DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FF7 OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS
Chapter Five
Barret leapt to his feet as the doctor emerged from the room where Tifa and Marlene were being treated.
"How are they? Any change?" he asked.
The doctor shook his head, "No better, no worse. The young lady - Tifa? - is both fit and strong, and her natural vitality will keep her going for several days before finally succumbing to the effects of the virus. Your daughter Marlene, however, is still a child, and her immune system is not fully developed. We can give her medicine that won't have any permanent curative effect, but will help her fight the poison until your friends return with an antidote."
"How long will tha' keep her alive?" said Barret.
"A few days, no more," the doctor shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr Wallace, I really am. We're doing all we can."
"I know, I know," said Barret, his head drooping. "Do whatever it takes. I'll donate any of my organs or blood if she needs it."
"I'm afraid your only hope lies with your friends," the doctor replied. "Any news from them?"
"Not yet. S'pose I should give them a call."
Cloud picked up the Ultima Weapon from where he had left it resting against the wall, as Red clipped the Limited Moon into place.
"We're under attack?" the feline said. "From whom or what, exactly?"
"Come and see for yourself."
They hurried from the room and outside to the top of the stone steps. Below, at the entrance to Cosmo Canyon, they could see ten or twelve men, wearing a silver uniform, armed with guns, shouting at the general populace.
"Who are they?" asked Red.
"Dunno," said Cloud. "And why are they wearing a silver version of the old Shinra uniform? You know the blue one with the face mask that you can hardly breathe through?"
"Yes, I remember wearing that on the ship to Costa Del Sol," said Red. "I still say I could have passed off as a human! But now is not the time for that. I must defend my home!"
The soldiers down below had noticed the two of them, and began firing their weapons in their direction. Cloud ducked as bullets smacked into the wall where his head had just been. Red let out a war cry and pounded down the steps towards the invaders, Cloud two steps behind him all the way. Dodging a hail of incoming fire, Red threw himself at the nearest attackers, knocking two of them over, sending their weapons skittering away. Two other soldiers turned their guns on the huge lion, but Cloud came in from the other side and attacked with Ultima Weapon. The rest of the soldiers, seeing four of their number taken out with consummate ease, began to lose their nerve, and started backing away towards the entrance. Cloud cast Bolt3, killing two more, and Red leapt forward with a furious roar, causing the remaining soldiers to drop their weapons and flee in terror. Cloud and Red gave chase. The soldiers got as far as the steps that led out of Cosmo Canyon before stopping. At the bottom of the steps stood another soldier, but this one looked different from the rest. He was a lot taller and broader in the shoulder for one thing, his silver armour looked a lot tougher, and the weapon he carried at his side looked almost as big and destructive as Barret's Missing Score.
"That must be their leader," Red reasoned. "If we can defeat him, the rest will surrender."
He and Cloud stood at the entrance to the Canyon as the big soldier marched up the steps menacingly towards them to do battle. The four or five normal soldiers who were left, stood at the bottom of the steps and watched their chief's attack. The huge man's features were entirely hidden behind his facial armour, and as he got closer Cloud realised this was the biggest person he had ever met. Even Barret or Dio would have been dwarfed by this giant. The soldier raised his weapon and battle commenced. Red rolled to one side to avoid a shower of bullets, and cast Fire3 on the soldier, but to little effect. It did, however, keep the soldier distracted while Cloud came running up to swing at him with Ultima Weapon. But to Red's amazement and Cloud's disbelief, the huge ethereal blade merely bounced off the soldier's body armour, forcing Cloud to somersault under the soldier's arm to avoid a retaliatory blow. Red leapt forward, curling himself into a ball in mid-air so as to strike with the Limited Moon, but the huge soldier raised his arm to swat Red out of the air as if he were a troublesome insect. Cloud swung Ultima Weapon twice as powerfully as before, but yet again it failed to harm the soldier, causing a tiny dent in his armour and nothing more. The soldiers at the bottom of the stairs sensed their compatriot was winning, and began cheering.
"COSMO MEMORY!!" Red yelled, giving vent to his most powerful Limit Break.
This was the first damage they'd managed to cause to their seemingly invincible foe, and it gave them a new spirit. As the soldier reeled, still off balance from the force of Red's Limit Break, Cloud stabbed his sword towards the back of the soldier's knee joint, where his armour didn't fully cover. A scream of pain told him he'd penetrated, and the soldier fell forward on to his knees. Through his pain, the soldier still managed to raise his weapon and fire at the oncoming Red, but his aim was poor and the lion came through unscathed, to knock the weapon from his opponent's hand. The soldier fell on to his face, blood still pouring from his wounds, then promptly died, leaving Cloud and Red exhausted and covered in blood and sweat from their exertions, but victorious. By the time they remembered about the soldiers at the bottom of the steps, those enemies had fled.
"What WAS that?" asked Cloud.
Red looked over at their dead foe. The man's helmet had come loose and Red kicked it aside to get a look at the man's face. Both of them gasped when they saw what was under the helmet.
"That's - that's not even HUMAN," said Red.
"I've seen that before," Cloud said.
"Where?"
"In the Nibelheim Reactor five years ago with Sephiroth," Cloud replied. "In one of the growth chambers outside the Jenova facility. What we just fought was one of Hojo's genetically engineered super-soldiers."
Once the dust had begun to settle in the basement, Vincent and Cid decided they had better get to the surface as quickly as possible to find out exactly what the £$%* was going on, as Cid so eloquently put it. To their dismay however, the corridor outside the library room was entire blocked by fallen rock.
"£*%$$!" Cid exclaimed. "We're trapped!"
"There will be a way out," said Vincent.
He grappled with the nearest rocks for a few moments, but it was hopeless. It would take at least a week to shift all the rock to find a way through, and without food or water they didn't have that much time.
"So what the &%£* are we going to do?!" Cid demanded.
"Why do you always ask these things as if I know the questions to all of life's mysteries?" Vincent snapped, his cool exterior beginning to crack. "We must think logically. Let's go back to the library room."
"Why? What's in there?"
"If the rock in the ceiling has been sufficiently loosened, we may be able to climb out," said Vincent.
They went back through to the library. Overhead a few specks of daylight could be seen poking through the rock above their heads. Cid stood on top of a chair and tried to loosen the rock with his hands, but to no avail.
"&%$£," he cursed. "Hang on, I'm not out of ideas yet. Take cover!"
He reached inside his flight jacket for the stick of dynamite he always kept there for these kind of emergencies. Lighting the fuse on his cigarette, Cid wedged the explosive between the rocks, then leapt down to crawl under the operating table.
"You do realise this might bring the whole building down on our heads?" Vincent asked, joining him.
"Doubt it - the dynamite's not that powerful."
The explosion shook the room and both of them covered their heads to avoid the resulting dust cloud. When all was still once more, Cid got to his feet and whooped, "Yee-ha! The dynamite has blown a way through! Told you it'd work!"
"I seem to recall it being my suggestion," said Vincent, but the hint of a smile was on his lips.
He boosted Cid up through the gap in the ceiling, then climbed up himself. They found themselves in the grounds just outside the Shinra mansion.
"OK, now we just need to find out what £*$^ set off that explosion in the first pla - urk!!" Cid gasped as he was grabbed around the throat from behind.
Vincent whirled round, his Death Penalty in his hands, to see Cid being lifted off the ground in the grip of a huge, silver- armoured man.
"DROP YOUR WEAPON," the giant intoned in a deep, menacing voice.
Vincent knew he had no choice. If he refused, the man could simply tighten his grip around Cid's neck and choke the pilot to death. Sighing deeply, he let the Death Penalty fall from his hands to the ground.
Chapter Five
Barret leapt to his feet as the doctor emerged from the room where Tifa and Marlene were being treated.
"How are they? Any change?" he asked.
The doctor shook his head, "No better, no worse. The young lady - Tifa? - is both fit and strong, and her natural vitality will keep her going for several days before finally succumbing to the effects of the virus. Your daughter Marlene, however, is still a child, and her immune system is not fully developed. We can give her medicine that won't have any permanent curative effect, but will help her fight the poison until your friends return with an antidote."
"How long will tha' keep her alive?" said Barret.
"A few days, no more," the doctor shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr Wallace, I really am. We're doing all we can."
"I know, I know," said Barret, his head drooping. "Do whatever it takes. I'll donate any of my organs or blood if she needs it."
"I'm afraid your only hope lies with your friends," the doctor replied. "Any news from them?"
"Not yet. S'pose I should give them a call."
Cloud picked up the Ultima Weapon from where he had left it resting against the wall, as Red clipped the Limited Moon into place.
"We're under attack?" the feline said. "From whom or what, exactly?"
"Come and see for yourself."
They hurried from the room and outside to the top of the stone steps. Below, at the entrance to Cosmo Canyon, they could see ten or twelve men, wearing a silver uniform, armed with guns, shouting at the general populace.
"Who are they?" asked Red.
"Dunno," said Cloud. "And why are they wearing a silver version of the old Shinra uniform? You know the blue one with the face mask that you can hardly breathe through?"
"Yes, I remember wearing that on the ship to Costa Del Sol," said Red. "I still say I could have passed off as a human! But now is not the time for that. I must defend my home!"
The soldiers down below had noticed the two of them, and began firing their weapons in their direction. Cloud ducked as bullets smacked into the wall where his head had just been. Red let out a war cry and pounded down the steps towards the invaders, Cloud two steps behind him all the way. Dodging a hail of incoming fire, Red threw himself at the nearest attackers, knocking two of them over, sending their weapons skittering away. Two other soldiers turned their guns on the huge lion, but Cloud came in from the other side and attacked with Ultima Weapon. The rest of the soldiers, seeing four of their number taken out with consummate ease, began to lose their nerve, and started backing away towards the entrance. Cloud cast Bolt3, killing two more, and Red leapt forward with a furious roar, causing the remaining soldiers to drop their weapons and flee in terror. Cloud and Red gave chase. The soldiers got as far as the steps that led out of Cosmo Canyon before stopping. At the bottom of the steps stood another soldier, but this one looked different from the rest. He was a lot taller and broader in the shoulder for one thing, his silver armour looked a lot tougher, and the weapon he carried at his side looked almost as big and destructive as Barret's Missing Score.
"That must be their leader," Red reasoned. "If we can defeat him, the rest will surrender."
He and Cloud stood at the entrance to the Canyon as the big soldier marched up the steps menacingly towards them to do battle. The four or five normal soldiers who were left, stood at the bottom of the steps and watched their chief's attack. The huge man's features were entirely hidden behind his facial armour, and as he got closer Cloud realised this was the biggest person he had ever met. Even Barret or Dio would have been dwarfed by this giant. The soldier raised his weapon and battle commenced. Red rolled to one side to avoid a shower of bullets, and cast Fire3 on the soldier, but to little effect. It did, however, keep the soldier distracted while Cloud came running up to swing at him with Ultima Weapon. But to Red's amazement and Cloud's disbelief, the huge ethereal blade merely bounced off the soldier's body armour, forcing Cloud to somersault under the soldier's arm to avoid a retaliatory blow. Red leapt forward, curling himself into a ball in mid-air so as to strike with the Limited Moon, but the huge soldier raised his arm to swat Red out of the air as if he were a troublesome insect. Cloud swung Ultima Weapon twice as powerfully as before, but yet again it failed to harm the soldier, causing a tiny dent in his armour and nothing more. The soldiers at the bottom of the stairs sensed their compatriot was winning, and began cheering.
"COSMO MEMORY!!" Red yelled, giving vent to his most powerful Limit Break.
This was the first damage they'd managed to cause to their seemingly invincible foe, and it gave them a new spirit. As the soldier reeled, still off balance from the force of Red's Limit Break, Cloud stabbed his sword towards the back of the soldier's knee joint, where his armour didn't fully cover. A scream of pain told him he'd penetrated, and the soldier fell forward on to his knees. Through his pain, the soldier still managed to raise his weapon and fire at the oncoming Red, but his aim was poor and the lion came through unscathed, to knock the weapon from his opponent's hand. The soldier fell on to his face, blood still pouring from his wounds, then promptly died, leaving Cloud and Red exhausted and covered in blood and sweat from their exertions, but victorious. By the time they remembered about the soldiers at the bottom of the steps, those enemies had fled.
"What WAS that?" asked Cloud.
Red looked over at their dead foe. The man's helmet had come loose and Red kicked it aside to get a look at the man's face. Both of them gasped when they saw what was under the helmet.
"That's - that's not even HUMAN," said Red.
"I've seen that before," Cloud said.
"Where?"
"In the Nibelheim Reactor five years ago with Sephiroth," Cloud replied. "In one of the growth chambers outside the Jenova facility. What we just fought was one of Hojo's genetically engineered super-soldiers."
Once the dust had begun to settle in the basement, Vincent and Cid decided they had better get to the surface as quickly as possible to find out exactly what the £$%* was going on, as Cid so eloquently put it. To their dismay however, the corridor outside the library room was entire blocked by fallen rock.
"£*%$$!" Cid exclaimed. "We're trapped!"
"There will be a way out," said Vincent.
He grappled with the nearest rocks for a few moments, but it was hopeless. It would take at least a week to shift all the rock to find a way through, and without food or water they didn't have that much time.
"So what the &%£* are we going to do?!" Cid demanded.
"Why do you always ask these things as if I know the questions to all of life's mysteries?" Vincent snapped, his cool exterior beginning to crack. "We must think logically. Let's go back to the library room."
"Why? What's in there?"
"If the rock in the ceiling has been sufficiently loosened, we may be able to climb out," said Vincent.
They went back through to the library. Overhead a few specks of daylight could be seen poking through the rock above their heads. Cid stood on top of a chair and tried to loosen the rock with his hands, but to no avail.
"&%$£," he cursed. "Hang on, I'm not out of ideas yet. Take cover!"
He reached inside his flight jacket for the stick of dynamite he always kept there for these kind of emergencies. Lighting the fuse on his cigarette, Cid wedged the explosive between the rocks, then leapt down to crawl under the operating table.
"You do realise this might bring the whole building down on our heads?" Vincent asked, joining him.
"Doubt it - the dynamite's not that powerful."
The explosion shook the room and both of them covered their heads to avoid the resulting dust cloud. When all was still once more, Cid got to his feet and whooped, "Yee-ha! The dynamite has blown a way through! Told you it'd work!"
"I seem to recall it being my suggestion," said Vincent, but the hint of a smile was on his lips.
He boosted Cid up through the gap in the ceiling, then climbed up himself. They found themselves in the grounds just outside the Shinra mansion.
"OK, now we just need to find out what £*$^ set off that explosion in the first pla - urk!!" Cid gasped as he was grabbed around the throat from behind.
Vincent whirled round, his Death Penalty in his hands, to see Cid being lifted off the ground in the grip of a huge, silver- armoured man.
"DROP YOUR WEAPON," the giant intoned in a deep, menacing voice.
Vincent knew he had no choice. If he refused, the man could simply tighten his grip around Cid's neck and choke the pilot to death. Sighing deeply, he let the Death Penalty fall from his hands to the ground.