Sneak attack
Tseng was shaking Reno harshly, trying to wake him up. The drug was slowly letting go of it's firm grip, and two confused jade eyes cracked open. Tseng lay him down on his side, covering his nose with an oxygen mask, allowing his senses to come back. Rufus had run off to find the Professor with Dark Nation. The redhead breathed deeply, the light returning into those eyes, but his body refused to move. Hojo arrived quickly with an assistant, removing his jacket and shirt.
- I order you to save him!, exclaimed Rufus, He has some very important information on which can depend the future of Shinra Corp!
- Aranson… Aranson called his boss 'instructor'… coming with their army… President… Rufus… General… not safe… Riley's journal, in my jacket…
- Stupid Turk, don't talk! Kruger! The X-004RF serum!
- Yes sir!
Kruger handed a blue vial to the Professor, to which Hojo added the content of another vial. The mix became clear, and was injected immediately. Reno's body stilled and he fell asleep. Tseng grabbed the small notepad in the redhead's pocket and ran back to his computer, Rufus on his tail.
*********
Sephiroth stood uneasily on the beach, trying to focus his senses on his speech. It seemed to work, and everyone started to mount up the tents under the trees. He had to lie down. Now. He walked up to the sea, watching the ship go to a more convenient spot to hide. His boots were being washed by the waves, the powerful sound of the sea… So inviting, so relaxing… He closed his eyes for a moment and felt himself being carried away by the waves… Zack caught him just before he could fall to the ground.
- General, sir! Your tent is ready and your student is waiting. Sephiroth, he added under his breath, Gods, you look smashed, if you don't feel well, just tell Cloud, and we'll do the necessary cover up, 'k?
He nodded, following Zack to his tent and he entered under the small shelter, where he promptly collapsed on his bed camp. His head was hurting, he was dizzy but at least he wasn't queasy anymore. A blanket made it's way over him, warm and heavy… he buried his head into the pillow, but he shivered badly. Cloud helped him to get out of his boots and slipped under the blanket, pulling Sephiroth into his embrace. The man was too confused to protest, and let himself fall asleep against that smooth chest.
- Zack, murmured Cloud, You will guard the tent, right? Just for a few hours, I'm starting to think he's really having a relapse…
- Don't worry, Cloud. I won't let in anyone but me or Anderson. If he's not feeling better in two hours, I'll have Li check him out, and we'll see after that. The recognition team is already on the loose. All we have to do is wait.
Cloud sighed, scratching Sephiroth's neck lightly. Indeed after two hours the General seemed better, although he was still sleeping, making Zack think that maybe the food on the boat was the problem, after all. He woke up in the early evening, with the return of the recognition team. And with relief, the General saw that they had found the survivors. They were set to start their journey at night, so everyone had already started to pack up the base camp but Gary Callaway, whose job was to stay and rely the communication with the Shinra via radio. Due to the mountains, the long waves from the Shinra wouldn't make it to the outpost and since the satellite system was down, short waves radio would be used to rely the com within the teams. Cloud was sticking close to Sephiroth, fearing that at any time he could simply collapse again. Finally the teams were made, Zack would lead the diversion team, while Sephiroth would take the survivors and attack from behind. The choice was logic, those who had been affected to this place knew very well the area, so the mountains had no secrets for them, and the General was sure that he could arrive on time to free the outpost with those men. While he was talking to the troops, no one noticed that Aranson was rummaging near the canteens…
********
Tseng was going very quickly over the small note pad that was Dimitri Riley's diary. Some serious accusations were made in that, along with a lot of other things. But the most interesting was that he was constantly harassed by Alan Parkson. The officer in charge of the investigation about Riley's death was mentioned in that notepad… Obviously he had discovered something very important.
- Reno was right, he would have done a good Turk… But what is this 'plan' he's talking about? 'New Shinra' must be the organization that sees Donovan Kubinaye…
- Maybe they will make a move with their army shortly? But the question is and remain: where will they attack?
- Mmm… I'm more concerned about the 'How' question, sir… And with the General gone, I'm fearing for the worst. Or would they had wanted him away from our guard? Aranson… That damn Aranson!…… Wait a minute!
Tseng remembered what Reno had managed to say and started to type furiously on his laptop. He hoped he was wrong, he wished that still had time ahead of him… A curse made his way through his lips and Rufus jumped. The Turks taped again and again, a ton of names popped up on his screen. That does it and he cursed again.
- Damn it! Damn it to hell!
- What is it?
- Hatako! He's the one behind all this!, he said.
He tossed the ID card of Takane H. Kubinaye to his boss. H, like Hatako. That Donovan had been very wise to take his mother's middle name to hide his true identity. Now it was clear: they were hiding on the Miniki Island, they were to steal the boat and attack at Midgar, but what really worried Tseng was that they had surely plotted to eliminate the General and the fact that Aranson was with him. Ordering to the young blond to go directly to Rude's quarters, he flew off for the lab. He had to speak with Hojo /now/.
********
Everything hurt. Walking was difficult, now, and he couldn't see very well. His lungs were burning, and he was so feverish that he had to discretely rely on Cloud to move forward. The heat and humidity of the jungle hadn't help, either. Now they were on the cliffs, high above the rest of the island… Suddenly his surroundings turned upside down and his legs buckled. But Cloud was there to soften his fall.
- General, sir!, he yelped, Are you okay? Mister Aranson!
The other troopers had gathered around the General, but none of them moved to help Cloud. Aranson simply stood over them, watching the scene with a smirk.
- Take him to the den, then assemble the other to the previously set rendezvous point.
Two men grabbed the ill man by the shoulders, forcefully taking him higher to a small cave. Cloud protested vigorously, trying to stop the men but started to receive blows from every directions.
- What are you doing!, he yelled, No! Let him go! Let him go!
- Hehehehe… Kill him, the brunette coldly ordered.
The blond's eyes widened in horror as a fellow trooper lifted his machine gun toward him. He didn't hear the shots, just felt the damp heat oozing from his abdomen…
********
The sharp gun fire sound made Gary snap his head toward the mountains, but it suddenly stopped. He could see the top plateau from where he was sitting… He gasped when he noticed that a trooper was swaying dangerously near the edge. Someone has shoot a trooper?, he thought, General Sephiroth wouldn't allow that!
- Dear Lord, no!
Gary fumbled around to get his radio and he tried to join the Commander.
- Commander Hoecken speaking.
- Commander! A trooper has been shot and oh, shit! He's falling down the cliff!
Gary watched in horror the boy fall down lifelessly. He hit a boulder with his shoulders, rolling over the rocky slope, his body jerking as he tumbled toward his horrible death. The trooper's head bumped hardly against another rock before a crumpled tree blocked him. His helmet had flew off and he could now clearly see a shock of blond hair…
- Cloud!!!! Oh no it's Cloud!, he gasped
- Callaway! Callaway! Do you hear me?
- Commander… it's Cloud… Cloud…
- Callaway! Where is the General?
- On the plateau, probably with the others…
- Go directly to Cloud's help, I'm heading for the mountains right away!
Gary scrambled to his feet, running as fast as he could to reach his fallen friend. When he did, he realized with relative relief that he was still breathing. He untangled the blond from the tree to lay him down carefully on the ground, searching around for a long stick to use for his broken leg. Gary took off his jacket and shirt, using the former to support Cloud's head and the other to minimize the bleeding of his lower body. When he looked at his face, he noticed that his helmet had protected him, but an enormous gash on his forehead was bleeding a lot and when he touched it, he realized it was very serious. He couldn't use the materia.
- Callaway!
- Sarge Anderson! This way!
Lionel Anderson made his way out of the jungle, with two other troopers. The sergeant immediately kneeled down near Cloud, examining his wounds and taking his pulse. What worried him was the large gash on his forehead. He could see the crack under the blood, so he did not cast the full cure spell he had prepared already. The SOLDIER hurriedly asked the troopers to find two solid sticks to build a makeshift stretcher while he was taking care of Cloud's injuries. He bandaged and secured everything he could, but Li couldn't help himself but to feel sorry for the boy, because the low-levels spell would only delay the inevitable…
*********
- This is what happen to those who oppose to the New Shinra empire! Mwahahahaha!, cackled Aranson.
Sephiroth felt his body tumble down in the dark, humid cave, falling, rolling away… finally he stopped, but it wasn't making him feel any better. Even if his body was completely paralysed, he could sense monsters roaming around… He couldn't move, couldn't breath correctly, the Miniki pollen staining the air around would do a quick work of sending him into oblivion but Sephiroth didn't care. He had given up the moment he saw Cloud fall off that cliff. Cloud…
The next minutes were torture, the cold biting his flesh, numbing him to the bones. And when he opened his eyes, he stared into similar green orbs. Only the number differed… Great. I'm gonna die under the wrath of inexperienced Miniki new born…, he thought as the first youngster tore open his trenchcoat. Now he was grateful that his body had become so numb…
********
Zack hurriedly passed through the trees, running as fast as he could, up and up and up… I hope it's not too late, Sephiroth, hold on, hold on… He finally reached the plateau, but the area was barren. But he could clearly see two large puddle of blood, one near the edge, the other a little higher on the path… The dark-haired SOLDIER followed the rocky mountain and stopped when he heard some monster that seemed very agitated. The sound was indeed coming from a small cave… Inside, the stench of blood was so intense that he feared for a moment that Sephiroth could be the main meal for today. His sight quickly adjusted to the dark and with horror discovered that his superior officer was indeed on the verge of being eaten alive by a bunch of new born Miniki mantis. He charged in, Buster sword high in the air, killing every not-so-little bug to save his friend. Zack finally kneeled down near him, immediately casting a strong cure spell to at least slow the bleeding, but it didn't work.
- Sephiroth!!! Sephiroth!!!!, he called.
The silence was extremely heavy and the Commander cradled Sephiroth in his arms, taking him outside, to the fresh air. He could feel how hard it was for him to breath, it was so laborious that Zack lay him and started the mouth-to-mouth. The rest of the troops reached him quickly after, and he ordered someone to cast esuna on the General. The others hurriedly removed their shirts, dressing the numerous wounds on their superior. His back had been clawed all over and he had some nasty bites here and there, needing to be disinfected as soon as possible.
- Sir, his pulse's too slow!, suddenly said a brunette
- Continue to cast the spell, Zack ordered, and start the CPR! C'mon, breath, Seph…
- Hey! Look! Our boat is gone!!!
- Wait, there's a chopper down there…
The said helicopter landed on the plateau few minutes later, with inside Tseng, Hojo, Gary and the injured Cloud. Lionel came up with his two troopers to help out Zack with the General. Hojo jumped down the aircraft, immediately injecting the silver-haired man with an antidote. He then fastened a medical bangle around his wrist containing a medical bolt materia, brushing away the brunette.
- Take him inside!, the Professor ordered, and make sure to install correctly the breathing mask!
The materia started to glow lightly, sending a little electric current through Sephiroth's body, steadying his heart rate. He was taken with extreme care into the chopper, but before they could take off, Tseng asked Zack to come along.
- You are to lead the attack against Hatako forces!, he shouted, another boat is already on it's way to retrieve your men!
- Alright! Anderson! You're in charge! Take the men back to the beach and wait there for the transport. I'm counting on you!
Lionel saluted and began to round up the men for the march as the Commander hoped on the aircraft. He sat down next to Tseng, keeping a good distance between him and the Professor, even if he was worrying sick about his friends. From what he could see, the Turk had locked the cap on Midgar, going for the nearest hospital. Well, the nearest was at Wutai, but it was obvious that many Wutaian were part of Hatako's army, so it could be even more dangerous to take the General there. Time was counted. And Zack would have to lead an attack without the advises of his commanding officer. When they finally landed, Hojo ordered the two to be transported in the lab right away. But by the time they had arrived, Cloud was in a deep comatose state, and the General… the General wasn't displaying any life signs.
End
Author's notes
Sorry everyone for the delay… This was just not my week… so many baaaaaaaaaaaaad things happened to me. And to top it all, I lost my job. *heavy sigh* If you wanna hear my story, just mail me okay? At least this will give me time to write more often… I just can't see why this is happening to me… Please Lauren, Garnet Eyes, Dark Child, Argentwolf and all the others that are reviewing my work or not, please mail me to cheer me up, I passed the week crying over my ill luck -_-. I need help… Thanks in advance… Next chapter: Emotion conflict.
Je bascule à l'horizontalDémissionne ma vie verticale
Ma pensée se fige animale
Abandon du moi plus de moi
Comme j'ai mal… Je ne saurais plus comme j'ai mal…
'Comme j'ai mal' (Mylène Farmer)