Chapter 15: The Unleashing
The elevator comes to a stop on the 68th floor, which is yet another large floor. It contains a large tube near the left wall, which is used to hold specimens, and at the current moment holds Aeris and Kyle, incased in his tube prison. A "bridge" like platform lies between the larger tube and the rest of the floor, as the tube is on the other side of a large trench or moat, used to stop a specimen from reaching the other side if it escaped and the bridge was retracted. The walls are lined with walkways, all leading to an area that houses the controls to the tube, elevator and the bridge. These controls are behind a large casing that's made of some form of glass, and beyond it all is a long hallway that leads to a door. This door connects to yet another hallway, this one smaller, which leads to a staircase that leads upward to the 69th floor, and downward to the 67th floor and lower.
A man stands behind the controls and Hojo is standing on the bridge, the side closer to the controls. Cloud, Tifa and Barret come out of the elevator and walk toward Hojo, who is now staring at them.
"What do you people want?"
Hojo asks, his eyes narrowing as he notices Cloud running toward the bridge, as he noticed that Aeris was in the tube on the other side.
"Cloud.. I knew you would come to save me... "
Aeris says as she stands up. Kyle, on the other hand, appears to be sleeping.
"Let her go now!"
Cloud says as he turns to Hojo, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Upon seeing this, Hojo smirks in his own twisted way and then speaks;
"Or what.. you'll kill us? If you do, who will be left to operate this equipment?"
"Ugh...."
Cloud mumbles as he pulls his hand away from the hilt of his sword.
"That's right.. use that brain of yours for once.."
Hojo says in a cocky voice. He then looks over his shoulder and shouts;
"Do it now you moron!"
Suddenly the man behind the controls taps a few buttons and the elevator moves. The bottom of the tube opens as another specimen is lifted upward. Aeris backs away as she sees that the "lion" creature is now standing but a few feet away from her. The "beast" acts wildly as it growls and bares it's teeth at a now scared Aeris. Kyle's eyes open, and he looks at the creature but even as it acts like it's going to hurt or even kill Aeris, he doesn't try to break free and help her. He senses something deeper, he can sense it's true intent.
"Cloud, help me!"
Aeris yells as the lion creature growls at her. As she moves away from it, Tifa looks at Hojo with contempt in her eyes as she speaks;
"What's the point of this?"
Hojo simply looks at her with a smirk and replies;
"I'm lending a helping hand to these 'animals'! Why, without my help they'd die out."
"Aeris isn't an animal, she's a human being!"
Tifa says as her anger grows. Hojo just scoffs as Cloud looks around, trying to find some way of freeing her.
"Barret isn't there anything you can do?"
Cloud says as he looks at him. Barret runs over to the bridge crossing it. He then stands in-front of tube, lifts his gun-arm and starts to fire at the door unit, causing sparks to fly. Hojo, seeing this, runs across the bridge and shouts;
"My specimens!"
The door suddenly opens and the "lion" creature jumps out of the tube and it lands on Hojo, knocking him over. It then growls, bears its teeth and looks like it's about to claw his scared ass to death.
"This isn't a normal specimen.. this is a pissed specimen!"
Hojo yells in a fear-filled voice. The man behind the controls, in an attempt to help Hojo, pushes some buttons which causes the elevator to start up once more. Aeris runs out of the tube as the elevator moves, and Kyle instantly starts to sense something. He starts to thrash a little, trying to break the tube.
The "lion" creature jumps off Hojo, who crawls away and then runs like the coward he is, and then it speaks;
"It's a rather strong creature.. I'm willing to help you fight it."
Tifa looks utterly shocked, but manages to speak;
"It..it...it talked..."
The "lion" creature looks at her and replies;
"I'll talk all you want later miss.. right now we have a battle to get ready for."
Cloud looks at it and speaks in a somewhat odd tone;
"What's your name?"
"It doesn't matter what you call me, Hojo has named me Red XIII, call me what you wish.."
The creature, now known as Red XIII says in a calm voice. Cloud and the others just now notice Kyle.
"Aeris... who.. is that?"
Cloud asks and she looks at him with a worried look.
"An old friend... we can't let him stay in there alone!"
Aeris says as HO512, another specimen rises into the tube. The beast stands well over ten feet tall and it looks like a random collection of body parts. It has two heads, it's arms are long, over four feet in length. It's legs are about five feet in length and they're a deep blue, just like it's arms. Of it's two heads, one is the same color as it's body and is only made up of 2 eyes, while the second is just its mouth on its shoulder.
Kyle's eyes focus on this beast, and a rare look of anger crosses his face. The monsters eyes look right at the Kyle as it raises its hands, it's getting ready to attack. Aeris runs toward the tube, in hopes of letting Kyle free, but just before she reaches it, HO512 smacks her away with one mighty swing of it's arm.
As she flies back Kyle's rage is building within him, his eyes narrow and look right at HO512. Once Aeris lands it turns and walks toward her, and Kyle tries to scream as he pounds on the tube, but it's of no use as it doesn't even show signs of cracking. While all of this is going on, his rage keeps building, causing his "power" to come out of it's vegetative state. HO512 stands above Aeris with it's hand on her back, keeping her pinned to the cold floor. As Cloud and the others get ready to attack, it slowly starts to crush her small body into the metal. As he watches, Kyle starts to punch the tube, but still with no luck, but it's the scream that escapes her gentle lips that pushes him to the breaking point.. and beyond it.
Upon hearing this scream Kyle loses all control over his power. As he silently screams in anger, energy bursts from his body in the form of a shockwave that slams into zexonyte based glass, causing it to explode outward. As the liquid flies from the tube, tiny shards of the glass also fly and hit HO512, cutting it's body. Almost as soon as the tube has been shattered, he pulls the mask off of his face, ripping the feeding tube out of his body, causing some blood to come from his mouth. He throws it on the floor and looks at HO512 with such calm, placid eyes, but within these very same eyes is anger, hatred and rage.
"Let her go now."
He says in a deep, calm, angry tone as his power starts to build up. As he stands there his body is seemingly engulfed in white, semi-transparent "flames." While his body becomes engulfed his hair and clothing are being pushed upwards by his own energy and as his clothing and hair is being manipulated by his energy, they're also being dried by heat that's being created by his energy. While all of this is going on something even more amazing is starting to happen, as his body is now starting to fold and bend gravity itself, which is causing small waves and ripples to form near him and it's also causing the metal plates under his feet to crack and fold.
His eyes narrow as he stares at HO512, the object of his hatred. With each second that passes he becomes even more angry, and as his rage builds so does his power.
"I SAID LET HER GO NOW!!!!!"
He suddenly screams at the top of his lungs as another "shockwave" explodes from his body, cracking and then shattering the larger tube. As HO512 is shoved forward by this blast of power, Cloud, Barret, Tifa and Red XII stand frozen in place due mostly to fear of the energy Kyle's giving off.
As HO512 removes its hand from Aeris, it turns and looks at Kyle as it gets ready to attack. With a sudden burst of speed it charges at him with its right arm aimed for his chest, and as this beast charges, Kyle just stands his ground, letting it come toward him. Just as its hand reaches him, Kyle vanishes and then reappears behind HO512, and slams his elbow into the beasts spine. As the beast cries out in pain Kyle drops down and then leg sweeps it, causing it to fall to the ground. As it falls he jumps up and then backwards, turning himself to face the beast as it to gets up.
As all this is going on, Aeris slowly gets up and then turns as she hears the beasts unholy cry as it turns and charges at Kyle.
"Kyle be careful!"
She shouts suddenly, causing Kyle to look over his shoulder at her. With his attention turned away from the beast, it picks up speed as it reaches him. As Kyle turns his attention back to the beast, it hits him with a powerful swing of it's arm, sending him flying. Aeris gasps as Kyle flies at a wall, but suddenly Kyle just stops and he floats in the air.
As Kyle wipes some blood from the corner of his mouth something flashes in his mind.. an attack. He then starts to float higher as he brings his hands above his head, holding his left palm just below his right. He then starts to concentrate, as he does so a small ball starts to form just above his palm, and it slowly starts to grow. He then looks at HO512 and smirks wickedly, a smirk similar to Sephiroth's.
"MASENKO!"
Kyle says in a scream as he brings his hands down quickly, throwing the "ball" at HO512 with force. As the energy ball flies toward it, HO512 brings it's arms up forming a barrier, but the ball is much too powerful. As it hits the beasts arms it tears through them with ease and then it makes short work of the rest of the body, blasting 99% of it into nothingness.
As the beast is torn apart, the others watch in shock and disbelief as this huge monster is killed with but one attack. Soon after the beast is all but dust, Kyle's power starts to fall as his breath becomes heavy. He lowers himself down onto the cracked floor he then falls to his knees and the "flames" slowly fade away, and the air around him drops to room temperature as gravity returns to normal. As he looks at what remains of the creature an odd look forms on his face, a look that is not expected. This look isn't one of hatred for the beast, nor is it pride for the fact that with one attack he killed it, and it's not even a look of shock or wonder as to the very fact that he could use such an attack, it's a look of true pain. As the truth of his first kill strikes his mind he starts to cry and he lowers his head.
He hates the fact that he just killed a living, breathing, thinking being. As he cries the other watch him, shocked that he's showing pain. While the other are too scared to move, Aeris then walks over to him, kneels just in-front of the crying warrior and hugs him, trying to make him feel better. Much like what a mother would do while trying to comfort her child, Aeris hugs him tightly, letting him cry on her shoulder, all the while telling him that everything will be alright.
Chapter 16: The Split
"I.. had no idea that this was the 'power' Hojo spoke of whenever he would 'visit' him..."
Red XIII says in a low, shocked tone as he looks at Kyle. He never expected Kyle to be able to do anything that he has just seen with his very own eyes.
"If they were to use him as a weapon... they could conquer the planet in a matter of weeks..."
Cloud mumbles in a low voice as he stares at Kyle. As the other look on, Kyle sniffles a little and then he looks up at Aeris. With a shaky voice he starts to speak;
"I.. I.. I killed it... I... shouldn't of don-"
But before he can finish his sentence, Aeris cuts him off;
"Shh.... you had no other choice then to kill it. If you didn't, it would of kept on attacking you, and then the rest of us."
He blinks slightly and replies;
"I know.. but I still feel bad for it."
As his senses return to normal, Kyle moves his head and looks over his shoulder at the others, whom he can know sense clearly.
"Are they your friends?"
He asks Aeris in a small voice as he looks at them all
"He seems... so innocent.. almost like.. a child..."
Tifa says in a low tone as she looks at Cloud.
"Yes.. they risked their lives by coming here to save me..."
Aeris says as she looks down at him. Kyle then turns his head back around and looks up at her.
"I.. feel an odd energy coming from them, and something else... it's fear.."
He says in a lower then normal tone.
"They're just shocked by your power.."
Aeris says as she tries to make him feel like they're more shocked of his power then scared of him.
"No... I can sense their fear.."
He says in a sad tone as he tries to stand up, and Aeris lets go of him, allowing him to do so. As he starts to stand up, the others back away from him slightly. Without the rush of adrenaline that he had during the battle, his legs shake slightly as he tries to stand, because he's spent so many years within tube, floating in that damned liquid, his leg muscles are weak. Aeris stands next to him, ready to grab him in-case he falls and needs somebody to support him.
"So Kyle.. what are you going to do.. now that you're free?"
Aeris asks as she places her small hand on his shoulder.
"I.. don't know.. I don't remember having a family or a home. All I remember is this lab, that tube.. and the darkness."
Kyle says in a small voice. Cloud, who has finally built up enough courage to do so, speaks;
"You can come with us I guess, we.. can't just leave you here."
Even though this can be taken as a act of kindness, he really just wants to take ShinRa's greatest weapon away from them.
"Do you.. mean it?"
Kyle asks as he looks at Cloud as a small smile forms on his face.
"Of course I do."
Cloud says with a nod. He then turns to the others and speaks;
"You don't mind, do you?"
"I don't mind..."
Tifa says as she looks at Kyle.
"It would be wrong to leave him here, so I don't mind."
Red XIII says as he looks at Cloud.
Barret looks at Kyle and then looks over to Cloud and replies;
"I don' have a problem wit it."
Kyle looks at the others and then Cloud and blinks a few times as he remembers something.
"By the way.. my name is Kyle or 'Pisces' as some have called me."
Cloud nods slightly and then speaks;
"I'm Cloud.."
"That's Tifa."
He says as he points to her. He then points to Barret and speaks;
"That's Barret."
He then points to Red XIII;
"Tha-"
"Red XIII... it's.. nice to see that you're free as well."
Kyle says as he cuts off Cloud. Red nods in a show of respect and replies;
"Nice to see you're finally free of that tube."
"I hate to interrupt you, but we should get going."
Cloud says as he looks at Kyle. Kyle then nods as he walks completely out of the tube, followed closely by Aeris.
"I suggest that we break up into groups, it would be easy for two or more groups to make it out rather then one large group."
Red XIII says as he looks at Cloud, who nods.
"Good idea... now who will go with who..."
Cloud says as he gets in his thinking stance. Aeris looks at Kyle and then at Cloud and speaks softly;
"Whatever group Kyle is in.. I wish to be in as well.."
"Fine then, the first group will be myself, Kyle and Aeris. I don't think I need to state whose in the other group."
Cloud says as he walks over to Kyle and Aeris.
"So where shall we meet?"
Red asks as he turns to Cloud.
"The 66th floor.."
Kyle says in a low voice.
"Why the 66th floor?"
Tifa asks as she looks at him. Kyle looks at her and replies;
"I.. just picked a random floor.."
"Alright.. let's split up. We shall take the elevator down and then head for the 66th floor. You guys take the stairs, and don't get caught.. I don't want to have to save you three."
Cloud says as he looks at them all. Tifa, Barret and Red head for the stairs as Cloud, Aeris and Kyle head for the elevator. As they start to walk, Aeris grabs a hold of Kyle's hand and holds it, which strikes Cloud as odd. As they all get into the elevator Cloud pushes the down button, and it starts to move.
Chapter 17: Captured
Once the elevator reaches the 67th floor, Cloud, Aeris and Kyle exit it and start to walk. As they walk Kyle looks around and then sees the panel. Once he sees it he pulls his hand away from Aeris and runs over to it, it appears he's gotten the hang of walking and running. As Kyle runs Cloud and Aeris follow him and stop behind him when he stops.
"What's wrong?"
Aeris asks as she walks up to him. Kyle stares at the panel for a few moments and then replies;
"Behind this panel, is where they used to put my tube.."
"Once we leave you can put those memories behind you and form new ones.."
Aeris says as she takes his hand once more and squeezes it gently. In response, he squeezes her hand, but not so hard that he'd hurt her. Meanwhile on the 66th floor, Barret, Tifa and Red XIII are standing next to the elevators, waiting for the others to show up.
"Where the Hell are they?"
Barret says as he kinda paces about.
"Calm down, they'll be here soon..."
Tifa says as she leans against a wall. Suddenly Red stands up, and as he does so his fur stands on end and he growls, he can smell something he doesn't like.
"What's the matter Red?"
Tifa asks as she looks at him. Red looks around, sniffing with his nose and replies;
"Someone is near.. and I don't like the smell of them.."
Suddenly a deep, cocky sounding voice comes from above them;
"Well, well, it looks like the big bad cat doesn't like the way I smell.. well isn't that a shame.."
Red growls as he looks up and suddenly a man jumps down from a shadowed area of the ceiling. This man stands at about 5'11, his hair is fire red and some of it is pulled back into a pony tail. The cuffs and collar of his black suit are not folded and tend to hang where they please. The white shirt under the jacket of the suit looks like it was thrown on the floor in a pile overnight, the top 2 buttons are undone and he wears no tie.
Once this man lands he hits Red with his Electro-mag Rod, which sends a few thousand volts of electricity into his body, which causes him to screams in pain as he falls over. The man then smirks as Barret starts to charge at him, and he simply moves out of the way.
"You're too slow big man!"
He once again says in a cocky tone as he swings his rod into Barret's back, hitting him with a couple thousand volts of electric energy. Much like Red, Barret screams as he falls over, and just as Barret falls, Tifa slams her fist into the mans gut and as he bends at the middle, she slams her knee into his face. As he stumbles backward, he looks at her, smirks and speaks;
"Not bad.. for a woman...."
As Tifa looks at him, she gets into a fighting stance.
"I remember you Reno... you're the Turk that set that bomb to explode and killed all those innocent people in Sector 7!"
She says as the man, named Reno, stands up straight. He smirks as he wipes some blood from his nose, and he feels sore from that punch and knee shot, as well as the battle he fought against Cloud, Tifa and Barret before Sector 7 was crushed. He then replies;
"It's too bad that I'll most likely end up killing you if you fight me, I could get used to having you around. So then.. how about you just give up and we could become real good 'friends.'"
"In your dreams.. I would never give into you..."
Tifa replies as she gets ready to attack him. His smirk grows bigger and he then laughs as the elevator door behind her opens. Before she can turn her head to see who is behind her, she's grabbed from behind and held in such a way that her arms are at her sides so she can't fight back but she struggles to get free. While the man who has a hold of her wears the same suit that Reno does, his is much neater, as he wears a tie, his white shirt is fully buttoned up, and his cuffs and collar are fully under control. But unlike Reno, he wears a pair of sunglasses and gloves.
"I was wondering when you would get here Rude, I took two of em' out. I was getting ready to take care of our little 'friend' when you showed up."
Reno says as he looks at Rude, who stays silent even as Tifa tries to get away from him. Reno walks up to her and puts his hand on her face, smirks a little more and speaks;
"Looks like we caught ourselves a nice prize.."
She then moves her head away from his hand. As she does that she brings her mouth to his hand and bites it, hard enough to draw blood. He then pulls his hand away from her mouth and smacks her rather hard with the same hand, leaving blood on her cheek.
"You little bitch, now you're going to pay for that!"
He says as he brings his rod up and then slams it into her stomach, which causes her to bend at the middle, and her eyes close from the pain. He then turns it on full power, causing well over 60,000 volts to surge through her body, causing her to scream loudly for a few moments, and she falls unconscious as Reno pulls the rod away from her.
"Was that necessary Reno?"
Rude asks in a low, calm, controlled voice. Reno looks at him and replies;
"Yes it was, now help me with the other two."
As Reno finishes what he was saying, some footsteps are heard coming toward them. They then stop and then a voice is heard;
"I congratulate you on how swiftly you have taken care of those three. However, Cloud, the Ancient and Pisces are still free within the building, and they must be captured at all costs. But I want you two to remember that when they're captured there is to be no harm caused to either the Ancient or Pisces."
The voice belongs to Tseng, the leader of the Turks. He is around the same height as Reno, he wears his suit like Rude does, and he too has gloves. His hair is by far the longest of any other Turk.
"Yes sir.. we understand."
Rude says as he picks up Tifa and slings her limp body over his shoulder.
"I'll take out care of the moron Cloud and make sure the Ancient and Pisces don't get away."
Reno says in a cocky tone as he turns and looks at Tseng.
"No, I will take care of them, you two shall bring these three up to President ShinRa and make sure that they do now get away."
Tseng says in a calm voice as he looks at Reno.
"But Sir.."
Reno starts, but is quickly cut off by Tseng, whose eyes have narrowed;
"You heard me Reno."
With that said, Reno simply nods. He turns and grabs a hold of Barret while Rude grabs a hold of Red's tail. Rude then walks into the elevator, followed by Reno, whose now dragging Barret. As he enters the elevator, Reno hits a button and the door closes and the elevator makes it's way up to the 69th floor. As the elevator starts to move, Tseng makes his way to a corner, waiting to ambush Cloud, Aeris and Kyle.
"Come on you two, let's get going before we're caught..."
Cloud says as he turns and starts to walk. Kyle nods and then turns along with Aeris.
"Alright.. lets get going, this place depresses me.."
Aeris says as she start to walk, pulling Kyle along. As they walk, they can't help but notice how dead the floor is, nobody is around, there is no sound.. nothing is happening, it's eerie. Once they reach the stairs, they immediately start the trek down to the 66th floor. They walk out of the room that holds the stairs and head for the elevator. Suddenly Kyle stops moving and looks around a little, as if he's looking for something.
"Something wrong?"
Aeris asks as she looks over his shoulder at him. Kyle brings his attention to her, shakes his head and replies;
"N..no.. nothings wrong..."
Aeris blinks a little and then turns her head back around as she speaks;
"Alright.. let's go then.."
Kyle starts to move again, still being "pulled" along by Aeris. A few moments later they reach the elevator, and Cloud hits the down button and the elevator doors slowly slide open.
"Shouldn't we wait for the others?"
Kyle says as he looks at Cloud. Tseng, who was hiding all this time, comes from around the corner and walks up to them and speaks;
"I'm afraid your friends were already here.. and were captured.."
Kyle, Cloud and Aeris turn and look at Tseng, both with shock and surprise in their eyes. Kyle then suddenly stands in-front of Aeris, as if it's an instinct of his to protect her, and Cloud places his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I wouldn't do that.. if you were to try and fight me I'm afraid your friends will die..."
Tseng says as he pulls out a cell phone and taps a few keys.
"What the Hell do you mean by that?"
Cloud says as he starts to draw the blade from its sheath. Tseng then holds toward them and they hear a familiar voice;
"Let go of me now!"
It's the voice of Barret. Tseng then stares at Cloud and speaks;
"Reno, if they do not give up by the time I count to ten, I want you to kill them all, understand?"
"Yes sir.."
Reno says as the sound of clip is heard being snapped into a gun. Tseng then starts to count;
"1...2..."
"Stop.. I... I'll give myself up.."
Kyle says as he looks at Tseng.
"Please.. don't let any of them get hurt and I'll also give up..."
Aeris says as she looks at the floor.
"Good, now what about you Cloud?"
Tseng says in a cold tone. He then goes back to counting;
"3....4...5...6..."
Cloud slowly places his sword back into its sheath and then he pulls his hand away from the hilt and speaks;
"Alright.. I give up."
Tseng smirks slightly and then speaks;
"Reno, I shall be coming up with Cloud, the Ancient and Pisces. If they start any trouble, I'll tell you to kill the others, understand?"
A moment passes and then Reno answers;
"I got it sir.."
Tseng motions to the elevator with his other hand and then speaks;
"You should consider yourselves lucky that we didn't have orders to kill you and your friends. Now get in so I can bring you to meet with President ShinRa."
With that said, Cloud, Aeris and Kyle enter the elevator, followed by Tseng. He then presses the up button. The doors then close and the elevator moves upwards.
Chapter 18: Neo-Midgar and the Cetra
Cloud, Barret, Kyle, Red XIII, Tifa and Aeris are brought into President ShinRa's office by Rude, Reno and Tseng. Cloud, Tifa and Barret's hands are handcuffed behind their backs, Red XIII has short chains that link his legs together, as to allow him only to walk, and Kyle and Aeris are free of chains and handcuffs, as they know that if they start trouble, the others might get hurt.
The office is huge, as it takes up most of the 70th floor. The floor itself is made completely out of metal, as to prevent bullets from piercing it. Two staircases from the 69th floor and a door that leads to a Heli Pad are the only way to get into the office, for obvious security reasons. Huge windows line the walls, allowing a nice view of the plate below, the sky above and ocean that is not too far off. President ShinRa himself sits behind a massive desk, which appears to be in the shape of a hollow semi-circle, the area immediately around his chair has about 10 lights to provide more then adequate lighting, and there is a yet another light, this one a large desk lamp, just above his paper work.
President ShinRa stands up and then walks around his desk as the Turks stop their prisoners and he speaks;
"Ah it's.. what was your name again.. Avenue or something like that?"
Barret gets pissed at that statement and yells;
"It's AVALANCHE, never forget that!"
President ShinRa looks rather amused as he stops in-front of them and replies;
"Yes, yes.. sure.."
Kyle blinks a few times and then looks at Pres. ShinRa and speaks;
"So.. you're President ShinRa..."
"Ah yes my boy, you must be Kyle, it's good to see that you're not harmed."
Pres. ShinRa says as he looks at Kyle. Aeris turns her attention to the President and speaks;
"What do you want with us?"
"I only wanted you and Kyle back, the others I'll hold for a while until I can arrange a public execution for the fall of the Sector 7 plate."
He says in a dark tone and then he starts to laugh wickedly.
"You're the key to the Promised Land Aeris, it's said the Ancients, or rather the Cetra, will lead us to the Promised Land. A land that's rich and has much life... and if it's rich with life then..."
Pres. ShinRa is cut off by Barret;
"Then there's gotta be Mako!"
Pres. ShinRa nods and then goes on;
"And that's where our money sucking Mako Reactors will be placed, and Neo-Midgar, ShinRa's new pride and glory, shall be built."
"But.. if you do that the land will die!"
Barret says in a pissed tone. Red XIII looks at Pres. ShinRa and speaks;
"I thought the Promised Land was just a myth."
Pres. ShinRa laughs and then replies;
"Well since we now have the last Ancient, we will find out."
"And what about me? Am I still going to be used as your weapon?"
Kyle asks in a questioning tone. Pres. ShinRa looks at him and replies;
"We've put a lot of Gil into the Pisces Project, and I plan on getting my moneys worth."
This causes Kyle's eyes to narrow.
"I'm not your slave, I have just as many rights as you do."
Kyle says in a semi-pissed tone, which causes Pres. ShinRa to laugh.
"Property has no rights. Ever since ShinRa got a hold of you, you became MY property, never forget that I control you, that when I speak you will listen and obey me without question. If you don't, your little Ancient friend will suffer. I know that you two are very close, so if you don't follow orders she will suffer. Now then boy, get on your knee and vow your loyalty to me."
Pres. ShinRa says in a commanding voice, but Kyle doesn't move. Pres. ShinRa's eyes narrow and then he smirks as he makes a single motion with his right hand. Reno makes his way behind Aeris and twists her arm, causing her to yelp suddenly. Kyle then looks back at her and his eyes go wide and he speaks;
"Stop it.. you're hurting her."
"He'll stop as soon as you get on your knees and vow your loyalty to me."
Pres. ShinRa replies. As soon as Reno twists her arm more, Kyle turns his gaze back to Pres. ShinRa and then he falls to one knee.
"I.. I promise to be.. your... weapon... now please make him stop..."
Kyle says as he looks at the floor. As soon as Pres. ShinRa nods, Reno lets her arm go, letting Aeris pulls her arm around and holds it. Pres. ShinRa then looks down at Kyle and speaks;
"See.. that wasn't so hard, now was it?"
Kyle stays silent as he keeps his eyes fixed on the floor. Pres. ShinRa gets a little pissed and then speaks;
"When I ask you a question you will answer."
Kyle brings his eyes up so he's looking up at him and answers;
"No it wasn't hard.."
"No it wasn't hard.. what? When you answer me you will address me as Sir..."
Pres. ShinRa says in his cocky tone. Kyle replies in a low tone;
"No.. it wasn't hard Sir...."
"See, it wasn't so hard being a good boy and doing what you're told."
Pres. ShinRa says as he looks at Kyle. He then looks at Reno, Rude and Tseng and speaks once more;
"I want you to lock all but Kyle up, as he will stay here. And remember, if any harm comes to the Ancient, well.. you know what will happen don't you?"
The three Turks, who snap to attention, speak in unison;
"Yes Sir."
They then lead Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red XIII and Aeris toward a staircase.
"Hojo, come out now.."
Pres. ShinRa says as he turns to one of the pillars that's used to hold the ceiling up. Hojo comes out from behind it and looks at Kyle, who is now looking at him.
"So Kyle.. it's time you learned how to be a good weapon..."
Hojo says as a dark smirk forms on his face.
The elevator comes to a stop on the 68th floor, which is yet another large floor. It contains a large tube near the left wall, which is used to hold specimens, and at the current moment holds Aeris and Kyle, incased in his tube prison. A "bridge" like platform lies between the larger tube and the rest of the floor, as the tube is on the other side of a large trench or moat, used to stop a specimen from reaching the other side if it escaped and the bridge was retracted. The walls are lined with walkways, all leading to an area that houses the controls to the tube, elevator and the bridge. These controls are behind a large casing that's made of some form of glass, and beyond it all is a long hallway that leads to a door. This door connects to yet another hallway, this one smaller, which leads to a staircase that leads upward to the 69th floor, and downward to the 67th floor and lower.
A man stands behind the controls and Hojo is standing on the bridge, the side closer to the controls. Cloud, Tifa and Barret come out of the elevator and walk toward Hojo, who is now staring at them.
"What do you people want?"
Hojo asks, his eyes narrowing as he notices Cloud running toward the bridge, as he noticed that Aeris was in the tube on the other side.
"Cloud.. I knew you would come to save me... "
Aeris says as she stands up. Kyle, on the other hand, appears to be sleeping.
"Let her go now!"
Cloud says as he turns to Hojo, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Upon seeing this, Hojo smirks in his own twisted way and then speaks;
"Or what.. you'll kill us? If you do, who will be left to operate this equipment?"
"Ugh...."
Cloud mumbles as he pulls his hand away from the hilt of his sword.
"That's right.. use that brain of yours for once.."
Hojo says in a cocky voice. He then looks over his shoulder and shouts;
"Do it now you moron!"
Suddenly the man behind the controls taps a few buttons and the elevator moves. The bottom of the tube opens as another specimen is lifted upward. Aeris backs away as she sees that the "lion" creature is now standing but a few feet away from her. The "beast" acts wildly as it growls and bares it's teeth at a now scared Aeris. Kyle's eyes open, and he looks at the creature but even as it acts like it's going to hurt or even kill Aeris, he doesn't try to break free and help her. He senses something deeper, he can sense it's true intent.
"Cloud, help me!"
Aeris yells as the lion creature growls at her. As she moves away from it, Tifa looks at Hojo with contempt in her eyes as she speaks;
"What's the point of this?"
Hojo simply looks at her with a smirk and replies;
"I'm lending a helping hand to these 'animals'! Why, without my help they'd die out."
"Aeris isn't an animal, she's a human being!"
Tifa says as her anger grows. Hojo just scoffs as Cloud looks around, trying to find some way of freeing her.
"Barret isn't there anything you can do?"
Cloud says as he looks at him. Barret runs over to the bridge crossing it. He then stands in-front of tube, lifts his gun-arm and starts to fire at the door unit, causing sparks to fly. Hojo, seeing this, runs across the bridge and shouts;
"My specimens!"
The door suddenly opens and the "lion" creature jumps out of the tube and it lands on Hojo, knocking him over. It then growls, bears its teeth and looks like it's about to claw his scared ass to death.
"This isn't a normal specimen.. this is a pissed specimen!"
Hojo yells in a fear-filled voice. The man behind the controls, in an attempt to help Hojo, pushes some buttons which causes the elevator to start up once more. Aeris runs out of the tube as the elevator moves, and Kyle instantly starts to sense something. He starts to thrash a little, trying to break the tube.
The "lion" creature jumps off Hojo, who crawls away and then runs like the coward he is, and then it speaks;
"It's a rather strong creature.. I'm willing to help you fight it."
Tifa looks utterly shocked, but manages to speak;
"It..it...it talked..."
The "lion" creature looks at her and replies;
"I'll talk all you want later miss.. right now we have a battle to get ready for."
Cloud looks at it and speaks in a somewhat odd tone;
"What's your name?"
"It doesn't matter what you call me, Hojo has named me Red XIII, call me what you wish.."
The creature, now known as Red XIII says in a calm voice. Cloud and the others just now notice Kyle.
"Aeris... who.. is that?"
Cloud asks and she looks at him with a worried look.
"An old friend... we can't let him stay in there alone!"
Aeris says as HO512, another specimen rises into the tube. The beast stands well over ten feet tall and it looks like a random collection of body parts. It has two heads, it's arms are long, over four feet in length. It's legs are about five feet in length and they're a deep blue, just like it's arms. Of it's two heads, one is the same color as it's body and is only made up of 2 eyes, while the second is just its mouth on its shoulder.
Kyle's eyes focus on this beast, and a rare look of anger crosses his face. The monsters eyes look right at the Kyle as it raises its hands, it's getting ready to attack. Aeris runs toward the tube, in hopes of letting Kyle free, but just before she reaches it, HO512 smacks her away with one mighty swing of it's arm.
As she flies back Kyle's rage is building within him, his eyes narrow and look right at HO512. Once Aeris lands it turns and walks toward her, and Kyle tries to scream as he pounds on the tube, but it's of no use as it doesn't even show signs of cracking. While all of this is going on, his rage keeps building, causing his "power" to come out of it's vegetative state. HO512 stands above Aeris with it's hand on her back, keeping her pinned to the cold floor. As Cloud and the others get ready to attack, it slowly starts to crush her small body into the metal. As he watches, Kyle starts to punch the tube, but still with no luck, but it's the scream that escapes her gentle lips that pushes him to the breaking point.. and beyond it.
Upon hearing this scream Kyle loses all control over his power. As he silently screams in anger, energy bursts from his body in the form of a shockwave that slams into zexonyte based glass, causing it to explode outward. As the liquid flies from the tube, tiny shards of the glass also fly and hit HO512, cutting it's body. Almost as soon as the tube has been shattered, he pulls the mask off of his face, ripping the feeding tube out of his body, causing some blood to come from his mouth. He throws it on the floor and looks at HO512 with such calm, placid eyes, but within these very same eyes is anger, hatred and rage.
"Let her go now."
He says in a deep, calm, angry tone as his power starts to build up. As he stands there his body is seemingly engulfed in white, semi-transparent "flames." While his body becomes engulfed his hair and clothing are being pushed upwards by his own energy and as his clothing and hair is being manipulated by his energy, they're also being dried by heat that's being created by his energy. While all of this is going on something even more amazing is starting to happen, as his body is now starting to fold and bend gravity itself, which is causing small waves and ripples to form near him and it's also causing the metal plates under his feet to crack and fold.
His eyes narrow as he stares at HO512, the object of his hatred. With each second that passes he becomes even more angry, and as his rage builds so does his power.
"I SAID LET HER GO NOW!!!!!"
He suddenly screams at the top of his lungs as another "shockwave" explodes from his body, cracking and then shattering the larger tube. As HO512 is shoved forward by this blast of power, Cloud, Barret, Tifa and Red XII stand frozen in place due mostly to fear of the energy Kyle's giving off.
As HO512 removes its hand from Aeris, it turns and looks at Kyle as it gets ready to attack. With a sudden burst of speed it charges at him with its right arm aimed for his chest, and as this beast charges, Kyle just stands his ground, letting it come toward him. Just as its hand reaches him, Kyle vanishes and then reappears behind HO512, and slams his elbow into the beasts spine. As the beast cries out in pain Kyle drops down and then leg sweeps it, causing it to fall to the ground. As it falls he jumps up and then backwards, turning himself to face the beast as it to gets up.
As all this is going on, Aeris slowly gets up and then turns as she hears the beasts unholy cry as it turns and charges at Kyle.
"Kyle be careful!"
She shouts suddenly, causing Kyle to look over his shoulder at her. With his attention turned away from the beast, it picks up speed as it reaches him. As Kyle turns his attention back to the beast, it hits him with a powerful swing of it's arm, sending him flying. Aeris gasps as Kyle flies at a wall, but suddenly Kyle just stops and he floats in the air.
As Kyle wipes some blood from the corner of his mouth something flashes in his mind.. an attack. He then starts to float higher as he brings his hands above his head, holding his left palm just below his right. He then starts to concentrate, as he does so a small ball starts to form just above his palm, and it slowly starts to grow. He then looks at HO512 and smirks wickedly, a smirk similar to Sephiroth's.
"MASENKO!"
Kyle says in a scream as he brings his hands down quickly, throwing the "ball" at HO512 with force. As the energy ball flies toward it, HO512 brings it's arms up forming a barrier, but the ball is much too powerful. As it hits the beasts arms it tears through them with ease and then it makes short work of the rest of the body, blasting 99% of it into nothingness.
As the beast is torn apart, the others watch in shock and disbelief as this huge monster is killed with but one attack. Soon after the beast is all but dust, Kyle's power starts to fall as his breath becomes heavy. He lowers himself down onto the cracked floor he then falls to his knees and the "flames" slowly fade away, and the air around him drops to room temperature as gravity returns to normal. As he looks at what remains of the creature an odd look forms on his face, a look that is not expected. This look isn't one of hatred for the beast, nor is it pride for the fact that with one attack he killed it, and it's not even a look of shock or wonder as to the very fact that he could use such an attack, it's a look of true pain. As the truth of his first kill strikes his mind he starts to cry and he lowers his head.
He hates the fact that he just killed a living, breathing, thinking being. As he cries the other watch him, shocked that he's showing pain. While the other are too scared to move, Aeris then walks over to him, kneels just in-front of the crying warrior and hugs him, trying to make him feel better. Much like what a mother would do while trying to comfort her child, Aeris hugs him tightly, letting him cry on her shoulder, all the while telling him that everything will be alright.
Chapter 16: The Split
"I.. had no idea that this was the 'power' Hojo spoke of whenever he would 'visit' him..."
Red XIII says in a low, shocked tone as he looks at Kyle. He never expected Kyle to be able to do anything that he has just seen with his very own eyes.
"If they were to use him as a weapon... they could conquer the planet in a matter of weeks..."
Cloud mumbles in a low voice as he stares at Kyle. As the other look on, Kyle sniffles a little and then he looks up at Aeris. With a shaky voice he starts to speak;
"I.. I.. I killed it... I... shouldn't of don-"
But before he can finish his sentence, Aeris cuts him off;
"Shh.... you had no other choice then to kill it. If you didn't, it would of kept on attacking you, and then the rest of us."
He blinks slightly and replies;
"I know.. but I still feel bad for it."
As his senses return to normal, Kyle moves his head and looks over his shoulder at the others, whom he can know sense clearly.
"Are they your friends?"
He asks Aeris in a small voice as he looks at them all
"He seems... so innocent.. almost like.. a child..."
Tifa says in a low tone as she looks at Cloud.
"Yes.. they risked their lives by coming here to save me..."
Aeris says as she looks down at him. Kyle then turns his head back around and looks up at her.
"I.. feel an odd energy coming from them, and something else... it's fear.."
He says in a lower then normal tone.
"They're just shocked by your power.."
Aeris says as she tries to make him feel like they're more shocked of his power then scared of him.
"No... I can sense their fear.."
He says in a sad tone as he tries to stand up, and Aeris lets go of him, allowing him to do so. As he starts to stand up, the others back away from him slightly. Without the rush of adrenaline that he had during the battle, his legs shake slightly as he tries to stand, because he's spent so many years within tube, floating in that damned liquid, his leg muscles are weak. Aeris stands next to him, ready to grab him in-case he falls and needs somebody to support him.
"So Kyle.. what are you going to do.. now that you're free?"
Aeris asks as she places her small hand on his shoulder.
"I.. don't know.. I don't remember having a family or a home. All I remember is this lab, that tube.. and the darkness."
Kyle says in a small voice. Cloud, who has finally built up enough courage to do so, speaks;
"You can come with us I guess, we.. can't just leave you here."
Even though this can be taken as a act of kindness, he really just wants to take ShinRa's greatest weapon away from them.
"Do you.. mean it?"
Kyle asks as he looks at Cloud as a small smile forms on his face.
"Of course I do."
Cloud says with a nod. He then turns to the others and speaks;
"You don't mind, do you?"
"I don't mind..."
Tifa says as she looks at Kyle.
"It would be wrong to leave him here, so I don't mind."
Red XIII says as he looks at Cloud.
Barret looks at Kyle and then looks over to Cloud and replies;
"I don' have a problem wit it."
Kyle looks at the others and then Cloud and blinks a few times as he remembers something.
"By the way.. my name is Kyle or 'Pisces' as some have called me."
Cloud nods slightly and then speaks;
"I'm Cloud.."
"That's Tifa."
He says as he points to her. He then points to Barret and speaks;
"That's Barret."
He then points to Red XIII;
"Tha-"
"Red XIII... it's.. nice to see that you're free as well."
Kyle says as he cuts off Cloud. Red nods in a show of respect and replies;
"Nice to see you're finally free of that tube."
"I hate to interrupt you, but we should get going."
Cloud says as he looks at Kyle. Kyle then nods as he walks completely out of the tube, followed closely by Aeris.
"I suggest that we break up into groups, it would be easy for two or more groups to make it out rather then one large group."
Red XIII says as he looks at Cloud, who nods.
"Good idea... now who will go with who..."
Cloud says as he gets in his thinking stance. Aeris looks at Kyle and then at Cloud and speaks softly;
"Whatever group Kyle is in.. I wish to be in as well.."
"Fine then, the first group will be myself, Kyle and Aeris. I don't think I need to state whose in the other group."
Cloud says as he walks over to Kyle and Aeris.
"So where shall we meet?"
Red asks as he turns to Cloud.
"The 66th floor.."
Kyle says in a low voice.
"Why the 66th floor?"
Tifa asks as she looks at him. Kyle looks at her and replies;
"I.. just picked a random floor.."
"Alright.. let's split up. We shall take the elevator down and then head for the 66th floor. You guys take the stairs, and don't get caught.. I don't want to have to save you three."
Cloud says as he looks at them all. Tifa, Barret and Red head for the stairs as Cloud, Aeris and Kyle head for the elevator. As they start to walk, Aeris grabs a hold of Kyle's hand and holds it, which strikes Cloud as odd. As they all get into the elevator Cloud pushes the down button, and it starts to move.
Chapter 17: Captured
Once the elevator reaches the 67th floor, Cloud, Aeris and Kyle exit it and start to walk. As they walk Kyle looks around and then sees the panel. Once he sees it he pulls his hand away from Aeris and runs over to it, it appears he's gotten the hang of walking and running. As Kyle runs Cloud and Aeris follow him and stop behind him when he stops.
"What's wrong?"
Aeris asks as she walks up to him. Kyle stares at the panel for a few moments and then replies;
"Behind this panel, is where they used to put my tube.."
"Once we leave you can put those memories behind you and form new ones.."
Aeris says as she takes his hand once more and squeezes it gently. In response, he squeezes her hand, but not so hard that he'd hurt her. Meanwhile on the 66th floor, Barret, Tifa and Red XIII are standing next to the elevators, waiting for the others to show up.
"Where the Hell are they?"
Barret says as he kinda paces about.
"Calm down, they'll be here soon..."
Tifa says as she leans against a wall. Suddenly Red stands up, and as he does so his fur stands on end and he growls, he can smell something he doesn't like.
"What's the matter Red?"
Tifa asks as she looks at him. Red looks around, sniffing with his nose and replies;
"Someone is near.. and I don't like the smell of them.."
Suddenly a deep, cocky sounding voice comes from above them;
"Well, well, it looks like the big bad cat doesn't like the way I smell.. well isn't that a shame.."
Red growls as he looks up and suddenly a man jumps down from a shadowed area of the ceiling. This man stands at about 5'11, his hair is fire red and some of it is pulled back into a pony tail. The cuffs and collar of his black suit are not folded and tend to hang where they please. The white shirt under the jacket of the suit looks like it was thrown on the floor in a pile overnight, the top 2 buttons are undone and he wears no tie.
Once this man lands he hits Red with his Electro-mag Rod, which sends a few thousand volts of electricity into his body, which causes him to screams in pain as he falls over. The man then smirks as Barret starts to charge at him, and he simply moves out of the way.
"You're too slow big man!"
He once again says in a cocky tone as he swings his rod into Barret's back, hitting him with a couple thousand volts of electric energy. Much like Red, Barret screams as he falls over, and just as Barret falls, Tifa slams her fist into the mans gut and as he bends at the middle, she slams her knee into his face. As he stumbles backward, he looks at her, smirks and speaks;
"Not bad.. for a woman...."
As Tifa looks at him, she gets into a fighting stance.
"I remember you Reno... you're the Turk that set that bomb to explode and killed all those innocent people in Sector 7!"
She says as the man, named Reno, stands up straight. He smirks as he wipes some blood from his nose, and he feels sore from that punch and knee shot, as well as the battle he fought against Cloud, Tifa and Barret before Sector 7 was crushed. He then replies;
"It's too bad that I'll most likely end up killing you if you fight me, I could get used to having you around. So then.. how about you just give up and we could become real good 'friends.'"
"In your dreams.. I would never give into you..."
Tifa replies as she gets ready to attack him. His smirk grows bigger and he then laughs as the elevator door behind her opens. Before she can turn her head to see who is behind her, she's grabbed from behind and held in such a way that her arms are at her sides so she can't fight back but she struggles to get free. While the man who has a hold of her wears the same suit that Reno does, his is much neater, as he wears a tie, his white shirt is fully buttoned up, and his cuffs and collar are fully under control. But unlike Reno, he wears a pair of sunglasses and gloves.
"I was wondering when you would get here Rude, I took two of em' out. I was getting ready to take care of our little 'friend' when you showed up."
Reno says as he looks at Rude, who stays silent even as Tifa tries to get away from him. Reno walks up to her and puts his hand on her face, smirks a little more and speaks;
"Looks like we caught ourselves a nice prize.."
She then moves her head away from his hand. As she does that she brings her mouth to his hand and bites it, hard enough to draw blood. He then pulls his hand away from her mouth and smacks her rather hard with the same hand, leaving blood on her cheek.
"You little bitch, now you're going to pay for that!"
He says as he brings his rod up and then slams it into her stomach, which causes her to bend at the middle, and her eyes close from the pain. He then turns it on full power, causing well over 60,000 volts to surge through her body, causing her to scream loudly for a few moments, and she falls unconscious as Reno pulls the rod away from her.
"Was that necessary Reno?"
Rude asks in a low, calm, controlled voice. Reno looks at him and replies;
"Yes it was, now help me with the other two."
As Reno finishes what he was saying, some footsteps are heard coming toward them. They then stop and then a voice is heard;
"I congratulate you on how swiftly you have taken care of those three. However, Cloud, the Ancient and Pisces are still free within the building, and they must be captured at all costs. But I want you two to remember that when they're captured there is to be no harm caused to either the Ancient or Pisces."
The voice belongs to Tseng, the leader of the Turks. He is around the same height as Reno, he wears his suit like Rude does, and he too has gloves. His hair is by far the longest of any other Turk.
"Yes sir.. we understand."
Rude says as he picks up Tifa and slings her limp body over his shoulder.
"I'll take out care of the moron Cloud and make sure the Ancient and Pisces don't get away."
Reno says in a cocky tone as he turns and looks at Tseng.
"No, I will take care of them, you two shall bring these three up to President ShinRa and make sure that they do now get away."
Tseng says in a calm voice as he looks at Reno.
"But Sir.."
Reno starts, but is quickly cut off by Tseng, whose eyes have narrowed;
"You heard me Reno."
With that said, Reno simply nods. He turns and grabs a hold of Barret while Rude grabs a hold of Red's tail. Rude then walks into the elevator, followed by Reno, whose now dragging Barret. As he enters the elevator, Reno hits a button and the door closes and the elevator makes it's way up to the 69th floor. As the elevator starts to move, Tseng makes his way to a corner, waiting to ambush Cloud, Aeris and Kyle.
"Come on you two, let's get going before we're caught..."
Cloud says as he turns and starts to walk. Kyle nods and then turns along with Aeris.
"Alright.. lets get going, this place depresses me.."
Aeris says as she start to walk, pulling Kyle along. As they walk, they can't help but notice how dead the floor is, nobody is around, there is no sound.. nothing is happening, it's eerie. Once they reach the stairs, they immediately start the trek down to the 66th floor. They walk out of the room that holds the stairs and head for the elevator. Suddenly Kyle stops moving and looks around a little, as if he's looking for something.
"Something wrong?"
Aeris asks as she looks over his shoulder at him. Kyle brings his attention to her, shakes his head and replies;
"N..no.. nothings wrong..."
Aeris blinks a little and then turns her head back around as she speaks;
"Alright.. let's go then.."
Kyle starts to move again, still being "pulled" along by Aeris. A few moments later they reach the elevator, and Cloud hits the down button and the elevator doors slowly slide open.
"Shouldn't we wait for the others?"
Kyle says as he looks at Cloud. Tseng, who was hiding all this time, comes from around the corner and walks up to them and speaks;
"I'm afraid your friends were already here.. and were captured.."
Kyle, Cloud and Aeris turn and look at Tseng, both with shock and surprise in their eyes. Kyle then suddenly stands in-front of Aeris, as if it's an instinct of his to protect her, and Cloud places his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I wouldn't do that.. if you were to try and fight me I'm afraid your friends will die..."
Tseng says as he pulls out a cell phone and taps a few keys.
"What the Hell do you mean by that?"
Cloud says as he starts to draw the blade from its sheath. Tseng then holds toward them and they hear a familiar voice;
"Let go of me now!"
It's the voice of Barret. Tseng then stares at Cloud and speaks;
"Reno, if they do not give up by the time I count to ten, I want you to kill them all, understand?"
"Yes sir.."
Reno says as the sound of clip is heard being snapped into a gun. Tseng then starts to count;
"1...2..."
"Stop.. I... I'll give myself up.."
Kyle says as he looks at Tseng.
"Please.. don't let any of them get hurt and I'll also give up..."
Aeris says as she looks at the floor.
"Good, now what about you Cloud?"
Tseng says in a cold tone. He then goes back to counting;
"3....4...5...6..."
Cloud slowly places his sword back into its sheath and then he pulls his hand away from the hilt and speaks;
"Alright.. I give up."
Tseng smirks slightly and then speaks;
"Reno, I shall be coming up with Cloud, the Ancient and Pisces. If they start any trouble, I'll tell you to kill the others, understand?"
A moment passes and then Reno answers;
"I got it sir.."
Tseng motions to the elevator with his other hand and then speaks;
"You should consider yourselves lucky that we didn't have orders to kill you and your friends. Now get in so I can bring you to meet with President ShinRa."
With that said, Cloud, Aeris and Kyle enter the elevator, followed by Tseng. He then presses the up button. The doors then close and the elevator moves upwards.
Chapter 18: Neo-Midgar and the Cetra
Cloud, Barret, Kyle, Red XIII, Tifa and Aeris are brought into President ShinRa's office by Rude, Reno and Tseng. Cloud, Tifa and Barret's hands are handcuffed behind their backs, Red XIII has short chains that link his legs together, as to allow him only to walk, and Kyle and Aeris are free of chains and handcuffs, as they know that if they start trouble, the others might get hurt.
The office is huge, as it takes up most of the 70th floor. The floor itself is made completely out of metal, as to prevent bullets from piercing it. Two staircases from the 69th floor and a door that leads to a Heli Pad are the only way to get into the office, for obvious security reasons. Huge windows line the walls, allowing a nice view of the plate below, the sky above and ocean that is not too far off. President ShinRa himself sits behind a massive desk, which appears to be in the shape of a hollow semi-circle, the area immediately around his chair has about 10 lights to provide more then adequate lighting, and there is a yet another light, this one a large desk lamp, just above his paper work.
President ShinRa stands up and then walks around his desk as the Turks stop their prisoners and he speaks;
"Ah it's.. what was your name again.. Avenue or something like that?"
Barret gets pissed at that statement and yells;
"It's AVALANCHE, never forget that!"
President ShinRa looks rather amused as he stops in-front of them and replies;
"Yes, yes.. sure.."
Kyle blinks a few times and then looks at Pres. ShinRa and speaks;
"So.. you're President ShinRa..."
"Ah yes my boy, you must be Kyle, it's good to see that you're not harmed."
Pres. ShinRa says as he looks at Kyle. Aeris turns her attention to the President and speaks;
"What do you want with us?"
"I only wanted you and Kyle back, the others I'll hold for a while until I can arrange a public execution for the fall of the Sector 7 plate."
He says in a dark tone and then he starts to laugh wickedly.
"You're the key to the Promised Land Aeris, it's said the Ancients, or rather the Cetra, will lead us to the Promised Land. A land that's rich and has much life... and if it's rich with life then..."
Pres. ShinRa is cut off by Barret;
"Then there's gotta be Mako!"
Pres. ShinRa nods and then goes on;
"And that's where our money sucking Mako Reactors will be placed, and Neo-Midgar, ShinRa's new pride and glory, shall be built."
"But.. if you do that the land will die!"
Barret says in a pissed tone. Red XIII looks at Pres. ShinRa and speaks;
"I thought the Promised Land was just a myth."
Pres. ShinRa laughs and then replies;
"Well since we now have the last Ancient, we will find out."
"And what about me? Am I still going to be used as your weapon?"
Kyle asks in a questioning tone. Pres. ShinRa looks at him and replies;
"We've put a lot of Gil into the Pisces Project, and I plan on getting my moneys worth."
This causes Kyle's eyes to narrow.
"I'm not your slave, I have just as many rights as you do."
Kyle says in a semi-pissed tone, which causes Pres. ShinRa to laugh.
"Property has no rights. Ever since ShinRa got a hold of you, you became MY property, never forget that I control you, that when I speak you will listen and obey me without question. If you don't, your little Ancient friend will suffer. I know that you two are very close, so if you don't follow orders she will suffer. Now then boy, get on your knee and vow your loyalty to me."
Pres. ShinRa says in a commanding voice, but Kyle doesn't move. Pres. ShinRa's eyes narrow and then he smirks as he makes a single motion with his right hand. Reno makes his way behind Aeris and twists her arm, causing her to yelp suddenly. Kyle then looks back at her and his eyes go wide and he speaks;
"Stop it.. you're hurting her."
"He'll stop as soon as you get on your knees and vow your loyalty to me."
Pres. ShinRa replies. As soon as Reno twists her arm more, Kyle turns his gaze back to Pres. ShinRa and then he falls to one knee.
"I.. I promise to be.. your... weapon... now please make him stop..."
Kyle says as he looks at the floor. As soon as Pres. ShinRa nods, Reno lets her arm go, letting Aeris pulls her arm around and holds it. Pres. ShinRa then looks down at Kyle and speaks;
"See.. that wasn't so hard, now was it?"
Kyle stays silent as he keeps his eyes fixed on the floor. Pres. ShinRa gets a little pissed and then speaks;
"When I ask you a question you will answer."
Kyle brings his eyes up so he's looking up at him and answers;
"No it wasn't hard.."
"No it wasn't hard.. what? When you answer me you will address me as Sir..."
Pres. ShinRa says in his cocky tone. Kyle replies in a low tone;
"No.. it wasn't hard Sir...."
"See, it wasn't so hard being a good boy and doing what you're told."
Pres. ShinRa says as he looks at Kyle. He then looks at Reno, Rude and Tseng and speaks once more;
"I want you to lock all but Kyle up, as he will stay here. And remember, if any harm comes to the Ancient, well.. you know what will happen don't you?"
The three Turks, who snap to attention, speak in unison;
"Yes Sir."
They then lead Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red XIII and Aeris toward a staircase.
"Hojo, come out now.."
Pres. ShinRa says as he turns to one of the pillars that's used to hold the ceiling up. Hojo comes out from behind it and looks at Kyle, who is now looking at him.
"So Kyle.. it's time you learned how to be a good weapon..."
Hojo says as a dark smirk forms on his face.