Chapter XXII: Return Of The Highwind.
Jarred Rath watched calmly as Cloud stared at him. It was beginning to irritate him, but his master was more important than a slight irritation. He turned his dark eyes away from the "hero", instead finding the floor suddenly interesting.
Tifa walked up the hall that led to the infirmary. She walked with the confidence that she always did, as Jarred was quick to notice. the whole air around her seemed to try to irritate him personally. He had learned to hate people like her. They had often mocked him in more than one way, and he had been forced to deal with them. He looked back at the floor to stop his lip from curling up in disgust.
"Hey there." She said to Cloud, putting her arms around him.
"'Ey." He answered.
"What happened?"
"Seph X got a nasty cut across the eye. I'm amazed that anything went through him."
Shut up, Jarred hissed mentally.
"So why is he in the infirmary? Isn't that for humans? Not machines?" Tifa asked.
Jarred couldn't bear it anymore. He pushed open the door to the infirmary and walked through it.
Seph X was standing coolly beside his bed, trying to escape its boredom.
"Master!" Jarred said.
Seph X turned and looked exasperatedly at Jarred.
"Machines don't need to rest, god dammit!"
"No, but you need to be patched up around your eye."
"They don't have the technology to fix me. I'll be just as well prowling the streets with a damp cloth." He said sadistically.
"What up your ass?"
"Why did you save me?" He said. "Mech-Head was supposed to kill me."
"You're my master, I'm supposed to do that sort of stuff for you." Jarred shrugged.
"He would have cut you to pieces!" Seph X exclaimed.
"But he didn't, did he?" Jarred held up a hand to show his point.
"Those claws are pretty strong, and as long as he can grow them back then you gotta hope to god he doesn't find out that if he moves fast enough he can get you good." Seph X said seriously
"I won't need to, will I? You'll be more careful next time won't you?" He grinned.
Seph X frowned.
"God, you can be as confusing as a human sometimes."
Jarred wasn't quite sure what this meant, so he merely smiled. Seph X frowned again.
In the distance, there was the sound of whooshing, then through the window they caught a glance of the Highwind as it landed beside the Shin Ra headquarters.
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Cid Highwind was thoroughly bewildered.
He was not supposed to try to kill the people he saw. Not one.
Elena must be up to something, he thought.
As he, Tifa, Red XIII and Cloud rounded a corner he caught sight of something that made his blood run cold. Sephiroth!
"WHAT THE f-#¤% IS HE HERE?!" He yelled.
He whipped out the spear from behind his back and charged the metallic version of Sephiroth.
Before anyone could stop him, Seph X pushed the spear away and backhanded Cid on the cheek. He fell to the ground in pain.
"Honestly, the next person who tries to kill me is gonna get it up the f- #¤%-ing ass!" He yelled back at the shocked people.
Cloud smirked, Tifa tittered, Red XIII growled. Seph X looked down at the flame red dog.
"Don't make me a animal abuser." He said seriously to Red. He stopped growling. "Thank you." Seph X turned to the others.
"Anybody else wanna take the random hack at me? Maybe a nice shot to the head would be fun? Ooh, I know, you can take turns trying to beat me up!" He said the last part while looking venomously at Tifa. She averted her gaze from him.
"Shit, what the F-#¤% is goin' on?!" Cid cursed.
Seph X offered him a hand up. Cid looked at the hand sceptically, then took it. Seph X pulled him up.
"I'm sorry, but I really wasn't in the mood today." He apologized.
"YOUR SORRY FOR KICKING MY ASS?!" cid said in disbelief.
"Actually, I never kicked your ass, but I could if you like."
Cid considered this momentarily.
"Err, no."
"Master? What happened?" Said a voice from down the hall. Cid looked in further disbelief.
"CHAOS?! IS THIS A F-#¤%-ING EVIL PERSON CONVENTION OR SOMETHING?!" Cid yelled.
He grabbed his spear and hefted it at Jarred. The grey skinned demi-demon side stepped the spear and grabbed it as it flew past him. Cid gasped. Jarred walked up to Seph X and slammed the spear butt into Cid's midriff. He fell to the ground clutching his stomach.
"This is getting slightly bizarre." Jarred smirked. He held up a hand for Cid to grab. He grabbed it.
"I warned you." Cloud said.
"You never f-#¤%-ing told me NOT to try and kill HIM. OR HIM!" He said, looking very pissed off.
Seph x looked at Jarred. He shrugged. They both started for Reeves office.
"Cloud, I hate you." Cid said.
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Reeve looked out his now shattered window. He leaned out and stared down at the fall. He spat. He watched as it was lost from sight. He shivered.
A light push made him jump back.
Jarred fell beneath him, with a resounding "oof!"
Seph X laughed as Reeve was pushed aside.
"Not funny." Reeve said in shock.
"I beg to differ." Seph X said.
Reeve pushed himself up. He looked as Cloud and the others came in.
"Ah, Cid, Red," He paused. "Where's Vincent and Yuffie."
"Yuffie was afraid of Reno getting a hardon." Cid said obnoxiously. "And Vincent said something about enjoying the liking heights from up close."
"You pervo!" Tifa said while whacking him upside the head.
"Seriously though?" Reeve insisted.
"We seriously have no idea." Cloud said answered.
"Maybe they eloped?" Cid laughed. He was the only one who laughed.
"Oh come ON?! Do we really need the deserters?!" Cid yelled.
"Yes." Reeve said nonchalantly. "Because if you haven't noticed, we're under siege by a psychotic demonic robot and his army."
Seph X spoke up.
"Yes, we were lucky today, we were able to stop their advance, thanks to Jarred. But Mech-Head won't make the same mistake. He made a technical error the first time round, but he won't do it again." He said matter-of- factly.
Cid snorted.
"I'm sorry, you wanna play general here?" Seph X said sarcastically. "Feel free, I won't oppose. YOU lead us."
Silence.
"Right. Is there any weapons or armour down there in the slums?"
"Sure, there tons of 'em. Even a tank. And they could probably build some artillery and stuff with the junk there." Cloud stated
Seph X thought this out.
"Ok, we can rule out the possibility of artillery because the thought won't come to Mech-Head if it didn't come to me. The only mistake he made this morning was attacking without weapons."
"So what the hell are we gonna do when he gets ready to attack again?" Cid asked.
Silence.
"I have no clue. We go down fighting."
Reeve looked out the window. He thought about Vincent and his uncanny ability to come up with at least a suggestion for action. An idea struck him suddenly.
"Do you think we can get some snipers up here to take them out as they try to get onto the plate?"
Seph X turned to address him.
"There's not much of a point, if they cant get up here then they'll destroy all the pillars holding the plate up."
"Dude," Cid said. "If we can get some soldiers at the top of the pillars to drop grenades and stuff, it should keep them from the pillars up. They won't walk into a rain of fire."
Seph X looked in amazement at the group.
"I believe I've been outdated."
"We can also rig the trains with explosives." Red XIII said encouragingly.
"Oh god." Seph X. "Their better at it than me."
"Hey, technically we ARE terrorists ya know." Barret said.
Seph X sat down.
"Oh yay."
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"IT DIDN'T KILL HER?" One of the shadows said.
"NO, HOW PECULIAR." Another said.
"MAYBE YOU WERE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAID SHE COULD HELP."
Chaos listened to all this, and smiled. He was right, and he knew it.
"SHE CAN HELP, YES. AND SHE WILL. WE HAVE A DEAL."
Laughter rang out in the mind of Vincent Valentine, but it was the laughter of Chaos
Jarred Rath watched calmly as Cloud stared at him. It was beginning to irritate him, but his master was more important than a slight irritation. He turned his dark eyes away from the "hero", instead finding the floor suddenly interesting.
Tifa walked up the hall that led to the infirmary. She walked with the confidence that she always did, as Jarred was quick to notice. the whole air around her seemed to try to irritate him personally. He had learned to hate people like her. They had often mocked him in more than one way, and he had been forced to deal with them. He looked back at the floor to stop his lip from curling up in disgust.
"Hey there." She said to Cloud, putting her arms around him.
"'Ey." He answered.
"What happened?"
"Seph X got a nasty cut across the eye. I'm amazed that anything went through him."
Shut up, Jarred hissed mentally.
"So why is he in the infirmary? Isn't that for humans? Not machines?" Tifa asked.
Jarred couldn't bear it anymore. He pushed open the door to the infirmary and walked through it.
Seph X was standing coolly beside his bed, trying to escape its boredom.
"Master!" Jarred said.
Seph X turned and looked exasperatedly at Jarred.
"Machines don't need to rest, god dammit!"
"No, but you need to be patched up around your eye."
"They don't have the technology to fix me. I'll be just as well prowling the streets with a damp cloth." He said sadistically.
"What up your ass?"
"Why did you save me?" He said. "Mech-Head was supposed to kill me."
"You're my master, I'm supposed to do that sort of stuff for you." Jarred shrugged.
"He would have cut you to pieces!" Seph X exclaimed.
"But he didn't, did he?" Jarred held up a hand to show his point.
"Those claws are pretty strong, and as long as he can grow them back then you gotta hope to god he doesn't find out that if he moves fast enough he can get you good." Seph X said seriously
"I won't need to, will I? You'll be more careful next time won't you?" He grinned.
Seph X frowned.
"God, you can be as confusing as a human sometimes."
Jarred wasn't quite sure what this meant, so he merely smiled. Seph X frowned again.
In the distance, there was the sound of whooshing, then through the window they caught a glance of the Highwind as it landed beside the Shin Ra headquarters.
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Cid Highwind was thoroughly bewildered.
He was not supposed to try to kill the people he saw. Not one.
Elena must be up to something, he thought.
As he, Tifa, Red XIII and Cloud rounded a corner he caught sight of something that made his blood run cold. Sephiroth!
"WHAT THE f-#¤% IS HE HERE?!" He yelled.
He whipped out the spear from behind his back and charged the metallic version of Sephiroth.
Before anyone could stop him, Seph X pushed the spear away and backhanded Cid on the cheek. He fell to the ground in pain.
"Honestly, the next person who tries to kill me is gonna get it up the f- #¤%-ing ass!" He yelled back at the shocked people.
Cloud smirked, Tifa tittered, Red XIII growled. Seph X looked down at the flame red dog.
"Don't make me a animal abuser." He said seriously to Red. He stopped growling. "Thank you." Seph X turned to the others.
"Anybody else wanna take the random hack at me? Maybe a nice shot to the head would be fun? Ooh, I know, you can take turns trying to beat me up!" He said the last part while looking venomously at Tifa. She averted her gaze from him.
"Shit, what the F-#¤% is goin' on?!" Cid cursed.
Seph X offered him a hand up. Cid looked at the hand sceptically, then took it. Seph X pulled him up.
"I'm sorry, but I really wasn't in the mood today." He apologized.
"YOUR SORRY FOR KICKING MY ASS?!" cid said in disbelief.
"Actually, I never kicked your ass, but I could if you like."
Cid considered this momentarily.
"Err, no."
"Master? What happened?" Said a voice from down the hall. Cid looked in further disbelief.
"CHAOS?! IS THIS A F-#¤%-ING EVIL PERSON CONVENTION OR SOMETHING?!" Cid yelled.
He grabbed his spear and hefted it at Jarred. The grey skinned demi-demon side stepped the spear and grabbed it as it flew past him. Cid gasped. Jarred walked up to Seph X and slammed the spear butt into Cid's midriff. He fell to the ground clutching his stomach.
"This is getting slightly bizarre." Jarred smirked. He held up a hand for Cid to grab. He grabbed it.
"I warned you." Cloud said.
"You never f-#¤%-ing told me NOT to try and kill HIM. OR HIM!" He said, looking very pissed off.
Seph x looked at Jarred. He shrugged. They both started for Reeves office.
"Cloud, I hate you." Cid said.
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Reeve looked out his now shattered window. He leaned out and stared down at the fall. He spat. He watched as it was lost from sight. He shivered.
A light push made him jump back.
Jarred fell beneath him, with a resounding "oof!"
Seph X laughed as Reeve was pushed aside.
"Not funny." Reeve said in shock.
"I beg to differ." Seph X said.
Reeve pushed himself up. He looked as Cloud and the others came in.
"Ah, Cid, Red," He paused. "Where's Vincent and Yuffie."
"Yuffie was afraid of Reno getting a hardon." Cid said obnoxiously. "And Vincent said something about enjoying the liking heights from up close."
"You pervo!" Tifa said while whacking him upside the head.
"Seriously though?" Reeve insisted.
"We seriously have no idea." Cloud said answered.
"Maybe they eloped?" Cid laughed. He was the only one who laughed.
"Oh come ON?! Do we really need the deserters?!" Cid yelled.
"Yes." Reeve said nonchalantly. "Because if you haven't noticed, we're under siege by a psychotic demonic robot and his army."
Seph X spoke up.
"Yes, we were lucky today, we were able to stop their advance, thanks to Jarred. But Mech-Head won't make the same mistake. He made a technical error the first time round, but he won't do it again." He said matter-of- factly.
Cid snorted.
"I'm sorry, you wanna play general here?" Seph X said sarcastically. "Feel free, I won't oppose. YOU lead us."
Silence.
"Right. Is there any weapons or armour down there in the slums?"
"Sure, there tons of 'em. Even a tank. And they could probably build some artillery and stuff with the junk there." Cloud stated
Seph X thought this out.
"Ok, we can rule out the possibility of artillery because the thought won't come to Mech-Head if it didn't come to me. The only mistake he made this morning was attacking without weapons."
"So what the hell are we gonna do when he gets ready to attack again?" Cid asked.
Silence.
"I have no clue. We go down fighting."
Reeve looked out the window. He thought about Vincent and his uncanny ability to come up with at least a suggestion for action. An idea struck him suddenly.
"Do you think we can get some snipers up here to take them out as they try to get onto the plate?"
Seph X turned to address him.
"There's not much of a point, if they cant get up here then they'll destroy all the pillars holding the plate up."
"Dude," Cid said. "If we can get some soldiers at the top of the pillars to drop grenades and stuff, it should keep them from the pillars up. They won't walk into a rain of fire."
Seph X looked in amazement at the group.
"I believe I've been outdated."
"We can also rig the trains with explosives." Red XIII said encouragingly.
"Oh god." Seph X. "Their better at it than me."
"Hey, technically we ARE terrorists ya know." Barret said.
Seph X sat down.
"Oh yay."
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"IT DIDN'T KILL HER?" One of the shadows said.
"NO, HOW PECULIAR." Another said.
"MAYBE YOU WERE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAID SHE COULD HELP."
Chaos listened to all this, and smiled. He was right, and he knew it.
"SHE CAN HELP, YES. AND SHE WILL. WE HAVE A DEAL."
Laughter rang out in the mind of Vincent Valentine, but it was the laughter of Chaos