Chapter 11
Elmyra stared through the window of Reeve's office with fascinated horror. The cloud layers were now far below and she could see the stars twinkling in the dark void surrounding the city.
"We can't just abandon the Planet!" she protested. Reeve swiveled in his chair to face her, a look of serene calm on his face.
"The Planet abandoned us first," he replied, "Our future is out there." Elmyra sighed and walked around the desk to sit in the chair.
"How will you find the Promised Land?" she asked hollowly.
"Pandora will guide us," said Reeve, "She may not have the memories of an Ancient, but she still has the powers."
"How could you do this to her?" she demanded bitterly. Reeve smiled apologetically.
"We needed an Ancient," he explained, "And a clone of Sephiroth would have been harder to indoctrinate."
"And control," added Elmyra. Reeve nodded in understanding and leaned forward.
"Neo-Midgar needs leadership," he said, "I want you to take over as Mayor." Elmyra blinked in shock.
"Mayor?" she retorted, "That's ridiculous!"
"Neo-Midgar needs a conscience," elaborated Reeve, "A voice of reason." Elmyra slowly stood up and placed her hands on the desk.
"Then listen carefully," she stated, "Land this city now and tell everyone to leave." Reeve stared at her incredulously.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because this city is poisoning our souls," she replied, "Already it may be too late." Reeve frowned at her.
"Too late for what?" he whispered.
"Power drain in Reactor Zero Prime!" yelled a technician.
"Vertical velocity slowing!" chimed in Oswald. Reeve jumped to his feet.
"What?" he yelled, "How?"
"There are several anomalous readings in the reactor," said Oswald as he pointed a finger to a readout screen.
Cloud felt himself being forced against the walls of the reactor. He turned to see Tifa and the Turks pinned in a similar fashion. Inwardly he cursed himself. He couldn't fail Aeris again; it would destroy him.
"Stop!" commanded Chaos.
They found themselves floating free again. Reno shot a curious look at Cloud. Chaos reached a hand through the white energy sphere and ran his claws over Pandora's hair.
"Good girl," it said grinning fiercely. Chaos withdrew its arm and noted everything below the elbow was seared and charred. Smoke rose from the cooked flesh and Elena struggled to keep her lunch down.
"You can't touch her," breathed Tifa, "She's holy."
"I am unholy," said the demon grimly, "But I am still her master."
"That's not true!" retorted Cloud, "Aeris, come back!" The reactor walls reverberated with ugly rasping laughter.
"She does not wish to satisfy you selfish grief!" snapped Chaos pointing an accusing finger, "She chose instead to serve me!"
"You mean Vincent!" said Tifa.
"Vincent sleeps in his nightmare," said Chaos, "And this time he will sleep forever!"
"Not if we stop you," said Rude cracking his knuckles. Chaos chuckled darkly.
"Pandora, protect me," it ordered. Pandora glowed green for an instant and a shower of green sparks swirled around Chaos. The flesh on its lower arm healed up.
"Shit!" snarled Reno, "We're gonna have to take her out!"
"No!" barked Cloud, "You won't hurt her!"
"She's healing that thing you idiot!" yelled Reno. Chaos folded its arms across its chest and waited for their undivided attention.
"Pandora, show us the Planet," commanded Chaos. The walls of the reactor shimmered and they were overlaid with the images of outer space. A giant blue and green ball slowly revolved under their feet.
"We're in outer space!" said Elena in wonderment.
"This is like Bugenhagen's observatory," said Tifa.
"Excellent suggestion!" roared Chaos, "Target Cosmo Canyon!" The sphere around Pandora began to glow intensely white. They heard a thunderous rumble far overhead and energy surged upward into the tunnels in the ceiling.
"The Sister Ray!" said Rude. A beam a white hot light streaked down and struck the surface, creating a large explosion.
"Nanaki!" cried Tifa. Cloud lunged at Chaos and ran it through the chest. Chaos snarled and looked down, then grinned at him.
"You tried that before you fool," taunted the demon before flinging him into the wall. It pulled the sword free as another swirl of green sparks surrounded it. The wound on its chest closed up.
"Pandora, pick the next target at random," said Chaos gleefully, "Let's have some fun."
Far above Neo-Midgar Cid had to bank the Tiny Bronco hard to avoid the beam of energy streaking toward the surface.
"Holy crap!" he yelped, "What the hell's going on?"
"Those bastards are attacking the Planet!" roared Barrett furiously, "We've gotta stop them!"
"How?" asked Yuffie.
"I'm open to suggestions," replied Cid.
"How come we aint dead?" muttered Barrett, "We're in outer space and shit."
"There's some invisible barrier around the city," said Yuffie nervously, "Don't fly too far away Jichan."
"That's it!" shouted Cid, "Hold on!" He looped the plane upside down; then he dove straight towards the Sister Ray. He aimed straight for the muzzle.
"You crazy shithead!" growled Barrett, "Get me off this train!"
"Jichan, you're nuts!" screamed Yuffie. Cid laughed cheerfully.
"Okay, when I count to three, you guys jump!" he instructed.
"One!" yelled Cid.
Yuffie and Barrett leaped off the wings.
"Two!" shouted Cid as he glanced behind him. He blinked incredulously at the empty wings and then looked forward again in time to see the Tiny Bronco enter the muzzle of the Sister Ray. Both wings were ripped off by the narrow walls. The main fuselage continued to streak down the tunnels, the edges of the plane trailing showers of sparks.
"You assholes!" he shouted as he cut his restraint harness with the tip of his spear. He leapt free and barely avoided being struck by one of the struts of the plane as it streaked down the tunnel. Cid rolled as he hit the ground and sat up gingerly.
"I'm not dead," he said in amazement. He heard a loud explosion from where the Tiny Bronco had disappeared and saw a wall of fire heading towards him.
"Shit!" he yelled as he scooped up his spear and ran the other way. He could feel the unrelenting heat against his back as he ran full tilt. Mentality he noted that he owed Shera another apology for trashing the plane. He'd have to add it to the list. A hatch dangled open in the wall and he dove into it headfirst. Anywhere was safer than here.
The back of the Sister Ray exploded, sending flaming debris all over the city. The barrel began to crumple and fell down in pieces. Several pieces of metal rebounded off the Shinra tower. Reeve impassively watched a piece of metal strike the window, starring it. He bent down and picked up a chip of glass.
"What have I done?" he muttered.
"Mister President?" inquired Oswald, "What are your orders?" Everyone watched him calmly return to his seat. He rubbed the chip between his thumb and forefinger.
"We'll leave it to them," he said, "They can save the Planet again."
"You're just going to sit there?" said Elmyra. Reeve looked at her sadly.
"My plans have failed again," he replied, "What else do you want?" Elmyra stood up.
"Fight your battles yourself!" she implored, "Stop leaving it to others!" Reeve stared at her dubiously. He slowly rose and pulled open a desk drawer. Inside rested a golden megaphone with silver trim. Wordlessly he crossed the room and left through the main doors.
"Mister President?" asked Oswald.
Reeve walked toward the elevator and noticed a familiar figure waiting for him.
"About time you showed up," said Cait Sith as it lounged on top of the stuffed moogle. Reeve stared at this creation of his, so lifelike that he wasn't sure if it thought for itself. He placed a hand on the cat's head.
"Thank you for everything," he said, "You can go now." The cat blinked in surprise.
"Don't you want me to handle it?" it asked. Reeve shook his head and held up the megaphone.
"It's my mess," he explained, "I'll clean it up." He pushed the button on the wall and doors opened to the elevator.
"You need me!" yelled Cait Sith, "You can't do this!"
"I should have done this a long time ago," replied Reeve walking into the elevator.
"You won't last ten minutes without me!" yelled the cat as the elevator doors closed on Reeve. He mused over the last five years of his life as the elevator plunged deep underground. He had sold his soul to this company, in the belief that he could make people's lives better. President Shinra had taught him otherwise. He was the only executive who had questioned the company's goals. Now he had been given the chance to redeem himself and the company. Of course, he had screwed that up as well. His biggest mistake was involving Valentine in his plans. He was too unpredictable, too chaotic a factor to be reliable. The doors opened and he walked onto the catwalk surrounding Reactor Zero Prime. Except now it was intensely glowing from within. He threw the switch on his megaphone.
"Chaos!" he shouted, "Come out and fight me!" Inside the reactor Chaos frowned slightly.
"What's that yapping fool doing down here?" it muttered.
"Mister President, it's not safe!" warned Elena.
"Screw this!" snarled Reno. He leapt forward and jabbed Chaos with his electroshock rod. Rude plunged a fist against the walls and sent a spark careening toward Chaos. Tifa rebounded off the walls and plunged her fist into Chaos' stomach. It roared in pain as Cloud jumped off and pulled Apocalypse free of its grip. Chaos unfurled its wings and slashed all of them with the razor edges. Pandora glowed red and a white breeze blew through and Chaos' wounds closed up.
"This is getting nowhere fast," said Elena as she loaded a round into her gun.
"We have to take out Pandora!" said Reno.
"We might kill her!" said Rude.
"She would prefer that to everyone else dying!" snapped Reno.
"Just keep fighting Chaos until we think of something!" ordered Cloud.
"Oh Cloud," said Tifa. She knew that he was taking an enormous risk, but she would take it with him.
In the nightmare Vincent swayed slightly in the breeze as he dangled from the chain. Below him the Hellmasker tittered as it fired up its chainsaw. The Hades Gigas growled gutturally as it loomed over Lucrecia and Pandora.
"This isn't good!" said Pandora.
The Galian Beast lunged at the Hade Gigas and sank its jaws into its neck. The giant roared and electricity danced off its body, frying the Galian Beast. It dropped off with a whimper. Pandora drew out a long staff and clobbered the Hades Gigas on the head. Lucrecia wrapped her coils around the Hellmasker. It shrieked and plunged the chainsaw into the scales of her tail. Clear blood flowed out of her wounds, but she kept drawing the coils tighter.
"How dare you!" sneered Lucrecia indignantly.
"Lucrecia!" cried Pandora. The Hades Gigas punched Pandora the face, sending her flying across the rocky soil. It lumbered over to her but the Galian Beast leapt onto its back and began chomping on the bolt on its shoulder, pulling it out with its teeth. The Hades Gigas pulled the beast away and held it in a crushing embrace. Lucrecia now had the Hellmasker in a tight squeeze. The monster let out a faint squeak and bones began to crunch and pop. Lucrecia let the Hellmasker drop lifelessly to the ground then lashed the Hades Gigas with her tail. It dropped the Galian Beast onto the ground with a grunt and turned to face her.
"Lucrecia, the bolts!" yelled Pandora. Lucrecia smiled coldly and wrapped her tail around the loose bolt and pulled it out of the Hades Gigas' shoulder. The monster roared with pain and Pandora glowed green. A series of meteors came crashing down and struck the monster again and again. Lucrecia grasped the bolt in the other shoulder with her hand and began pulling. The monster electrified its body and Lucrecia's body began to sizzle. She grimaced triumphantly and pulled the other bolt free. The Hades Gigas bellowed and fell to its knees. Its powerful arms fell to its sides. Lucrecia spit clear blood and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She dropped the bolt onto the ground. She ran her hand along the mane of the Galian Beast which whined quietly.
"You did well," said Lucrecia, "Now sleep." She looked up at Vincent.
"Lucrecia, you're hurt," began Pandora. Lucrecia smiled at her indulgently.
"The pain in my heart is far worse my dear," she replied. She began coiling up the chains that connected the lifeless monsters to Vincent. She squeezed her coils tightly around Vincent's body as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"How you suffered," she whispered tenderly, "Why did you do this?"
"Because I love you," he said simply, "I did it all for you." Below them Pandora began to cry morosely.
"That is so sweet of you," said Lucrecia with a faint smile as she put her claws to his face, "Help me find my little boy and I will be yours."
"Free me," said Vincent.
"Free yourself," she replied glancing up the chain that bound his metallic arm to the dark void above.
Inside the reactor Rude sniffed slightly.
"Something's burning," he said.
They warily turned to Chaos. It stared back at them contemptuously.
"What?" it demanded. Tifa pointed down slightly and Chaos glanced down to see its left arm start to glow.
"What the hell?" snarled the demon. It screamed in pain as the flesh on its left hand caught on fire, burning away the flesh and muscle. The flames subsided, revealing the sizzling surface of a metallic skeletal claw. Chaos flexed the claws, which made a scraping noise.
"No!" roared Chaos, "Not now!"
"The Hand of Glory is the key," whispered Pandora. Cloud and Tifa exchanged a wordless glance. Elena drew out a second pistol as Rude and Reno rushed towards Chaos. Rude punched it in the jaw as Reno shocked it in the chest with his electroshock rod. Chaos stabbed Rude in the chest with its claws and kicked Reno in the face with its foot, shattering his sunglasses. Tifa leapt over the tumbling Reno and landed on Chaos' shoulders. She tightened her legs around its neck as she pulled its left arm above the demon's head.
"Cloud, do it!" she screamed. Chaos bellowed and began slashing her across the back and face with its wings. Red blood trickled down her back as she fell over sideways. Chaos snarled as bullets struck it in the face and chest. It swiveled in time to see Cloud plunging down from above, the Apocalypse gleaming in the white light. Chaos drove its claws into Cloud's throat as he brought the blade down onto Chaos' metallic arm. The Hand of Glory fell free and rattled noisily as it struck the walls of the reactor before finally coming to rest far below. Chaos looked down at the stump of its arm then up at Cloud again. Cloud tried to speak but only succeeded in gurgling as blood flowed out of his mouth. But his smug look of satisfaction was unmistakable. Tears began to streak down the demon's face.
"I don't want to sleep again," said Chaos mournfully, "I don't want to be alone again." Chaos exploded in a shower of light, pummeling everyone against the walls of the reactor. The walls began to crack and crumble and fall way. Reeve gripped the guardrail of the catwalk and watched his dream die. The reactor crumpled inward and then broke apart, like the shell of an egg. The pieces began to fall back towards the earth. The floodlights flickered and faded, plunging the chamber into the darkness. Reeve glanced down to see the Planet rapidly approaching from below.
"How ironic," he murmured, "We are the second Meteor."
Cloud felt rain on his face. How long had it been since he had felt rain? That mission to Neibelheim maybe. It was strange that it tasted so salty. He opened his eyes and saw an angel hovering over him in the darkness, dressed in a long pink dress, with her brown hair streaming behind her. Her body was surrounded a white aura and her emerald eyes regarded him warmly and sadly. Tears fell out of her eyes and hit his face. He put his hand to his throat and found the wound was gone.
"Cloud, I am so sorry," she said. He reached out with his hand and touched her face gingerly.
"Aeris?" he asked trying not to choke up. She nodded quietly.
"I knew my bodyguard would come for me," she said smiling bravely.
"No!" said Cloud full of self-loathing, "I didn't make it time!" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him close.
"I chose that path," she said soothingly, "I knew what the risks were."
"I should have been there with you!" he protested.
"It was the only way," she said, "I am sorry that I put you through so much pain."
"Aeris," said Cloud looking into her eyes, "It was worth it."
"I've been so selfish," she said, "I wanted so much to see you one more time."
"Stay with me," he implored. She shook her head.
"We don't have much time Cloud," she replied. Together they looked down to see the wasted brown plains of Midgar looming into view below.
"The city's falling!" exclaimed Cloud.
"Without the power of the Lifestream, they can't keep aloft," she explained.
"How can stop it?" he asked.
"I'll rejoin the Lifestream and pray that it can save the city," she said. He caught her wrist.
"I'm not loosing you again!" he shouted. Her eyes looked pleadingly into his.
"Let me go!" she exclaimed, "Please!"
"It can't end like this!" he protested.
"If you love me, you'll let me go," she said. As he slowly loosened his grip she smirked impishly.
"I guess that's the closest you come to admitting how you feel," she said wistfully.
"Aeris, I need you," he said. She leaned in close and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Not anymore", she said softly. The white energy poured out of her and the girl fell unconscious in Cloud's arms.
The white energy spread out and covered the underside of Neo-Midgar. It began to heat up as it reentered the atmosphere. The whole city shook and reverberated as it streaked across the night sky like a comet. It plunged back toward the enormous hole in the ground it had lifted itself free from. As it got close it began to slow down. The city fell slower and slower, until eventually it rested gently back into the pit. The white energy streaked out across the plains in all directions, plants sprouting up in their wake.
Neo-Midgar had reached its final resting place.