Help...me...
A flash of lightening breifly and eerily lit the rotting monument to greed and death below the black clouds. It was followed almost immediately by a dull rumble loud enough to shake what remained of the glass in the city's blown out windows. Driving rain, whipped into a frenzy by the powerful winds, beat ferociously at the abandoned streets. The storm was so fierce it would have seemed to any onlooker, and certainly anyone caught in it, that the forces of nature were taking a brutal revenge on a hated foe.
The lightening continued to stab down randomly at the highest points of the city - the eight huge reactors and the single massive tower in the centre of the ring they formed. Ever so often the strikes provided a jolt of electricity to some decaying machine which would groan and splutter into life for a second before slowly grinding to a halt again.
In a locked room deep in the Shinra building, the lights flickered. A button on a console glowed red for a moment, then dimmed.
The storm continued, getting worse by the minute.
Another spark of power caused the door of the huge vat in the centre of the room to groan protestingly. A globule of tranparent greenish goo slid down the glass onto the dusty floor. It left a slimy trial down the side of the vat, and across the simple plaque attatched to its base.
JV/101/2
The numbers had been scratched out and re-engraved many times, but the letters showed no signs of tampering.
Hours passed, but the storm didn't die down.
Another bolt of lightening hit the Shinra HQ.
This time the door mechanism got the sustained power it needed. Nearly a quarter of the glass cylinder slid haltingly and protestingly aside, letting the vat empty most of its slimy contents into a faintly glowing pool on the floor. The scene was still for a few seconds, except for the slow expansion over the floor of the mass of fluid which now looked much like a giant amoeba. Then, slowly, a figure collapsed forward from the vat back into the slime in which it had been encased. It sprawled on its hands and knees, soaked and naked, and started to gasp for breath, desparately bringing its hands up to claw away the slime still clinging to its face and brush aside the black hair plastered against it. Choking and choughing shook its slender form for a good few minutes, until a complex piece of plastic piping shot out from where it had been lodged in the thing's throat and landed will a dull splat on the sticky floor. Breathing deeply, it colapsed with relief.
JV/101/2 pulled herself up, still dripping. What was happening? What moron had let her out without following the correct procedure, and then left her to nearly choke to death on her own breathing apperatus? Who else knew she was here? Questions floooded throuigh her mind, but quickly dissapeared. Something was very wrong.
It was too quiet. JV/101/2 had never known things this quiet. There was the sound of rain and wind outside, but not the sounds of machines, the hum of the lights, the general sounds of the city outside. But more disturbing than the silence around her was the silence in her mind.
She stood for a while, lost in thought, then shook her head. She needed to think about more immediate problems.
It was never this quiet in Midgar, not even at night. The place must be deserted.
Midgar...deserted? What had happened?
How long had she been here?
If Midgar was deserted, who had let her out?
There was another possibility. If the place had been abandoned for some time, and it looked like it may have been, there might have been a mechanical malfunction. But even then, she couldn't hear the reactors running. There couldn't be any power.
JV/101/2 shook her head again. Before she started to investige any of this she needed to start with the basics. Get washed. Find some clothes, some food, something to drink. Weapons. Materia. Supplies. Get out of here.
It would be the first time she had ever been out into the city. The shock hit her for a moment. I'm free. No more just knowing about the outside world from what she was told, what she read, and the sounds she heard from the city. Almost dizzy with anticipation, she strode towards the door to her living quarters. It should have slid open automatically, but of course, there was no power. That didn't matter though. A single blow left the metal door warped enough to provide no obstacle, at least, not to JV/101/2's slender frame. Everything was as she remembered it, though now covered in a layer of dust. The small fouton, the chest of drawers, her katana, her books. That was definately a start, but before anything else, she needed to wash. That might not be so easy as it sounded - nothing was powered. Nevertheless, there must be something. Despite the rapidly drying slime still clinging to her JV/101/2 quickly rummaged through the drawers and pulled on some clothes, as much for decency as anything else.
Seconds later JV/101/2 kicked in another door, the one that led out onto the main corridor, and considered her next move. The place was in a bad way. Debris lay everywhere and even the walls buckled and bulged in some places. There was no sign of human occupation. The building had obviously been abandoned for quite some time. After a little more thought JV/101/2 slipped back into her quarters and came out with her weapon. There was no telling what might be out there, certainly not on these floors. However, she did now have a rough idea what direction to head in. From somewhere close in the building she could hear the gentle gurgle of flowing water. She headed out towards the sound, treading carefully to avoid both the worst of the debris and slipping on the slime still dripping from her long hair. Questions started to flash through her head again as she walked. What could have happened to cause Midgar to become deserted? How long had she had been shut up in that vat? Why, why was her mind so quiet?
Doubt suddenly filled JV/101/2 so profoundly she stopped in her tracks. What if they had succeded? And left her behind?
Did she forget about me?
No. JV/101/2 knew that if the plan had been a success Midgar would not still be standing, even in this dilapidated state. She set off again.
JV/101/2 knew that she would not have forgotten. She would never, perhaps could never forget. Him, perhaps. Hojo. Too busy chasing off after his precious son. That was why he'd shut her up in that vat again, even at the risk of the upper echelons of the Shinra management finding out about her. Even at the best of times he had never trusted her not to make a break for freedom. She smiled as she easily vaulted a collapsed section of wall partially blocking her path and landed lightly on the other side. The watery sounds were much closer now, probably almost directly above her on the next floor. Hojo had been quite right, of course. She had been planning to escape for years. Only one thing had held her back.
There were claw marks on the door leading to the stairs. JV/101/2 subconsciously tightened her grip on her weapon, but knew she didn't have any reason to be too concerned. As she'd walked there had been the occasional corpse of some specimin or another. Most looked as if they had starved to death. She was becoming more and more sure that she was the only living thing left here. Dealing with the door the way she had done previously, she started to climb the stairs, slightly surprised by the gentle breeze that was now blowing in her face. When she reached the next floor, she couldn't quite belive what she saw.
Half this floor, and most of the all floors above it, was missing. A gaping hole had been blown in the top of the building, leaving it open to the sky. That was where the water was coming from - rain was collecting on the floor above and pouring through a fissure in the ceiling, collecting again in a large, deep pool that reached to within a few feet of where JV/101/2 was standing. The natural beauty of the scene seemed strangly out of place and she found herself simply gazing at it, fascinated. It was so beautiful, and exactly what she needed. Eventually she waded out and washed herself thoroughly in the natural shower. It was such a relief to finally eradicate the clinging slime, especially from her hair. That had grown a lot since she last remembered. It had always been long but now reached well below her waist in a thick flow of raven tresses. Layden with green ooze it had been a dead weight on her head, never mind plastering the stuff all over her again.
Once she was sure that all the slime had been washed from both herself and her temporary clothes JV/101/2 walked over to the edge of the crumbling floor and looked out over the ruins of Midgar. Dark shells of buildings stretched as far as she could see. The wasn't a trace of colour in the scene. Even the sky was a stormy grey. And even after so long abandoned, nothing grew here. Nothing lived here. The place was barren, the embodiment of death. The only sound was the howling wind, blowing straight at her, stinging her face and throwing her wet hair behind her in an unruly, writhing mass. Nevertheless, the view was truly impressive. Over sixty floors above the plate the whole city was in view, though the outskirts were shrouded in a thin mist. The mist and dark clouds seemed to insulate the area from the rest of the world, as if the planet wanted to stop anything from escaping into the outside world. JV/101/2 smiled. Mist and cloud wasn't going to stop her. Now she was free, she wasn't going to spend any more time than necessary in this hell hole.
A lone figure stood at the top of the ridge, looking out over Midgar. Reeve sighed. Even now, after just over year, he still came back here sometimes, and watched what could well be called his life's work slowly decay. The abandoment of Midgar hadn't been planned. People had just never gone back. After what had happened there, Reeve wasn't really suprised. But it was a shame really, building everywhere else up when there was still a perfectly good city here. It would need a bit of work, and an entirely new power infrastructure of course...
"Yo, Reeve!"
Reeve glanced over his shoulder at the familiar bulky frame walking up the hill behind him.
"What t'hell you doin' up here?" Barret asked, slightly out of breath. He followed Reeve's gaze down onto Midgar and frowned. "You ain't missin' the damn Shinra now, are you?"
"No. Not at all. But its kind of a shame about the city."
"Yeah. Still sittin' here like some #%$#ing great scar on the planet..."
"No, I don't mean like that. It's just...I worked so hard on this place. It's such a shame to see it like this."
"So you are missin' the Shinra."
"For the last time, no. No one else in Shinra gave shit what happened to this place. Remember what they did to sector 7?"
"How could I forget? Your damn ex-boss killed half my friends!"
"OK, calm down. Bad example."
"No one'd want to live down there now anyway."
"Perhaps you're right. Not after everything that's happened. And the weather there now..."
Barret frowned and looked him quizzically.
"What?"
"Nearly every time I've come up here, there's been a storm. But, just over Midgar. It's...really odd."
"No storm now."
"You just missed it."
"Heh. Even the Planet reckons Midgar needs a good kickin'. Come on, if we get goin' now, we might get back before it gets dark."
"Yeah. Moping around up here probably isn't doing me any good."
"Damn right." Barret paused. "Tell yer what, if it makes you feel any better, think about it this way. If you really think about it, the city, the buildings, all the stuff down there," he gestured vaguely, "That all don't mean shit. It's the people that matter. An' think of all you've done for them. You probably done more for them in the past year than you ever did when you was a big shot up at Shinra."
"That's pretty deep," Reeve said, turning and sauntering back down the hill, "Cosmo Canyon must've rubbed off on you. How is the place?"
"Pretty much the same really, what with them never havin' used Mako. Lot more people comin' there now though." Barret grinned. "Marlene loved it. 'Course, she's a bit young to understand it all yet, but I promised I'd take her."
"It's a bit of a long journey for someone that age."
"Yeah. Wore her right out. She slept most of the way back. Mind you, don't think she would have missed it for anythin'."
There was a short silence, and Reeve stared down at the grass. He'd wanted to ask something as soon as he'd seen Barret, but now he wasn't sure exactly how to broach the subject. Then again, Barret wasn't one for subtlety, neither using it or on most occasions picking it up. Perhaps he should just come straight out with it.
"How's Red?" he ventured cautiously. Barret scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Gettin' better. Still a bit down, but what d'you expect? Ev'ryone up at the Canyon feels the same."
"I'm not surprised. Everyone there knew Bugenhagen."
"I jus' wish I'd had more time to talk to the guy. Reckon the Planet could do with some more fellas like him."
"You're probably right," Reeve replied, still staring down at the grass as he walked. There was a frown on his face. Barret loooked at him.
"What's up?"
"You really want to know?"
"Sure."
"I worried. About Midgar."
"$#!$, not that again!" Barret muttered, rolling his eyes. Reeve opened his mouth to speak again, but Barret clapped his hands over his ears, a little overdramatically. "I ain't list'nin'!"
"Nothing grows there," Reeve said quietly, then continued to walk in silence until Barret couldn't take it anymore.
"What d'you say?"
"Nothing grows there. In Midgar. And nothing lives there. Hell, I've never even seen a flock of birds fly over it. I...went down there a few days ago..."
"...What!? You damn crazy #@$!"
"Yeah, I thought so too. But I couldn't help myself. When I got there, I found I needn't have worried. There was nothing there. No monsters. No animals. No plants. I didn't even hear an insect buzzing. I tell you, I've been more scared, but I've never been more spooked."
"Ain't they the same thing?"
"Never mind. It just makes you think. Did we...do enough?"
Barret thought about that for a long time. By the time he spoke again Kalm was in view.
"Yer a damn pessimist, Reeve. We did all we could. The Planet'll get back on it's feet eventually."
"I hope you're right," Reeve replied, looking across at Kalm. The sight made him feel a little better; if Midgar was in some ways a failure of his, Kalm was great success. It had grown a lot since Midgar had been abandoned, as people had desperatly searched for somewhere else to live. He'd made sure, as best as he could, that everything was done properly, and the place didn't turn into a ratrun of hastily built slums. He felt a definate touch of pride to think that he had succeeded. The town was just as quiet and pleasant as it had been before.
"Uh oh."
"What?" Reeve said, startled from his thoughts. Barret grinned.
"You're in trouble with the missus."
Reeve followed Barret's eyes to the figure running up towards them.
"Oh, hell."
"Reeve!"
Reeve dashed down to meet the figure, and was about to mumble an apology when Elmyra threw her arms around him.
"Where have you been? I was so worried!"
"It's alright," Reeve said, both glad that he wasn't going to get an immediate lecture and upset and sorry that he'd made Elmyra worry. "I'm fine. I just...lost track of time."
"Lost track of time! You've been gone since morning! I thought something terrible might have happened to you!"
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry!" Elmyra pulled away from him, and Reeve realised he wasn't going to get off as lightly as he'd hoped. "Never, ever do that to me again! After all that's happened you should know better than to make me worry that I might have lost you too!"
"I'm sorry," he said again, hanging his head and trying to ignore Barret's sniggering. "I really am." Elmyra's glare softened slightly.
"Just promise me you won't go off without telling me again."
"Of course. You know how I hate to see you upset," Reeve said, trying to sound as sincere as he felt. Judging from Elmyra's expression, he succeeded. "Let's get back home before it starts getting nippy."
"Yeah," said Barret, rejoining the conversation, "I don't wanna leave Marlene on her own for too long, even if she is asleep."
As the threesome started to walk towards the entrance to the town Reeve realised there was something he needed to ask.
"So...did you make me any supper?" he inquired hopefully. Elmyra laughed despite herself.
"You're hopeless."
Hmm. First Fanfic, first section, first chapter and my first ever HTML code written. Nothing too difficult yet. Anyway, I hope you're just a little bit intrigued as to my plans. But don't expect me to make the ever fatal mistake of sharing them with you. No, you'll have to have some patience to witness the full extent of my genius. Stay tuned for the next chapter, with a familiar face crawling out of the woodwork and more on the mysterious JV/101/2. Until then, goodbye and EPB2S - Anguipes Seraph