is an 18% difference between her and her mother.. however our tests will most likely take 120 years to complete.. we need a specimen that can last that long."
Hojo spoke in a semi-grim tone, which causes President ShinRa's face to get a serious look.
"And how do we do that? The Ancient we have and her mother are the last ones on this planet..."
President ShinRa trails off as Hojo nods and then speaks;
"That's true, so we would have to breed her to get one.. but it couldn't be a human, that would only cause further destruction of a pure Ancient bloodline."
President ShinRa doesn't seem pleased with this news.
"So how could you breed her without the child being tainted with more human blood?"
President ShinRa asks, which causes Hojo to pace a bit, he always does this for some reason. He finally stops after a few moments of this pacing and looks at them all and speaks in a very 'matter-of-fact' tone;
"Very simple... we just use a male that isn't really human, and I just happen to know of one.."
President ShinRa looks confused and then it comes to him;
"You mean the 'boy' don't you?"
Scarlet laughs a little and then speaks;
"First he's our weapon and now he'll be used like a stud-horse."
Hojo gets an annoyed look on his face, he doesn't like the idea of Kyle being compared to a horse. He controls his anger and speaks in his 'normal' tone;
"I wouldn't compare him to a horse, but in a manner of speaking yes. They do seem to get along rather well, and I am interested in seeing what powers their child could have."
President ShinRa smiles at the thought of having another powerful weapon to do his bidding and he smiles as he replies;
"Do whatever is needed to get them to produce a child Hojo."
Hojo simply nods and walks to the door.
"Understood.."
Hojo says as he opens the door and then leaves quickly.
"All right.. that's all for today.."
President ShinRa says as he stands up. The others stand and they all leave, talking amongst themselves.
Chapter 14: Jenova and Red XIII
"I wonder who this "boy" is... and why he's so special..."
Cloud says as he, Tifa and Barret still look down on the meeting room.
"Well... lets go find out shall we?"
Tifa says as she starts to crawl backward toward where they had entered.
"I don't care who he is, jus as long as we get Aeris and get the Hell outta' here.."
Barret says as he too crawls backward. They all get out of the air duct and walk out of the bathroom. They then walk down the hall and come to the front of the meeting room, where Hojo just happens to be standing. He's seemingly searching for something in his lab coat as Cloud, Tifa and Barret see him and hide behind a wall.
"I wonder what he's looking for..."
Cloud says in a low voice.
"We should follow him.. he might lead us to Aeris..."
Tifa says as she watches Hojo, who finally pulls out what he was looking for, a Keycard. He then starts to walk away and Cloud, Tifa and Barret slowly start to follow him. Hojo, whom is now followed not-so-closely behind by Cloud and the others, walks into a room, and then up the stairs. Once on the next floor he inserts the Keycard and the door opens. Hojo then walks out of the stair-case room, and then Cloud, Tifa and Barret slowly make their way up the stairs and out the door, which, as luck would have it, was left open by Hojo.
The 67th floor seems larger when compared to the others, as it's broken up into 2 sections.
The first half is made up of 1 large room that contains monitors and computers, as well as many prison cells, which is the building very own jail.
The other half contains a room that controls two special elevators. The first is used to lift specimens to the northern part of the 68th floor, while the second is used to lift and lower Kyle's tube, but other tubes can be placed on it and lifted like his was. This section contains a few specimens, and other things in boxes and such.
Hojo walks into the second half of the floor and stops in-front of a glass tube. Cloud, Tifa and Barret hide behind a wall section and watch as Hojo taps on a glass tube that holds a creature that looks like a lion, only it has red fur and the tip of it's tail looks like it's on fire. It has what looks like scars and a "XIII" on one of it's legs. A guy in a dark blue suit walks into the room, and makes his way to Hojo, whom has turned to face him.
"I want this specimen transported upstairs. Use the elevator that was used to lift Pisces."
Hojo says as he looks at the tube that contains the lion creature. The guy nods and replies;
"Yes sir."
Before walking away from Hojo.
"We'll just see how Pisces reacts when she's threatened..."
Hojo says as he walks to the second elevator in that room. He gets on and is lifted to the next floor and Cloud and the others come out of hiding. Tifa walks up to the tube that holds the lion creature and taps it as well, it appears to be asleep.
"I wonder what he meant by 'how Pisces reacts when she's threatened...' do you guys think this "Pisces" could be the same person that was in that story Aeris' mom told us?"
Tifa says as she continues to tap the tube, but the creature doesn't move. Cloud looks around a little and sees what looks like a pressure chamber. He then replies;
"Maybe..."
As he walks closer to the chamber. He notices a plate, which on it reads;
"Jenova"
Cloud then looks into the chamber and sees what looks like the body of a woman and has no head. He then seemingly gets freaked out by this and holds his head, dropping to his knees. Suddenly, Cloud is pulled into a flash back... he's inside a Mako Reactor, standing behind a younger Tifa, who is holding the head of her dead father.
"Sephiroth.. ShinRa... SOLDIER.... Mako Reactors... I hate them all!!"
The younger version of Tifa screams as she gets up, holding what looks like Sephiroth's Masamune, a nasty looking 6 foot long Katana. She then runs forward, toward another section of the Mako Reactor and then suddenly it all ends.. and he's "back" in the ShinRa building. Barret looks at him in shock and speaks;
"Yo.. you awright man?"
Tifa turns and looks at Cloud. She then runs over to him and lucky happens to catch him as he falls backward.
"Jenova.... Sephiroth's.... so... they've brought it here...."
Cloud says in a low tone.
"Jenova?"
Barret asks as he turns and looks into the chamber.
"Where the Hell is it's head? This thing is stupid..."
He says as he turns back to Cloud, who has finally regained his control. Cloud then stands up, shaking off those old feelings.
"I suppose.. anyway... lets get going... I have a feeling Aeris is close..."
Cloud says in a low voice as he starts to walk toward the elevator, and he's followed by Tifa and Barret, but just before they get to it, Cloud stops as something to the right has catches his eye. He turns and walks over to the object, which he discovers is a green crystal.
"A piece of Materia... what is it doing here..."
He asks himself as he places it in a pocket for later use. Barret and Tifa have already gotten to the elevator and are waiting for Cloud.
"Hurry your spiky ass up!"
Barret yells, he doesn't like waiting. Cloud walks to the elevator and they all get in. Cloud then pushes the button, as he always does and the ol' elevator moves upward.