It's the final countdown, just a few more chapters to go! This one took a loooong while, my computer broke down and I kept changing bits of the plot again and again. But here it is!
The story still contains foul language, violence, at least mentions of love between persons of the same sex, and all that. I do not claim to own any characters or locations. Thank you ever so much for reading, and thank you for the reviews!
Chapter Twenty-one: Fight for your right to live
-
Morning had just broken when the Highwind flew over the Midgar area mountain range. The sun shone brightly straight to Cid's eyes as he stood on the deck, staring into the horizon. He hadn't slept much, still too excited from his trip to space. So he had climbed up to get some fresh air, and to keep an eye out for the Weapons.
But the crisp morning air was the harshest thing up there. No sign of Weapons, and even the cloud of smog that usually hung above Midgar seemed thinner. It was still far in the east, it would take over an hour to get there. Cid knew that once they'd reported their mission to the President and the Professor (he didn't want to think of it as a failure, not after getting to meet the stars), they'd join the troops battling the strange army which still bothered the city. From numerous radio contacts over the night, he knew that as soon as the Sister Ray was at place, airships like the Highwind would take Soldiers and troopers over to the Crater, to finish the threat once and for all.
Cid blew the smoke out of his mouth and coughed when the wind threw it and the ashes from the cigarette back to his face. Swearing, he slapped at his clothes and hair to make sure the ashes didn't set him on fire. When he was done, he threw a death glare over his shoulder, just in case someone had seen him. But the deck was still empty, he probably being the only one willing to brave the cold air this early in the morning.
"Tsch, their loss..." Cid muttered and sighed as he leaned his arms over the railing, dropping his chin on top of them. "Can't blame them too much, tho, don't think we'll get a lot of sleep after this..." he closed his aching eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again he saw something glittering below them. Curious, Cid stretched his neck to see what it was. He didn't remember there being any villages around these parts.
"What the hell..." he had to squint and reach far over the railing before he could make out what the thing was, as the hull of his own ship blocked most of it from his sight. "Well I'll be..." the captain chuckled and pulled out his PHS.
"Tif? Did I wake you? Good. Get your ass up to deck, and Shera too. You gotta see this!" He pocketed the small device before the fighter could argue with him, and reached over the railing again to get a better look as the thing came out from under their shadow.
"What is it?" Tifa asked a few minutes later as she and an equally tired Shera joined him at the railing. He motioned for them to look down without even turning to face the two.
"This is a pretty cool sight. Makes ya think there's some hope left."
Shera and Tifa glanced at each other, puzzled, and walked to the railing on Cid's both sides. Following his example they reached out.
"Down there, just a bit behind us. We just passed it."
Looking down they saw a large piece of metal, glittering in the morning sun. Squinting, they could make out the group of tanks that pulled it slowly but surely towards Midgar.
"Is that the Junon cannon?" Shera recognized it first.
Cid nodded. "Yeah. The Sister Ray. Coming to save the day!"
"But how did they get it over the mountains?" Tifa asked, turning to look behind them at the tall mountain range. "Aren't the Mythril Mines the only way to pass? It's way too big for that!"
"Beats me..." Cid muttered, reaching out to get one final look as the airship turned its course slightly. "Gotta ask them once they get to Midgar. Speaking of which, we got about an hour before we're there."
"I'm... kind of afraid to go back. Knowing what's waiting there. The creatures, more battles. Weapons... feels like everything is falling down on us. Not just us, all humans." Tifa said, leaning her back against the railing. The cold air made the hairs on her arms stand up, but she didn't mind it much.
"Yeah... I guess this is the last battle. A big one. Won't be over till one of us kicks it. Jenova or us." Cid said.
Shera shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself to keep the cold away. "Makes you worry, doesn't it?"
"Don't worry! Think!" Tifa said and tried to smile. Shera smiled back and shook her head.
Cid startled them both by slamming a fist to his open palm. "Hey! The girl's right. You start worryin' and there's no stoppin' it! Things just start fallin' apart and get worse and worse."
Tifa and Shera looked at each other, surprised by the captain's unusual mood. Cid seemed a bit bothered at their look and shrugged.
"I've been thinkin' about this and that. All the time we been up here lookin' at the planet. I've been thinkin' even when we were floatin' in the ocean in that escape pod. You see, I always thought this planet was so huge. But lookin' at it from space, I realized it's so small. We're just floatin' in the dark. Kind of makes you feel powerless. On top of that it's got Jenova festerin' inside it like a sickness. That's why I say this planet's still a kid. A little kid sick and trembling in the middle of this huge universe. Someone's gotta protect it. Ya follow me? That someone is us." He looked first at Shera and then at Tifa. Both seemed moved by his words.
"Cid... that's beautiful." Tifa said quietly.
"Yes, captain." Shera nodded, but still didn't look too convinced. "But how are we going to protect the planet from Meteor?"
Cid opened his mouth to answer, but just blushed, shrugging. "... I'm still thinkin' about that."
Both stared at him, completely lost, until Tifa started to giggle. Cid growled and muttered profanities which made even Shera's shoulders shake.
"You can't expect me to think about everythin' around here!" But he had to smile as well as the two women laughed.
When Rude stepped to the deck a few moments later they'd calmed down, but were still all in a good mood. The Turk walked to them quickly, giving the slightest nod as a greeting.
"The President contacted me wanting to know when we're there. He says the report can wait, we're to join the battle immediately and to give aerial support to the fighters. Hojo's army has turned from a menace to a threat."
"So much for a good morning..." Cid muttered and nodded at the three, pushing himself off from the railing. "I'm gonna head down and get the peeps up an' ready. Get some grub and get ready. We're stepping on the gas now."
The others nodded as the captain walked past them towards the door. Just before he reached it, he turned and shouted at them: "Just remember, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!"
"..." Rude stared after him and minutely shook his head.
"Are there any fat ladies at the HQ?" Tifa asked Shera, smiling a bit. The mechanic shook her head, amused.
"Can't remember ever seeing one."
"... we could always put Palmer in a skirt." Rude muttered and paled even himself at the visual of it.
"Ewwww!" Tifa screamed and laughed.
"...only you appear in the midst of the battlefield,
"floating on the water's surface.
"The divine wind loses its divinity
"And disappears into the dark.
"The shapes of the lilies blooming
"On the night our reunion..." Jenova's voice fell to a quiet hum while the song itself still echoed in the hall of stone. It was dark in the small crevice, but the walls glowed green and purple around them as the nearby pools of mako spread their light far and wide.
Cloud opened his eyes, feeling like he was just waking up. Maybe he had fallen asleep, his head resting on Sephiroth's thigh. He couldn't remember any dreams, only the song she'd sang. He felt rested, in better spirits and stronger. But there was no hurry to get up yet.
"Slept well, my child?" Jenova whispered, running a gloved hand through his hair. Cloud nodded and yawned, momentarily tensing his muscles to wake them up.
"Did I sleep long?"
"Just a short nap. Can you sense it?"
Cloud pushed himself up on his elbows and turned to look at her. The smile seemed so strange on Sephiroth's face, or at least it had before. He realized he was getting used to it already. "Sense what?"
"Hojo's gone."
Cloud was wide awake immediately. "What? He's dead?" He rose to rest all of his weight on his hands so that they were almost face to face now, if Cloud hadn't been so much smaller.
Jenova nodded, not seeming to feel much of any emotion for the scientist.
"But how? Did someone kill him?"
"You didn't know? Your little friend, Vincent." Jenova's words were as emotionless as her face, but when she spoke Vincent's name there was a note of tenseness in her voice. Cloud opened and closed his mouth several times before managing to speak again.
"Vincent! How is he, is he alive? When did this happen? Where?" He fell quiet immediately as mako-green, glowing eyes turned to him, thinned to slits.
"You care more for him than Hojo?"
"He was my only friend. Hojo hurt me, and Vincent was there with me."
"He murdered you."
"He didn't mean it, he was-" Cloud closed his mouth as the glare grew tenfold. He realized what he had almost said. That Vincent had been manipulated by Jenova. It was true, but knowing her temper, it would not have been wise to say it out loud, not with such an accusing tone.
"... You were saying?" Jenova asked, leaning forward, closer to the nervous clone.
Cloud stuttered and cleared his throat. "He didn't know what he was doing."
"Didn't Hojo help you? You were a pathetic little boy, he helped make you what you are today."
Cloud hesitated a moment. The first thing that almost came out of his mouth was that he'd rather be dead than living this way, manipulated and hated. The second thing that almost came out of his mouth was that he would have preferred the most boring, weak life to this.
He hesitated for a moment too long. Jenova lost her patience and slapped him hard across the face. "You should be thankful, boy. Not everyone gets the chance to be where you are today. In fact, you're the only one now. And whether you like it or not, there's no changing it. So consider how lucky you are. When the Meteor reaches us, we're the only ones with nothing to fear.
"We are above this world. And you only because I wish it."
Cloud did his best not to lift a hand to the stinging cheek. He knew it was bruised, felt even a few scratches, but also knew that it would heal soon. Everything healed so fast here. It was the mako, and her presence.
Even if he tried to escape by killing himself, he'd heal before managing to do enough damage.
The blond nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. "I'm... I'm sorry. I am thankful. It's just hard sometimes."
Jenova smiled and lifted the same hand that had hit him. Cloud tensed but forced himself not to shy away from the touch as the gloved hand caressed his already healed cheek.
"That's my good boy. Come, rest now. There's no hurry yet..."
She guided him back to the floor of stone which was surprisingly warm. Cloud didn't object, he let his head be laid back to the warm thigh, to the smell of leather and mako. Closing his eyes he sighed and carefully wondered what had happened to Vincent. But all thoughts soon disappeared as Jenova started to hum again, the sound lulling him into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
"Go to sleep little baby... go to sleep little baby...
"come lay bones on the alabaster stones
"and be my ever-loving baby..."
The battles in Midgar raged on, far more vicious than in the laboratory. The large beasts held nothing back anymore: they destroyed lives and property without a thought, controlled by blind rage. The small shadow creatures were more of a nuisance than real danger, but there were hordes of them. Once the beasts had entered the streets, the sewers had opened and filled the city with the creatures.
Cid and his 'crew' had joined the battle as soon as they had reached the city. A lot of people were panicking and trying to escape, adding to the mess. But some were fighting back, if for nothing else then at least their own survival. The word had spread that the shadows reacted strongly to fire, proved by the fact that they stayed well away from the buildings that had caught fire already. That had lead to people intentionally setting things on fire, which lead to more chaos. Firefighters did their best to keep some of the fires under control, but there were too few of them to do much.
The slums were a total mess, but up on the plate the situation was a bit more bearable. Rufus stood on the roof of one of the bigger houses, surveying the situation. Scarlet was with him, wielding a huge weapon which she used to blow up anything that dared to come close to the President.
"Is this really the end of it all? Does my rule over Midgar and the world end like this, so soon?" the blond man muttered mostly to himself, feeling a wave of self-pity in the middle of all the horrors around him. He shook it off and concentrated on surveying the city. "How far is the Sister Ray?"
"Just a few miles now, I can already see her!" Scarlet informed him, peering into the horizon. Their view was mostly blocked by clouds of smoke from the slums, but the cannon was so massive that they could already see it, moving slowly towards them.
"Good. As soon as it's here, I want captain Highwind and the captains of other airships we've got in my office. We'll send troops up to the Crater immediately, and once the cannon is in place, we fire it to breach the protecting wall. Maybe if we take down the evil there the pests here will fall as well."
"We can hope, sir!" Scarlet said and saluted, far too happy with the conflicts.
Cid stuck close to the impromptu hospital the Soldiers had put up in the slums. Inside a house near the Wall Market, and outside as well, for there were a lot of people injured, slum-dwellers stood, sat or laid down, waiting for Aeris or one of the volunteer doctors and nurses to take care of them. More people gathered there, looking for relatives and friends. And the amount of people lured the strange creatures there. Cid had already stopped more than one person from setting the houses around them on fire to keep the creatures away.
Several Soldiers and troopers kept close to the 'hospital', taking care of the wounded, keeping monsters away and awaiting orders. The hospital was the only place nearby with a radio connection to the Plate, where Rufus and some of his executives kept an eye on the slums, alerting troops to where the enemy was making the most damage. The trains had stopped running, many of the lines were cut by the larger monsters, fires and collapsing houses. A large number of Soldiers protected the pillars, trying to keep as many of the creatures from climbing up to the Plate as possible.
Gates were open and the people of the slums were leaving the city through them, escaping out to the open country. The creatures luckily avoided the gates, and didn't seem keen on following their prey outside the city walls.
"Shit, this blows..." Cid muttered, standing at the hospital's roof, looking out over the part of the slums. Smoke rose from almost every direction, creatures screeched, humans screamed and shouted. The captain shook his head and swore again when he spotted a group of people running towards them from the right. A horde of creatures followed them, screeching and throwing rocks, bottles, whatever they could get their paws on. The blond rummaged the pockets of his jacket and smirked when he found one last stick of dynamite. He lit the fuse from the tip of his cigarette, held the stick, judging the distance between himself and the creatures, their speed... and tossed the stick right in front of the horde. It exploded when the first creatures had passed it, the explosion throwing up dirt and loose limbs. Some of the pursued humans stopped for a moment to look back at their screeching and injured enemies. The ones that had survived had fled already.
Cid chuckled, even if he wasn't truly amused by the cowardice. Take out a monster, there were easily three or four more to take its place. The bastards seemed to keep breeding, more and more just poured out of the sewers.
And no one had still figured out how to kill the large, furious monsters that ran amok through the slums.
"How the fuck are we going to beat them?"
The people just kept coming in, needing attention, crying, hurting, looking for their loved ones. Aeris had already exhausted her healing powers, so after taking a few moments to make the room stop spinning she had returned to helping people as well as she could without them. She hadn't thought that there were this many people living in the slums.
Yuffie had been somewhere near, they'd come to the slums together with Nanaki, Barret, Reno, Elena and many Soldiers. But she hadn't seen the ninja in hours. Tifa, Cid and Rude had come by some time ago, but she hadn't seen them in a long time either. Sometimes she thought she could hear Cid swearing, but most times she put it down to exhaustion. The hospital seemed to be a world of its own, there was no way out of it for her to see what was happening. The nurses and doctors seemed to be in similar states of mind, but they all did their best to appear calm. No need to alarm the people any more, they were already panicking enough.
Nanaki was not too happy about the fact that the closest person he could recognize was Reno. But the Turk wisely kept away from his tail as they fought with a group of Soldiers and troopers to keep the tide of creatures at bay. Rude was with the other Turk, and their small group was actually making some progress against the creatures.
He hadn't seen the others in a long while, but didn't really expect to. Midgar was huge, and with the enemy swarming all over the slums and the plate as well, fights were on everywhere.
It made him feel silly, even a bit embarrassed, when he used his tail to keep the creatures at bay.
Tifa guided the people towards the nearest gate, appreciating the help of the Shin-Ra Soldiers who kept the group of scared slum-dwellers safe from the creatures. Her martial arts skills were not much of a help against this strange enemy, so she had put her energy into helping those who were escaping the city. She had been surprised with herself when she had just ordered the Soldiers to assist her. They'd obeyed her without a question.
This was the second group they were helping out, about fifteen people, most of them children. They were scared, and just about unable to protect themselves in any way. Tifa was guiding them towards the gate of Sector five; they'd gone through the gate at Sector four last time, but that was now overrun by the enemy.
They'd run into a large swarm of the creatures just two blocks ago, but the Soldiers had killed enough of them that the others had ran off. They were quite cowardly unless accompanied by a large number of their species. But a few of the children had been hurt, and even if the few adults were carrying them now, they were still moving slowly through the streets.
Tifa hurried ahead, to see what was behind the next corner. Luckily the streets ahead were almost unoccupied, just a few scared creatures running here and there. Scared because the whole area seemed to be more or less on fire. She groaned, but knew that the gate was so close. And the fire wasn't so bad. Yet. "We're almost at the gate, hang on!" She called over her shoulder. One of the Soldiers came to her side and swore at the sight.
"Well, looks like we won't have to worry about the creatures."
"Yeah. Look, there's a fire hydrant. Get that open and everyone to water their clothes. Then we run for it." Tifa said, thinking quickly. The Soldier nodded appraisingly, swung his huge sword and ran across the street while she motioned for the rest to follow.
The Soldier reminded her of Zax, and after a long time, she thought again of what had happened to him and Cloud. But there was no time to worry about the two now. The people were obeying the Soldiers and showering in the strong spray that shot out from the fire hydrant. Some of the children were even laughing. She squared her jaw and ran to them, following the last of the group into the cold water.
He knew that Marlene was safe at the HQ, with Soldiers and guards and Shin-Ra executives, but Barret still worried about her even when he was blowing the creatures to bits. He didn't give them any mercy; the second an enemy caught his sights, it was doomed. There was no way he'd let these creatures spread across the world they'd fought for for so long. Not when he could get Shin-Ra to stop polluting the world with mako. Not when there was a chance to make the world a better place for his little Marlene, and all the other children.
He was fighting alone right then, he had followed a group of Soldiers and guards into the bowels of the slums, but had taken off on his own soon. He knew the slums well, he had been the head of a resistance group after all, he had had to know the place he was fighting for. But it was getting hard to keep up with where he was. Buildings had collapsed, some were on fire, the streets were full of dead bodies, furniture, trash, and the air full of smoke.
Where exactly he was, there weren't many enemies left anymore. He took off running straight ahead, knowing that where ever he went, he'd find a fight soon enough.
Somewhere, nearby, thunder growled and lightning flashed. Barret stopped for a second, and with a shrug took off in that direction.
Midgar could fall. The people had to live.
"Shit! ShitshitshitshitSHIT!" Yuffie screeched and threw the fire spell to the horde of creatures. They screeched back at her, died or fled. But not far. Their master, one of the large monsters was nearby, watching them. Watching the young ninja. She could feel its stare on her skin, could imagine what went on inside its head. What she imagined wasn't pretty, and involved her and Elena cooked in various ways.
Elena. The bloody Turk had to go and get hurt. And she had to be kindhearted enough to stay and protect her, and not just run off with all her materia.
So Yuffie was standing between the fallen Turk and the enemy, her spells almost exhausted, almost out of weapons. She still had her large shuriken which she had managed to keep a hold of. Her position was shaky at best, she was standing on top of the wall that circled the slum area, and all of Midgar at that. The creatures were swarming over the wall, on top of it, on the streets and on the rooftops of houses. The large monster was on a rooftop as well, close enough that she imagined it could reach her with just a few leaps.
"I'm gonna die..." Yuffie muttered and felt a stab of panic. She was just sixteen, too young to die. She hadn't found all the wondrous materia she had heard of. She'd never really kissed anyone, never fallen in love. She didn't want to die, not yet. But the future didn't seem too bright, or long. The future was dark, smirking, over seven feet tall and ugly.
"Well if I gotta go, might as well go with style..." she muttered, fighting hard not to let the panic get a hold of her. She turned her body, twisting her wrist, ready to throw the shuriken at the monster. It saw that she was aiming at it, but it really didn't seem to bother the monster. It did crouch a bit, ready to jump at her. Yuffie swallowed hard and called out the power of the materia in the weapon's slots. "I may not be able to kill you, but... here goes..."
She released the spells and the weapon simultaneously, closing her eyes so that the flashes of lightning wouldn't blind her even momentarily (or that was at least what she'd say, if someone had seen her) and dropped to the ground, partly covering Elena's body with hers. She heard the boom of thunder and even through closed eyelids could see the lightning, and soon smelled the scent of burned flesh. The creatures howled and the monster roared. Yuffie had heard Nanaki's words on what they'd thrown at the monsters in the laboratory, and was sure that this little trick wouldn't be enough to kill one of them. But it was better than just letting them kill her without a fight.
She felt that she should stand up and face death with her head high, but her knees were completely against the plan, and she wasn't too keen on seeing how ugly the future looked now, after a meeting with several spells and a shuriken. It was certainly howling like a mad, pain-crazed wolf, provoking the smaller creatures into a frenzy.
Elena struggled to move underneath her, and Yuffie opened her eyes, her head protected by her arms. "Damn fine time for you to wake up!"
"Yuffie!"
The ninja froze for a second before sitting up and looking in the direction of the voice and ceaseless gunfire. She almost got teary-eyed at seeing Barret running towards her on the ground, firing away at the enemy. But the gun-armed man was too far, the monster was just a leap away from her.
"Yuffie, run!" Barret roared over the sound of his own gun. The ninja got up and started to tug the Turk up as well. Elena was still mostly out of it, unable to stand.
The wall seemed to shake when the monster jumped to it. Yuffie froze, hearing Barret's almost desperate and furious roars. Even if these were the last moments of her life, she was happy to know that the grumpy man had cared for her after all.
She was a ninja, she stood with her back straight, but she had to close her eyes when the monster pulled itself up to its full height in front of her, barely twitching when Barret's bullets hit it.
"Get DOWN you IDIOT!"
Most of the children were so scared that they had to be carried through the fire. Tifa could barely believe it when they all reached the gate only with a few singed hairs. The people cheered when they saw the dry grasslands through the gate, and the refugees who had already made it outside the gate.
The streets were empty here, and Tifa thought that with luck, they could take a few more groups out through this way. She hurried them on anyway, fearing that something would go wrong at the last second. She lead them through the gate and to a safe distance from the city, not satisfied until each and every one of the small group was safe. Then she let herself fall to the ground and breathe for a moment, let her screaming muscles calm down a bit before returning to the hell.
Nanaki raced far ahead of the two Turks and the Soldiers who still were with them. Reno was screaming for him to wait and Rude to hurry up, as they made their way through the city towards where Elena had called help from. She had managed to give Reno her location before the PHS had gone mute.
The fighting had calmed so that the creatures didn't crawl everywhere anymore, just hordes of them in some areas, lead by the monsters. Only a few strays ran the streets between burning buildings. From what reports they'd gotten through the Turks, most of the fighting was near the wall now. They were running through the deserted slums towards the wall as well. Nanaki could sense the Turks' dread for their comrade, and was worried himself, considering that one or more of his friends might very well be with the blonde.
As they neared the location where Elena was, they started to hear the sound of screeching creatures and ceaseless gunfire. Nanaki ignored the others and ran even faster, his four powerful legs carrying him along far faster than the humans could even dream. He had recognized Barret's gun, and was damned if he'd let his friends die.
He stopped like he'd hit a wall when he reached the spot, but only for a moment. Barret was along the same street that ran next to the wall, just one block to the south. He was shooting up at the top of the wall, where a monster crouched, battered by the bullets but not seeming seriously injured. Nanaki decided to help and jumped easily to the roof of a nearby shack, and from there to the top of the twenty foot high wall. His eye went wide when he saw Yuffie and Elena in front of the monster. The ninja was trying to pull the Turk to safety, but the shadow creatures were giving her trouble.
The beast growled and, minding Barret's bullets, jumped to the monster's back, sinking his teeth into its neck no matter how much the stench of mako made his stomach turn. He could hear Yuffie screaming and then a bolt was flying at the monster from the ground. Reno and Rude had joined the fight.
The bolt singed his fur a bit as well, and the monster was now trying to reach him with its clawed hands, but had trouble reaching over its own ridiculously sized shoulders and back muscles. Nanaki fought down his nausea and bit deeper.
Yuffie wanted to cry with relief when first Nanaki and then the other Turks suddenly joined the fight out of nowhere. Reno blasted the monster and the creatures with spells while Rude fought his way up towards the wall. Barret kept firing his gun all the while, stopping only to reload when needed. Elena was finally starting to come around, but she couldn't get the blonde to stand up.
Then Rude was by her side, wrapped one strong arm around Elena's waist and hoisted her up over his shoulder. The monster growled and made a move towards them, reaching out with one arm. Reno's bolt slowed it down a bit, enough that Yuffie could scramble away from the claws just in time.
"Jump!" Barret roared at her, and the ninja didn't stop to think but obeyed. Rude followed suit, and they both landed more or less gracefully on the cobbled street as the monster roared with rage.
"Turks! That way! Nanaki, you and Yuffie with me!" Barret shouted, still firing. Yuffie got shakily to her feet while Nanaki let go of the monster's neck, jumped off its back and down towards them. Barret stopped shooting, and then they were all running.
Tifa and the Soldiers had just reached the makeshift hospital when the noise started. She looked curiously around and up at Cid who was still on the roof, watching their surroundings for the enemy as the injured were being moved away. The fighting had pretty much ceased here, it was safe enough to move them up to the Plate or outside the wall.
The captain squinted as he tried to see what was making such a rumble. It was getting louder, and the people who were outside started to seek shelter from inside the houses that were still standing. But there was too much smoke, he couldn't see anything. It sounded like thunder, or, more likely, a horde of the creatures running this way. Cid got his spear ready, and came to stand on the edge of the roof, ready to jump down if needed.
Then, from a street some distance from the hospital, Rude and Reno came running towards the clearing and the gate to the next sector, near the hospital. Cid thought that he could see Rude carrying something over his shoulder. The taller Turk turned his course and ran towards the hospital, while Reno slowed and turned around a bit, seeming to insult whatever was chasing him. Cid opened his mouth to shout out a question, but instead his mouth hung open when Reno started to run for his life again as a horde of the creatures, lead by an injured monster spilled out to the clearing. People screamed and ran, even though the horde seemed to only follow the Turk. Rude had dropped his burden at the hospital door and was now running with his comrade through the gate to the next sector. The Soldiers started to follow the enemy until Nanaki shot to the clearing from a street closer to the hospital. He stopped there, and threw a fireball into the horde before making his way to the roof of a nearby house. Cid forgot his questions again as Barret and Yuffie ran to the clearing next, followed by an equal amount of the creatures as the Turks. Nanaki started to bomb the enemy with fire, and the captain finally snapped out of his daze and followed suit. Tifa was also finding a higher perch from which to throw spells from.
Reno and Rude didn't stop until they reached the enormous pile of rubble that had been Sector Seven. Rude started to climb but stopped when a look over his shoulder showed him that the redhead was just standing there, staring at the horde which had slowed down now that its prey was standing still. The bald man slowly returned to his partner's side and gave him an inquisitive look through his sunglasses. One lens was missing, so for once Reno could actually see the look, not just the raised eyebrow.
"Reno."
"Rude."
"... What are you doing?"
"Oh, not much. You?"
"Reno. Unless you have a plan here, I will kill you before those guys do."
The redhead smirked at him.
"... That was your plan?" Rude asked, eyeing the enemy now.
Reno shrugged. "Might as well be now. We're toast.
They started to back up the pile of rubble when the horde got a bit too close.
"The Soldiers are fightin' them at the other side of the gate. We just gotta survive until they get to this side."
The horde parted, allowing the injured monster to walk towards them. Its hot breath steamed as it sized them, probably wondering whether it could eat them both at once.
"... Reno, you're so fucking imbecilic."
"I love you too." Reno smirked and pointed up with a finger. Rude looked up to the Plate, looming over them like a pizza with a slice missing. And on the edge of the remaining pizza stood Scarlet, her bright red dress standing out against the grey background. With her were several guards with huge weapons.
The Turks turned and ran up the rubble as fast as they could.
Cid had jumped down and joined the battle just before the explosion on the other side of the gate to Sector Seven. Whatever it was, it was big, and right next to the gate. Flames washed over the clearing, emptying it quite efficiently of all creatures. Cid had hit the ground, and lifted his head in time to see the last smoking creature run off.
"What was that?" Aeris screamed. She'd ran out of the hospital, and was staring at the almost empty clearing, her eyes and mouth large with surprise. Then she noticed Elena who was leaning against the hospital wall, blinking slowly, her blonde hair half dyed red and black with blood. "Oh my goodness, are you all right? Someone help me get her in!"
Two Soldiers rushed over to help her immediately. The rest started to gather slowly towards the hospital, the members of Avalanche with them.
Cid lighted a cigarette with shaking hands and held the smoke in for a long moment, letting his eyes wander over his teammates. Nanaki, Tifa, Barret and Yuffie were all in one piece, but all cut, bruised and injured. "Well." The pilot said. "Good to see all you fuckers haven't managed to get yourselves killed yet."
Cait Sith sat on the Cosmo Candle's plateau, the mog dangling its legs over the edge. The Candle burned behind its back as the cat and mog both stared into the east. Far in the sky, but not far enough, hung the Meteor.
The cat really liked this job, relaying messages and information between Midgar and Cosmo Canyon. This was starting to feel like a home, the people were friendly and rarely judged the duo on the basis that they were Shin-Ra. What they now worked as meant more than the past.
"But what I'm doing... is it enough?" Cait muttered and sighed. The end of the world was hanging above them, literally. Was there enough time to destroy Sephiroth and Jenova?
"Ho ho hoo... aren't you a fortune teller?"
Cait spun around on top of the mog as Elder Bugenhagen floated there. The cat meowed and bobbed its head as a greeting.
"Well, yes, but that's more of a show."
"Humm, well, give it a try, you never know..." the old man suggested, smiling. Cait nodded and the mog stood up, turning to Bugenhagen.
"Well, let's give the world its fortune!" The cat shouted, jumping up and down while the mog's arms flailed from side to side. Villagers passing by stopped to look and smile.
Cait bowed when the strip of paper started to print, and reached out to grab it. "And... uh." The cat scratched its head, puzzled.
"What does it say?" Bugenhagen queried.
"Umm... 'Wash your socks before there is only one pair left'. You know, Elder, these are pretty random..."
The Elder laughed, as did the other villagers who had heard the fortune. The cat was happy for that, for making people laugh.
"Here, let me try it again!"
Another bobbing and jumping dance, and another fortune printed itself out.
"Here goes!" Cait said and lifted the paper. "Oh, bugger. Another weird one. 'The heart can protect more than the sword'. Well, it's pretty, but I dunno if it means anything... guess I'm pretty useless..."
"Oh, not at all! That was a splendid fortune, very promising." Bugenhagen said, nodding.
"How come?" Cait, obviously puzzled, asked. The mog scratched its head.
"Well, it might mean that Lady Ifalna's sacrifice was not in vain. That she had time to summon Holy."
Cait blinked, and back in Midgar, Reeve pressed the headset tighter against his ears. "Holy? What's that?"
"The most potent white magic, Holy. Antithesis of Meteor. It's a prayer that protects the planet... if Earth hears your wish, Holy appears. Ho ho ho!" Bugenhagen explained.
"Really?" Cait exclaimed, jumping up and down. "What does it do?"
"Meteor, the Weapons... they all will just disappear!" The old man said, lifting his hands into the air for a moment to emphasize his words. "... and perhaps us too."
"Us?" Cait's enthusiasm lessened considerably.
"That's something Earth must decide. What is 'good or 'bad' for the planet... all the 'bad' will die when Holy comes. It's as simple as that... ho ho ho." The man started to float away. "Now... human beings... I wonder which category we fall into."
Cait stood still for a moment before hopping after the Elder. "What? Wait! Wait a second! Hey! How come this is the first I've heard of this?"
Bugenhagen stopped and allowed the robots to catch up.
"Let me get this straight. Ifalna summoned this 'Holy', to counter Meteor. Right?"
"Yes, but there's no way of knowing whether the Planet heard her before she was killed." The Elder spoke quietly now, not wanting his words to be heard by others. "Not until the Holy is free to work. If it will, the Planet heard her. If not... we have to deal with Meteor ourselves."
"So, how do we free it?" Cait asked, feeling afraid.
"By freeing the Planet of Jenova. She stops Holy from working. As long as she's on the Planet, Holy will not work."
"So... how come, you know... no one's mentioned this before?" the cat asked quietly. Bugenhagen shrugged and floated closer, scratching gently behind one furry ear.
"Humm... would it have changed anything? Ifalna knew what she was doing, and our friends realized themselves that Jenova must be destroyed. No matter what Holy decides about us humans, we still have to do our best to save the Planet."
"But... it could have... they would have..." Cait fell silent. The Elder smiled and shook his head.
"Knowledge brings pain. Trust your friends, Mister Reeve." The Elder floated away towards his observatory. Cait nodded and sighed, turned and hopped back to the Candle. It was so dark already...
A few hours later, by late evening, all the members of Avalanche who were in Midgar, most of the Shin-Ra executives, professor Gast, Elena and President Rufus himself were gathered in the presidential office. The Sister Ray was finally in Midgar area, and the preparations of firing it at the Crater were underway. The fighting in the slums wasn't over, but the situation was under the control of the Soldiers.
Reno and Rude had not been found yet. Elena was shocked, but seemed to be handling it like a professional. The Turks were capable of taking care of themselves, and there was no time or people to go look for them.
The next actions were clear to all. Send troops to the Northern Crater. Use the Sister Ray to remove the shield covering the Crater. If it worked, attack immediately. If not... try to break the shield any other way. If the Meteor couldn't be stopped, stop Jenova. From what they knew of the shield, Professor Gast was optimistic that the cannon could breach it.
The biggest remaining issue seemed to be who would go. Soldiers were already sent on another airship, and the Highwind would also leave in a while. All the members of the Avalanche were adamant on leaving. Professor Gast was of course against Aeris leaving, but she insisted on account of her being able to heal her friends.
"All right, fine." Rufus agreed. He had not been too happy about the idea of all of the powerful group leaving Midgar, with the two Turks lost as well, but his objections had been enough to drive Barret to the brink of full-blown rage. "You go to the Crater, we will handle the situation here. We'll keep the monsters under control and fire the cannon."
"If the first blast isn't enough, radio us and we'll give it another go." Scarlet said, on the phone all of the time, in contact with the crew setting the large cannon in its place. "She'll be ready in a few hours, then it'll take some time to gather the energy from the reactors."
"From what?" Barret turned to the woman, angry despite Tifa trying to calm him down. "You're using MAKO to use that oversized piece of shit?"
"Well what else?" Scarlet seemed only happy to respond with the same attitude. "What did you think we use to operate it, flowers and happy thoughts?"
"Barret, it's for the Planet." Tifa said before the man could answer. Barret growled, but just ended flipping the woman off.
"When we get back... I'll make sure none of you rape the Planet for mako ever again!"
"Yeah, well good luck with that..." Scarlet muttered loud enough that everyone heard.
"Lady, against you, we don't need luck." Cid said with a happy and obviously fake smile, waving his hand at the blonde woman as the Avalanche started to file out of the door. Gast gave her daughter one last tight hug before letting her go.
As soon as they were out of the room, Barret motioned for them all to gather around him. "Lissen... it's gonna get bad now. Anyone who wants to get out, do it now. No one'll blame ya." He turned and started to walk towards the elevators.
They all followed him.
They were all quiet as they took the only elevator still working to the bottom floor of the HQ. It was one of the elevators that ran on the outside of the tall building, so they could see the extent of the damage to the city. Houses were still on fire, both on the Plate and in the slums. Large patches of darkness moved over the streets and buildings. The enemy. Hojo had not been kidding when he'd said that his army would spread all over Midgar.
But this enemy could be beaten. The creatures could be killed, and the larger monsters as well, even if it would take more of an effort.
"I wonder if the Planet will ever be free again..." Aeris muttered and pressed her fingertips against the cool glass.
They soon reached the bottom floor and hurried across the Plate to where the Highwind was waiting, its crew already getting the ship ready to leave. Once they were on the deck, they could see past the HQ, and finally see the place where the Sister Ray was waiting for her big moment. The huge cannon was already aimed towards the Northern Crater, but people were still working around her, looking like ants.
The engines were turned completely on, and the airship lurched forward as soon as the members of the Avalanche were at the deck, watching as Midgar slowly grew smaller and smaller.
No one said a word as they stood there, the ship flown by its crew. Yuffie stayed by the railing, hanging her head over it. Aeris and Tifa joined Yuffie by the railing, staying a few feet away from the nauseous ninja while the three men stood nearby.
"Well..." Cid said after a long, quiet moment. "I've said it before, but guess this is the big one. If we can't stop the bloody Meteor, we can at least make sure that the peeps who survive it won't have to live with that dipshit making their lives more of a hell."
"Wow, Cid, that was the worst pep talk I've ever heard..." Yuffie muttered and gagged when the ship suddenly lurched beneath them. Cid grinned.
"What do ya expect, I'm a space pilot, not a motivational speaker."
"Maybe not, but what you said on the trip to Midgar was nice." Tifa said, making the pilot blush. "I can't believe that was just... this morning? I don't even know anymore what day it is..."
"What did you say, Cid?" Aeris asked.
"I can't remember every stupid thing that comes out of my mouth..." Cid muttered, still blushing up to his blond hair.
"It was about how the Planet looked so small from space... like it's just a kid, floating around sick, with Jenova festering in it. And that we gotta protect it!" Tifa said. Aeris nodded in agreement.
"That was nice, Cid. And true. We have to heal the Planet, rid it of Jenova. And trust that it will survive the Meteor. Mother prayed for Holy, and if she succeeded, the spell will protect the Planet from it."
Feeling more motivated they all nodded, determined to see this to its end.
"Good, then. Get some rest, it'll be a few hours before the Sister Ray is ready and before we get to the Crater."
"You too, Cid. You didn't sleep last night either." Tifa said as they started to go inside, towards the small cabins. No one really felt like sleeping, but realized that they needed to rest to be ready for Jenova.
"Yeah, yeah, in a minute. I'm just gonna watch the stars for a while."
They were almost at the door when first Aeris and then Nanaki stopped, looking up and all around. The others stopped as well, unsure of what was going on.
"Did you... hear something?" Nanaki asked, looking at the others. Aeris nodded, and soon the others heard it as well. A strange, inhuman voice, keening, crying for help wordlessly.
"What the hell is that?" Cid shouted, leaving the railing and running to the others.
"It's the Planet." Aeris said, tears running down her face. "It... maybe it heard us. It's asking for help. It can't survive this one on its own. It can't beat Jenova."
"Damn it!" Barret swore, marched to the railing and shouted: "We'll make that bitch FRY!"
"Yeah!" Yuffie cheered, caught in the moment enough to forget her motion sickness. "Don't worry, we're bad and we're mad!"
Cid laughed and clapped his hands together. "Ok! All you rugrats, get some rest! The Planet needs us strong! This is it, we can't lose!"
"Yes sir!" Aeris, Tifa and Yuffie shouted, saluting with a big smile. Nanaki threw his head back and let out a wild, feral howl which Barret joined.
"You're all mad, but I can't think of anyone else I'd rather save the Planet with." Cid said, shaking his head.
All the other executives, Rufus, Professor Gast, Elena and numerous technicians, including Shera, had already gathered at the Sister Ray when Reeve reached it. Shera quickly caught his eye and smiled, making the executive blush with pleasure.
"Any news on Reno and Rude?" Reeve asked Elena quietly, stopping by her side for a moment. The Turk shook her head, looking far more serious than he had ever seen her. He couldn't resist patting her on the shoulder, and she seemed to appreciate it. "Is the cannon ready yet?"
"Almost."
"If you would have been here fifteen minutes ago, like the rest of us, you would have heard the whole report, Reeve." Scarlet called out without turning away from the cannon. For once she was wearing something other than her red dress: the executive was wearing similar overalls as the technicians, the red Shin-Ra logo printed on the back and over her heart. "She's almost fully charged. Won't take half an hour anymore. We have to be careful with it, since we don't have the controls from Junon, we're going to have to launch her manually. So Shera, keep an eye on the readings rather than him. We don't want to blow up because of overcharging her."
Shera blushed and nodded, turning her attention to the laptop computer monitoring the mako readings. Reeve smiled a bit, feeling peaceful and warm inside despite everything.
At least, until he remembered the conversation in Cosmo Canyon. He left Elena's side and went to the professor.
"Professor Gast, could I have a few words with you? In private?"
"Of course..." the man nodded and followed him a bit away from the others. "What is it?"
"Cait Sith was talking with Elder Bugenhagen, and the subject moved to the Holy, the summon. I was wondering, how much do you know of it?"
"What do you mean, Mr. Reeve?"
"Well, do you know how exactly the Holy would stop the Meteor? The Elder said something about it deciding which things are good for the Planet and which aren't."
"I'm sorry, but this is new to me. Ifalna didn't tell me much of it. Truth be told, I refused to listen after she suggested it in the first place, knowing how much the summoning would tax her."
"All right then. Thank you anyway. I was just wondering, as the Elder didn't say much about it."
"I don't think he knew much. Ifalna was really the only one who did."
Reeve opened his mouth to tell the man what the Elder had told Cait, but at the last moment hesitated. There was already enough to worry about without adding to it.
It was the deepest, darkest moment of the night when the radio suddenly exploded into life. Cid had been dozing in the cockpit, letting the crew do their work in peace. But the shouts through the airwaves startled him awake, nearly dropping him from his slumped position on the chair.
"Whatt'hellwassat?" He struggled up before his eyes were properly open.
The radio officer looked over his shoulder, pale and startled. "Sir, it's the Dionaea, on their way to the Crater! They have been attacked by a Weapon! They're changing their course, but the thing is chasing them!"
Cid swore and shook the sleep from his head. The Dionaea was the other airship sent by Shin-Ra, full of Soldiers and fighters, whoever Midgar had dared to dispatch from protecting the city itself.
"Ok, how far are we from them and the Crater? Which way are they going? Where are they?"
"Sir, we're less than two hours from the Crater, they were almost there already when the Weapon attacked. They're now trying to lose it, flying here and there."
"Does Midgar know of this yet?" Cid asked, and the radio officer nodded. "And what's the situation on the Sister Ray?"
"They're getting ready to fire her, sir."
"Captain, what do we do?" the pilot asked.
Cid swore like he had never sworn before. His words were enough to melt the paint from the walls of the cockpit. Just when things couldn't have gone worse, they of course did.
Cid took a deep breath and closed his eyes to calm down. When he opened them again he was full of determination.
"Bell, call them and tell them to head our way. Clarke, go and wake the others from their naps. And get ALL the weapons on this tub ready! I don't care if it's a rusty cannon or a pea-shooter or whatever, get it ready! We're taking that asshole down and showing Scarlet that we don't need her measly cannon to crack open a Weapon!"
"Sir yes sir!" The crew answered his commands in unison and hurried to obey them. Cid grinned and hoped he'd really be half as certain of this as his words were.
"Sir, shouldn't we just... fly to the Crater?" the pilot asked quietly when Cid went to stand behind him.
"Yeah, that would be the smartest thing to do, but we gotta at least try to help the poor bastards. The Dionaea is a pretty ship, but not much use in a battle. We're still humans, we gotta try." The captain said equally quietly, and turned when he heard the door open. The members of Avalanche looked just like people awaken suddenly from sleep would look like, but they were still ready to fight.
"What's goin' on?" Barret asked.
"A Weapon attacked the other ship, I told them to come our way so we can help."
"A WEAPON!" Yuffie screeched.
"Yeah, brat. We're getting the Highwind ready to attack it as soon as we see it. Gimme the estimated time of contact!" Cid called over his shoulder, and one of the crew instantly answered him.
"Seventeen minutes, sir, at the current speeds the Dionaea and we are flying, sir!"
"Great, we got a while to get ready. And you guys..." Cid turned to the Avalanche, everyone paler than usual, "get your asses up to the deck and give the bastard hell!"
Yuffie was the only one who was going to protest, but Tifa quickly pulled her along, out of the cockpit. Cid smirked at the look on the ninja's face, even if his common sense told him that this whole business was madness.
"Gee, I'm kinda likin' this boss-thing. Bell, get in touch with Midgar, get the status of the cannon and tell them what's up."
"Sir yes sir!"
"President, sir, a Weapon has attacked the Dionaea!" A secretary came running from Midgar to the cannon, turning every head.
"What?" Rufus demanded and marched to the nervous man. "How, when? Where? Where's the Highwind?"
"Sir, the airship was almost at the Crater already when the Weapon appeared. They are fleeing it, towards the Highwind. Captain Highwind is meeting them, ready to fight the Weapon."
"What?" Shouted more than just one mouth. The secretary paled even more.
"The last one took TWO shots from the Sister Ray to kill it!" Scarlet shouted and swore. "The man is mad, endangering everything like that!"
"Contact them, ORDER them to cease hunting the Weapon and to go straight to the Crater." Rufus said to the secretary.
"Yes, we're launching her in a few minutes!" Scarlet realized and hurried back to the cannon, excited as a schoolgirl.
"We may have to sacrifice the Dionaea if they are unable to escape. But one of them HAS to reach the Crater, and it looks like it will be Highwind. Go and give them my orders." Rufus said quietly to the secretary who nodded and ran away.
"Just a few minutes now! Everyone, back away, it's not safe to stand this close to the cannon when it fires!" Scarlet was shouting, rubbing her hands together excitedly.
"How far exactly do we need to be?" Reeve asked, already taking a few steps back.
"Well since she's not anchored down properly, half a mile should be enough. The mako shouldn't radiate through too badly." The woman answered matter-of-factly, not noticing how most people were already running.
They were already out on deck before stopping to consider who had made Cid the boss. It seemed that the blond man had naturally taken control of everything since they were on his airship.
"But are we really fighting a Weapon? I mean, we all saw the one that came out of the Crater, those things are HUGE!" Yuffie complained as they all shivered on the cold deck. "This is just one ship, right? And we're smaller than flies to that thing. Are you guys serious?"
"Yuffie, calm down. If it starts to look too dangerous, I'm sure that Cid will fly us away." Aeris reassured the younger girl. "We have to try and help the others. They'd do the same for us."
"They're Shin-Ra Soldiers, don't be so sure." Barret muttered.
"Well even so, we're not them." Aeris argued, moving towards the wall to be protected from the cold wind. She couldn't help feeling disappointed about not getting to the Crater sooner, though. Even if she didn't mention it, she was constantly wondering what had happened to Vincent, and Zax. And even Cloud. There was no reason why they'd get any answers at the Crater, but she had a feeling Jenova would know. And if she could use the knowledge against them, she would.
They waited for a few minutes, trying to remain ready for battle despite the cold air and the even colder wind. And of course the fear of the coming enemy. They had so far fought countless battles, but nothing as big or dangerous as a Weapon. It would get them ready for Jenova, but it could also kill them.
A demanding beeping broke the silence, loud enough to be heard over the engines and the howling wind. The others watched as Tifa pulled her PHS out of a pocket and answered it. "Yes? Cid?" She didn't say anything else before goodbyes, just listened. After she closed the small device she motioned for the others to come closer so that she wouldn't have to shout.
"What was it?" Aeris asked.
"Rufus heard of Cid's plan, and ordered him to forget it and fly straight to the Crater. They're firing the cannon now. Someone's supposed to be there as soon as the shield opens. We're still flying towards the Crater, but the Weapon is also coming towards us now. So if we don't turn, we'll fight it."
"But if we turn, what happens to the people on the other ship?" Aeris said quietly, not really asking it. Everyone knew that without any help, the Soldiers would die.
"We probably can't even destroy the Weapon, just buy enough time for them to escape." Barret reasoned.
"As much as I hate to say this... but right now, the Dionaea is buying us time to get there. We have better chances of making it. The Highwind is faster, and has more fire power. Even if they are all Soldiers, we do have better chances of fighting Jenova." Nanaki said.
"All for the Planet, eh?" Barret muttered.
"Uh, guys... I don't think we have much of a choice anymore..." Yuffie said, leaning over the railing she had returned to just a moment earlier. She was pointing out to the sky which was already turning bright with the new morning. The others rushed to her side, crowding the railing.
"Oh..." Aeris whispered.
"Shit." Said Barret.
Flying towards them was the Dionaea, one of its engines on fire and smoking. Following it was the Weapon, huge and dark, eyes glowing like the craters of volcanoes. A long tail was twisting behind it, pushing it forward as it chased the ship. It looked like it was playing with it, not seeming to go as fast as it could go. Not that anything that size should be able to fly.
Then it noticed the Highwind.
The Weapon opened its huge maw, easily big enough to take a bite out of the airship, and roared at them. The voice was loud enough to deafen them, but the force of it was worse. It hit the Highwind like a wave, making it rock violently, pushing the ship away. The Avalanche members and the crew inside were tossed around like leaves in the wind. Barret caught Yuffie just before the ninja went flying. The others managed to hold on to something as the crew fought to straighten the ship again. The Dionaea, and the Weapon still following it flew past them, towards the south.
Nanaki was too close to the edge for his own liking, but it did give him a chance to see hatches open on the ship's side. Cannons came out, and the ship turned so that they pointed at the Weapon. The large beast closed his eye and fought to back away from the railing, but the ship was tilted so that he was trying to climb uphill, tail first. And the deck was damn slippery.
The ship managed to straighten itself soon, but shook again as the cannons launched numerous missiles. Nanaki dared to open his eye just as the first ones reached the Weapon, exploding with fire and clouds of smoke. The creature roared again and turned to glare at them. The Dionaea managed to fly away from the Weapon as it twisted its tail and pushed itself through the air towards the Highwind.
"Everyone get ready!" Barret shouted. No one had managed to miss the fact that the monstrosity was coming towards them, maw open, but the words snapped them out of the frozen horror.
Nanaki immediately called a Wall-spell upon them, wishing that he could cast it around the whole ship. Tifa and Aeris started to call out offensive spells. Besides Barret and Yuffie, none of them had weapons that could reach the Weapon, so they'd have to use spells and summons if they were to fight it from the deck.
The ship fired another round into the monster's belly while the first spells hit it in the face. The missiles seemed to cause it some amount of pain, it made a small noise which was enough to almost throw the people on deck off balance.
They had thought the Dionaea had escaped, but suddenly it appeared in their sights again, still burning, and fired several missiles to the Weapon's back. For a moment the members of the Avalanche thought that the joined damage from the two airships had hurt the creature, but when it pushed itself upwards, away from between the ships, they saw that they had barely made a mark on the skin.
"Hit it!" Yuffie screamed and summoned Ramuh. The powerful lightning spells followed the Weapon as it flew high before turning back down, on the other side of the Highwind, leaving the airship between it and the Dionaea. The smoking ship immediately took off to come around the Highwind while the Avalanche turned to attack.
The Weapon didn't seem to mind the spells they threw at it, but its spells certainly battered the protecting Wall heavily. Nanaki soon had to raise another one between them. Tifa summoned Bahamut, and that seemed to actually affect the monster. They rarely used summons in battles, but then again, this was unlike any other battle the group had been in. Chaos had come close, but even he had been subdued with a few spells and a summon.
The Weapon flew up, away from their reach as soon as Bahamut had done its damage. Yuffie, excited by the battle and barely afraid anymore ran to the other side of the deck to see where the monster would fly this time. "Oh, shit! It's gonna get them!"
The Dionaea was maybe a hundred yards from the Highwind then, the flames at one of its engines nearly extinguished. The Weapon was flying in a high arch, clearly towards the other airship. The Avalanche hurried to cast spells at the monster, to get it to change its course while the Dionaea would escape. The ship was already moving out of the way, but the broken engine was slowing it, and the Weapon just altered its course slightly. The spells did very little, the monster ignored them completely.
The people on the Highwind had no other choices left than to watch as the Weapon quit playing with them and opened its maw just before reaching the Dionaea. The pure power coming out of its mouth crashed into the ship just a second before the Weapon flew past it, battering the ship with its tail.
"Son of a bitch!" Barret roared and summoned Ifrit. The fire god appeared just as the first explosions shook the Dionaea from the inside. In a blink of an eye there was no airship left, just a bulk of fire, falling down to the ground. The Weapon was already flying towards the Highwind, but Ifrit intercepted it in midair, attacking with full force. The fire god was miniscule compared to the monster, but its pure rage actually stopped its enemy from attacking.
Just then, at that very moment, a bright, shining ray cut across the early morning sky from Midgar's direction. The Weapon howled with something like surprise and aggressively pushed Ifrit away, staring at the glowing beam. Ifrit threw a fireball at it, but the monster ignored it completely, as well as the spells and missiles from the Highwind. It didn't even look at them before taking off towards the starting point of the ray. Towards Midgar.
The members of the Avalanche stared after the Weapon. The ray was still there, bright as a small sun, battering against the shield over the Crater at its other end.
"Shit!" Barret swore as the ship lurched and turned beneath them again. In a moment they were flying full speed towards the Crater.
"Cid, what the hell?" Barret demanded as soon as they reached the cockpit, all more or less in one piece. The captain shrugged and left his post at the pilot's side.
"Sorry, guys, I know you wanted to kick some Weapon ass, but it's out of our hands now."
"What about the other ship?" Aeris asked, almost threatening the blond with her staff. Cid just shook his head.
"What about the people in Midgar?" Tifa asked.
"Well, they have that fuckin' huge cannon. They hafta take care of themselves. We're going to the Crater." Cid said, clearly getting tired of the questions.
"Makes sense, we can't let Jenova lift the shield back up again." Nanaki said. "How long before we're there?"
"Maybe an hour. We probably gotta stop at the Gaea cliffs again. Don't know how the place looks like now, considering the Weapon's must've ripped the Planet a new one getting out of there... not long now anyways. Say your prayers." Cid's voice was uncommonly serious as he turned to go back to the pilot's side.
Zax stepped out from the fairly warm cabin, his skin instantly complaining at the loss of heat. The sun wasn't even up yet, but the sky was already light in the east, and the Meteor was there to give them light. The Soldier walked towards his usual rock, starting to feel as cold on the inside as on the outside. He was amused now, though. Life was pretty damn strange. Things could just drop out of the sky suddenly, things you didn't expect to ever see again.
He was starting to get tired of waiting, though. He tried his best not to think about anything, especially what he'd have to do. The biting cold helped with that, but the longer he waited, the idler his mind became, the harder it became to keep his mind empty. He wanted it all to be over already, to know how the story ended. To let go of life, if he needed to, or to start anew. It could go either way, he didn't care. He just wanted it to be over already. For the Planet to live or to die.
He'd stare at the Crater every day, waiting for some change to the glowing shield over it. Any change, anything that would let him know he could get in. Waited patiently. He'd sit outside even before Holzoff had the breakfast ready, would go back out to wait as soon as he'd finished it, and not go in before dinner. He had to keep watch. He wouldn't go back in until he was nodding off in the snow.
Zax had never thought himself as a patient man, but the truth was that he could watch his prey for hours, hidden out of sight. Sit still and wait for months if he needed to. If his mind was set on something, he'd do anything he needed to do to get to his goal.
And this morning his patience was finally rewarded.
It came from nowhere, a bright arrow of green light. Zax couldn't help it, he started, almost fell from the rock, and shouted out with surprise. The beam hit the shield straight on, and at first seemed to be reflected all around. Zax shielded his eyes with a hand just as Holzoff ran out of the house, asking what was happening. He shouted for the old man to get back in, or to hit the ground as he didn't know whether the beam would turn their way. But it started to enter the shield, to break it.
The shield started to melt, like thin ice over a puddle in the sunshine. First there was just a hole the size of the beam, but it started to grow, quicker and quicker, until the beam ended, as suddenly as it had started.
Zax carefully lowered his arm, and tried to blink the after-images out of his eyes. Tears were running down his frozen cheeks when he squinted and stared at the Crater.
The shield was gone. The way to the Crater was open.
-
A.N: Borrowed a few songs for this chapter, first Dir en grey's Hotarubi, translated by Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma from centigrade-j, and then a song from O Brother, Where Art Thou? I make no claim whatsoever to owning these songs or having any kind of rights to them. Wanted to quote one song, ended up with two. :) And I had to include Cid's little speech about the Planet, that's one of the best bits in the game. Sorry again for the lateness, hope it was worth reading!