Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I had lost my inspiration. Now it's back! Flee for your lives!
~Lila
PS- This next chapter has a certain slightly bloody scene. Pleze bear in mind this is rated PG-13 for violence as well as cursing.
Chapter 5-
The Crazy Man
"The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling
Way down in the valley tonight
There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye and a blade shining oh so bright
There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky
And a killer's on the bloodshot streets…"
~Meatloaf, Bat out of Hell
"Why me?" Cid grumped as he clenched his cigarette tight between his teeth, leaving his arms free so he could cross them angrily over his chest. "Why do I have to do it?"
"Because," Cloud explained patiently for what had to be the tenth time, "there are too many places to places to cover for us to handle them one at a time. It makes much more sense to split up."
"That still doesn't explain why I have to do it," the pilot growled from around the cigarette. He disliked leaving Cloud, convinced the "Dumb-ass kid doesn't even know how to take care of himself."
He referred, of course, to the last time he had been separated from the main party, along with Barret, Yuffie and Nanaki. They had been captured by the enemy and fitted with iron collars that controlled their movements whenever the enemy wished it. Unaware of the collars' powers, they had rejoined Cloud, only to turn on him when they finally confronted Hojo.
It was not a fond memory for Cid. Or Cloud either, for that matter. But it wasn't really Cloud's fault. True, it had been he who decided to ignore the obvious danger of the laboratory, the knowledge that he was being manipulated, allowing Hojo to capture him. Still, Cid and the others had also ignored the collars, thus enabling Hojo to control them. The end result had been disastrous, and sheer chance had been all that saved them.
It wasn't Cloud Cid blamed, but himself.
Cloud smiled warmly. "Aw, come on, Cid. I've heard you make a pretty good leader."
The older man scowled. He hated being looked upon the leader every time Cloud wasn't available. Sure, sometimes it was fun, but more often hard work.
Cid stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Bein' a leader doesn't come natural to me," he muttered. "Too many @#$%^&* decisions."
"But being a pilot does," Cloud countered. "That's all I'm asking you to do: Pilot that airship. We need to know if other places have this same virus." When Cid didn't look fully convinced, he added, "Would you rather me send someone else to fly the Apocalypse?"
Cid let out a rueful groan. "All right, Cloud, you got me." He wasn't about to let anyone else fly his precious airship, and they both knew it. "I'll do it."
Cloud nodded and looked to the others. They are all gathered at Tifa's bar once again. It reminded him of the old days, when AVALANCHE only consisted of him, Tifa and Barret, as well as the deceased Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie.
So much had happened since then. It was unbelievable.
Yuffie was looking impatient. "Okay, now that you've cowed Cid into submission, what about the rest of us?"
Cloud glanced to Aeris. "Aeris and I talked it over. We think it would be best to try the place where we first saw Jenova."
"The Shinra building?" Elena asked. "What do you think you can find there? That place is a dump, now."
Cloud shrugged. "You never know. There may be some clue as to what to do next."
It was beginning to dawn on everyone the enormity of this task. Everyone started talking at once- Elena with vehement protests that it was a stupid idea; Tifa retaliating that it was a good start; Reno wondering aloud how long this would take; Yuffie adding excited input that no one paid any attention to…
Cloud held up a hand. "But not everyone's going."
Silence. Then Yuffie asked the obvious: "Why not?"
He jerked a thumb at Cid, who had just been beginning to doze off. "What if Cid gets into trouble? We'll send a party with him, and take one with us to the Shinra building."
"What?!" Cid squawked, dropping his cigarette. "I never agreed to anyone coming with me!"
"Furthermore, you're taking Shera," Cloud said, indicating the woman sitting quietly. "As she pointed out earlier, you need her to run the airship."
Cid let out a long string of profanity before saying, "She's useless! She can't fight, or do anything else worth a damn. I'd be better off with someone else."
"In that case," Cloud said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, you'll have to take the Turks, too."
Cid, Reno and Elena each let out a startled: "What?!" Rude just looked on quietly, like he always did.
"As well as Vincent, Barret, and Yuffie," Cloud added. When Barret and Yuffie each let out loud exclamations of their own, Cloud's look hardened.
"Listen, we don't need a whole circus stampeding into the abandoned Shinra building. It would attract too much attention. Besides, we only have one building to search, Cid's got continents. You guys'll probably have a lot more excitement than us."
Yuffie and Barret each looked appeased. Vincent, Reno, Rude and Elena didn't seem to care anymore. Perhaps, Cloud reflected, because they were Turks, used to following disagreeable orders.
"After checking the Shinra building," he said aloud, turning to Tifa, Aeris, Zack and Nanaki, "we'll meet Cid's group in Nibelheim. I want to go there, too." He didn't mention how it would feel; returning to that Shinra mockery of his and Tifa's hometown. The important thing was Nibelheim was the starting point. Where it had all began. "You okay with that, Cid?"
"Fine." Cid stood abruptly. "Let me get a few things ready. My group leaves in an hour."
* * * * * *
Darryn stood in the demolished laboratory in Junon, accompanied by several of his men. They were out combing the rest of the building now, but he didn't need them. He was more interested in learning the story of what had happened here.
He turned to their guide, a young, slight woman by the name of Gwen. She was young, probably only nineteen or twenty years old, with short blond hair and blue eyes. She didn't look like the kind of girl who would know every back alley in Junon, but Darryn had learned not to judge people by their appearances.
"Tell me again what happened here."
She pushed her glasses further up her nose before speaking. He could tell she was nervous, stranded in an underground lab with a dangerous-looking man. She hadn't wanted the job of leading the Hunters to this place, but was more worried about what they would do to her if she didn't take it.
"Actually, I was out of town at the time," she admitted. "But, when I read about it in the paper, it seemed pretty basic. Apparently there was a big gunfight up in the junkyard." She was talking about the junkyard above them, with a well-hidden tunnel that led down to the lab. "Stuff like that happens all the time in Junon." She shrugged.
"Go on." Darryn rested the tips of his fingers lightly on the hilt of the dagger at his waist. It was a fine-looking dagger, with a gleaming wood handle. Wrought silver snakes curved lengthwise along the hilt, with mouths wide open at the base of the blade, as though trying to swallow it whole. Gwen began to talk a little faster.
"Well a friend tipped me off that an actual body was discovered here…and what's more, he was the Shinra scientist!" Her light blue eyes gleamed. "You know, the one that had been supposedly killed by AVALANCHE?"
"Keep talking." Darryn caressed the hilt of the dagger, tracing the snakes' silver bodies with his finger. "We don't have all day."
Gwen edged away from him to lean on the lab table. "After hearing about that, I came to investigate. And I discovered this lab. I didn't actually come down here at first, but I saw it from up there." She pointed up to the ceiling, above which was the exit that led to the junkyard.
"Get to the point." His fingers drummed lightly on the dagger's handle. "What about the explosion a few days ago?"
"Right." Gwen moved away to a corner of the room. There, the floor was littered with shattered glass. She picked a piece up between her thumb and forefinger, studying it. "After the explosion, more bodies were found in the junkyard." She shivered a little. "I was the one who found them."
"And?"
"I came down here for the first time, that day. The floor looked like it had been soaked in some kind of liquid, and there was this glass all over the floor, like something had broken." She dropped the piece she was holding. "It looked to me lie someone had come along and started messing with things."
Darryn locked his disturbing hazel eyes on hers. "What do you think happened?"
"Darryn!"
He turned to see one of his Hunters. "What?!" His venomous tone hinted it had better be important.
The Hunter hauled a bedraggled man in a soldier's uniform before Darryn. "We found this miserable piece of shit wanderin' around. Figured you oughtta know about it."
Darryn scowled. "An' you can't handle one guy by yourself?"
"Yeah, sure we can. But this guy…he's crazy."
Darryn's lip curled further. "All right, I'll let it go this time. Now get outta my sight."
The Hunter hurried away.
Darryn leaned down for a closer inspection of the man. The guard was fairly young, perhaps in his mid-thirties, with black hair and dark, serious brown eyes, the kind many girls swooned over. But no girls would be swooning over this man now. He was talking quickly and incoherently while running a hand through his hair and twitching uncontrollably. Judging by the black stubble on his dirty face, Darryn judged he had to have been down here a few days at least.
"What's yer name?" he snapped.
The soldier barked out a harsh laugh, as though the question had been a sick joke. "My name? No, no, can't tell you that. It might be listening, you know." He laughed again, a wild laugh that continued until…
Darryn pressed his dagger against the man's throat. "Let's try that again. I said, what's yer name?"
The solder swallowed nervously, his prominent Adam's Apple bobbing up and down. His eyes darted back and forth. "Well…there may be some who used to call me…" He leaned forward, as though sharing a big secret. "Jerry!" Jerry smiled craftily upon divulging this.
Unimpressed, Darryn took the dagger away from the soldier's throat. "Okay, Jerry. How'd you end up here?"
Jerry laughed again. "Here? I've always been here!"
"Since…?" Darryn prompted.
"Since the boss got blown to bits!" Jerry waved his arms in the air. "BOOM!"
Gwen leaned forward, intently studying the soldier. "You mean there was an explosion?"
Jerry nodded, apparently enjoying himself. "A big Ka-BLAMMO, that's what it was!"
"And this 'boss---'" Darryn said, drawing the word out unpleasantly. "Who was he?"
Jerry got a wily, superior expression on his face. "Oh, I could tell you. You wouldn't believe me, though. No one ever believes in ol' Jerry!" He smiled crookedly. "They got what they deserved, though. It got 'em, got 'em good. Dijja see 'em? All bloody, and…"
"Try me." Darryn gritted his teeth impatiently.
The soldier pondered. "Well…all right." He grinned, baring his teeth. "Gave us an odd name, he did. Sufur or Suffer or something like that. But there were those of us who…" Jerry began laughing hysterically, not even able to finish.
"Who what?" Darryn grated.
"Who…" More laughter. "Who…thought he was…Rufus Shinra!"
Darryn's eyes flashed. He pressed the blade of the dagger against Jerry's throat, causing a thin line of blood to well up, flowing freely down the soldier's neck. Jerry stopped laughing abruptly as Darryn spoke in a low, dangerous voice.
"What did you say?"
Jerry didn't answer right away. His fingers touched the blood on his throat. He stared at them in fascination, at the way the red liquid stained his hands. He looked up at Darryn, looking for the first time perfectly sane.
"That's right," he said, slowly and deliberately. "Rufus Shinra. Former President of Shinra, Inc. He's alive." His eyes lost their momentary sanity as he grinned. "He'll kill us all, one day! He and that thing!"
Darryn slit the man's throat.
Gwen let out a scream while Jerry twitched and jerked spastically. Darryn held him up by the hair, smiling cruelly as more blood spilled out over the steel dagger, coloring it a dull red. When Jerry finally stopped moving, Darryn dropped the body and turned to the horrified Gwen. She had seen too much.
Gwen tried to run, but it was too late. He caught her and plunged the dagger into her flesh as she screamed anew.
Kay, that chapter was not to scare you, or gross you out, it was to make you hate Darryn with a passion. Did it work? (^^) C'mon, tell me what you think! The plot's just beginning to heat up a bit!
~Lila
PS- Jerry was the guy in the VERY beginning of the story, who ran away when Jenova woke up. Remember? No? Oh, drat.