Chapter 20
In the tropical paradise known as Costa Del Sol a young man sun bathes in a chair at the beach. All around the young man several men and women in bathing suits are enjoying themselves. Some of them are swimming in the crystal clear water, some are sunbathing and others are simply walking around taking in the beautiful sights and equally beautiful people.
The young man has red hair and is in his swimming trunks and shades. Next to him is small table with a drink on it. The young man reaches to his left and takes a sip of the tropical drink from the straw. Soon two beautifully tanned, Costa Del Sol native women in string bikini's walk up to him. One of them is carrying a fan and the other is carrying a tray with several grapes on it. They giggle amongst themselves as one of them waves the large fan over him while the other one feeds him grapes.
"Ladies you are truly making it hard for me to go back to Square City. I'm thinking about extending my vacation another few weeks" said the young man.
-Ring Ring-
The young man's cell phone began ringing on the table. He picked it up and answered it.
"…Yes this is Rufus…..what?...when?...killed?...alright I'll return to Square City immediately" said the young man now identified as Rufus Shinra the vice president of Shinra Inc and also President Shinra's son.
Rufus hung up the phone and sat back in the chair while looking up at the clear sky.
"Well ladies I'm going to have to leave you soon…it seems I've just been given my inheritance" said Rufus nonchalantly.
(Next Scene)
On the other side of the world in Square City it was late into the night. Cloud, Zack, and Red XIII were back at Cloud's apartment. They decided that Zack would sleep on Cloud's couch in his living room. The couch could fold out into a small bed. Red XIII was fine sleeping on a few blankets on the floor. He said he never slept on beds in Cosmo Canyon so it was no need to start now.
Red XIII sat on the couch and watched television. In fact he was watching everyone's favorite show the Cait Sith Comedy Hour. There weren't many televisions in Cosmo Canyon so Red XIII didn't get to watch it often. He seemed to be enjoying this show though.
"…and what's up with everyone having the name Cid? Why is Cid such a popular name? I know at least a dozen Cids!" said Cait Sith on the television.
"Hah hah who ever knew television could be this entertaining" laughed Red XIII.
Zack and Cloud walked into the room and sat down beside Red XIII on the couch.
"I heard the guy that does the voice for Cait Sith used to be a big time Shinra Exec." said Cloud.
"I wonder if they dumped him into the wilderness when he quit…" said Zack.
"So Zack you and Aeris used to date when you lived here before?" asked Cloud.
"Yeah we did. We broke up because she said I was not giving her enough time" said Zack.
"Oh. Think you'll get back with her?" asked Cloud.
"I don't even know if I want to get back with her" said Zack. He was lying.
"Hah hah hah that Cait Sith…" said Red XIII laughing at the show.
"So you and Aeris dated a bit?" asked Zack
"Yeah for a short while" said Cloud.
"Now you and that Tifa girl are together right?" asked Zack.
"Ha ha I have to tell Grandpa about this show ha ha" laughed Red XIII
"No we're just friends" said Cloud.
"Yeah right I didn't get the friend vibe from either of you" laughed Zack.
"You and Tifa's hearts begin to beat slightly faster and I start to smell strange pheromones on both of you when you're near each other" said Red XIII.
Cloud just stared at Red XIII.
"Ha! Busted!" laughed Zack.
"Zack I noticed the same reaction with you and Aeris….ha ha ha Cait Sith you are too much!" laughed Red XIII looking back at the TV screen.
Zack just got sort of quiet
"Heh heh looks like you got busted too" laughed Cloud.
"Yeah yeah but we have more important things to think about" said Zack.
"How are we going to get money you mean?" asked Cloud.
"Yes" said Zack.
"Well I can't go back to Cid's I called and he's already given this girl my old job…and apparently she's doing better at it than I did…" said Cloud.
"What about the mercenary business? We got the skills we could make some good money. There used to be a mercenary guild in the city" said Zack.
"I think it's still around but we don't have anymore weapons or materia" said Cloud.
"What about Auron? Think he could loan us some? I mean we could pay him back once we get some money" said Zack.
"Well it's worth a try. We can go in the morning" said Cloud.
"Alright then" said Zack.
Cloud and Zack looked at Red XIII who was enjoying himself watching the television.
"Look at him enjoying himself. Just a few hours ago you were moping around about having to come to the city" said Zack.
"I must admit that coming here is not as bad as I thought" said Red XIII.
Cloud looked over at Zack and suddenly his head began to hurt. The room began to be filled with a red haze. He hadn't had one of these headaches in a while. Zack and Red XIII looked over at Cloud who was holding his head in pain then he spoke for no reason.
"You were shot" said Cloud with his eyes closed.
"Cloud?" asked Red XIII curiously.
"Cloud what's wrong?" asked Zack
Cloud finally snapped out of it.
"Ugh…just a little tired…I'm going to go to bed" said Cloud. The pain in his head began to subside a bit and he got up from the couch and walked to his bedroom.
Zack and Red XIII looked at each other and shrugged then they went back to watching television.
"So Red XIII can you actually set things on fire with that tail?"
(Next Scene)
Terra snuck down the stairs of the Cygnus motel that night while Red and Hawk were asleep. There was something about that old man that she saw earlier at the club. She felt a sort of kinship when she saw him. Terra walked to the door and opened it.
"Where are you going this late?" asked Hawk as he stepped down the stairs.
"Oh Hawk…I thought you were asleep" said Terra as she turned around.
"Is something wrong?" asked Hawk.
"I..well…there's something I have to see. I'll be back" said Terra.
"Alright then Terra I want you to be careful" said Hawk. He turned around and went up the stairs.
Terra stood there for a moment then she walked out onto the street shutting the door behind her.
"I guess I should check around that club" thought Terra as she stepped into an alleyway.
Terra changed into her Esper form and flew off into the sky. It had started to drizzle a bit and little bits of rain fell on her as she glided along. Terra felt like something was drawing her to the exact spot she needed to be as she glided through the city sky. Several minutes later Terra descended into an alleyway that was a few blocks away from Tifa's 7th heaven.
"I can feel it here" thought Terra as she changed back into her normal self. The rain began to pour a bit harder now. Terra held up her hand and shielded herself from the rain by generating a tiny force field with her hand.
Terra walked down the long dark alley and the feeling inside her began to grow. She saw an open door at the side of one of the buildings in the alley and she stepped inside. It was a small room that had some wooden stairs that led to a room at the top. A light could be seen shining through the bottom of the door.
"Hmm"
Terra began walking up the wooden stairs and they creaked loudly with every step she took. Soon she was at the top of the stair facing the door. She stood there for a moment and thought about knocking first. She knew this was where she was supposed to be since the feeling inside of her seemed to fill her entire body. She didn't knock but instead turned the door knob and the door began opening by itself.
The room it opened too was very large. The floor was covered in red carpet and three wooden pillars were aligned on both sides of the room. There was what looked like a long dining table with several chairs on the left side of the room. On the far wall was a fire place with a fire already started and two large chairs that faced each other. Terra walked a few feet into the room and looked around.
"You've finally come" said a voice.
"Who said that?" asked Terra looking around the room but she didn't see anyone.
"I did"
The old man she saw at the club appeared in front of her. He gripped a wooden staff in his right hand and ran his fingers through his long white beard as he looked at Terra.
"You're the man I saw earlier. Are you an Esper?" asked Terra.
"Your instincts serve you well daughter of Maduin. Yes I am an esper. My name is Ramuh" said Ramuh with a slight smile.
"Maduin…my father?" asked Terra.
"Yes you were young when the empire attacked our home. I knew your father. He had a noble spirit. Your mother Madonna was precious as well. Come, please sit down Terra. I'm sure you have several questions and there is much we need to discuss" said Ramuh.
The two of them sat on the two chairs that faced each other near the fireplace.
"Why am I here? I felt like something drew me here?" asked Terra.
"That is because I drew you here. I caused you to come to Square City and to come and meet me in this place" said Ramuh.
"Why?"
"I brought you here because you are needed here. This place will be the stage of a great battle between the forces of good…and the forces of evil. We've felt the evil energies at work for a while now" said Ramuh.
"We?" asked Terra.
"Yes there are quite a few of us left here in this world. We feel our time has come. Many of us grow weary of this existence and wish to rest eternally…like we would have had we still been human" said Ramuh.
"Still been human?" asked Terra.
"Why yes. Espers were originally human. That is knowledge long forgotten by most. Although in this day and age we are lumped into the same category as the Aeons and Eidolons that the summoners use. Perhaps that is why an Esper can have a child with a human. There must still be enough human left in us after all. Espers are a combination of the ethereal and the material. Whereas those creatures…Aeons, Eidolons, Guardian Forces what ever you call them are purely spiritual. It is true that our power can be called about in our death through the use of magicite but we are actually quite different from what is known to the population as "summons"" said Ramuh.
"I never knew any of this…" said Terra looking down sadly.
"It is not your fault child. You were robbed of many things by your captors but fear not. They will be punished and given what they deserve for their deeds" said Ramuh.
"You said a battle will be fought here?" asked Terra.
"Oh yes. I've digressed from what I intended to tell you. A battle between good and evil will take place in this very city. The ones who used you will be here carrying out their evil plans as well. The enemies of your friend Red are already here waiting to strike" said Ramuh.
"Black X?" asked Terra.
"Yes, they are all here. The troops and their four leaders" said Ramuh.
"Red and I figured out that this woman named Cindy Campbell is working for them. She runs a big corporation that sells clothing. We were going to attack her building…"
"No! You must not go there!" interrupted Ramuh.
"Why?" asked Terra.
"Ensure that your friend does not go there. The time will come when he will come face to face with his enemies but to go there now would mean certain death. A few of us still live here in the city. We've been watching in the shadows and observing every bit of evil that comes into the city. In her building a great evil has come. Do not underestimate Campbell she is a Black X empress" said Ramuh.
"You know about the emperors?" asked Terra.
"Yes. We know that all four of them are there now. Shuzer, Campbell, and Berva are powerful in their own right but their power pales in comparison to their leader. He is there now and he is waiting for the time to strike"
"What do we do? How can we stop this?" asked Terra.
"The only thing you can do is prepare. This battle is inevitable and has been foretold. Go back and train with Hawk and Red. Strengthen yourself as much as you can. You will not be alone in your fight. Others will fight with you and when the time comes the Espers will join you. We will fight to our deaths" said Ramuh.
"Ramuh…I…" the world seemed to distort a bit around her and began to get really twisted.
"What?" thought Terra confused.
She could hear Ramuh's voice.
"Prepare yourself. That is all you can do"
Terra was now back in the alleyway outside of Ramuh's place but she didn't remember even coming back out. She walked to the door and looked up the stairs to the room but it was completely dark and no light shone under the door. Terra thought about what all Ramuh had said to her. She began walking down the alleyway.
"We must be prepared…"
(Next Scene)
The woman known as Cindy Campbell owned her own clothing line and the headquarters of her business was in a large building in Square City. Not many people knew that this business was actually a front for Black X quite possibly the most sinister of criminal organizations. Cindy wore a red beret and a red dress and high heels. Her hair was brown and short. She had a slight smile on her face as she walked down the hallway. On her right was Shuzer and on her left was a very strange creature. The creature was about 12 feet tall and looked like a man and beast combined. Even a Ronso would look like a child standing next to him. His fur was brown and he had very long muscular arms. His chest was bare and he wore short red pants that went his knees. He also had long sharp claws on his humongous hands and he stood there laughing baring two sets of sharp fangs on the upper and lower portion of his mouth.
"It's not funny Berva" said Shuzer to the creature.
Berva was much larger that Shuzer and looked down on him laughing.
"Heh heh you should have called me if you were having trouble Shuzer. I could have grinded that Al guy into dust for ya! Heh heh" Berva's voice was very deep. He punched his fist into his hand which made a powerful noise. Berva apparently liked mocking Shuzer whenever he failed at something.
"Shut your mouth Berva before I shut it for you!" yelled Shuzer clank his claws together.
Berva just laughed and didn't even take the threat seriously.
"Will you two knock it off? I swear you two act more like children than Emperors" said Cindy. They finally reached the end of the dark hallway and she pressed a button on the wall. The end of the hallway opened up to reveal another room. The three Black X Emperors stepped into the room. It was very large and very dark inside. On the far end of the room there sat an extremely large creature on a gigantic throne. This creature was much larger than even Berva. It was so dark that you couldn't see exactly what the creature looked like. After taking a few steps Shuzer, Cindy, and Berva all fell down to one knee.
"Master it is an honor to be in your presence once again. I trust your trip to Square City was a pleasant one?" said Cindy with her head bowed humbly.
"Shuzer, Arachne, Berva…you may rise" said the creature with a very low and deep voice.
The three of them rose. Soon the creature spoke again.
"What news do you bring? How long until we reveal ourselves and I can not only be Lord of the underworld but Lord of the surface as well?" asked the creature.
"Master we've received word that the Empire's troops are ready….we've also received word that the leader of Shinra Inc. has been killed by one of his own colleagues…" said Cindy also known as Arachne.
"He must have been weak…to allow one of his own to destroy him…soon we will break ties from all of them…" said the creature in the darkness. The creature made a strange rumbling noise which was probably some type of laugh.
"Indeed my master. When the time is right we will make our move" said Campbell.
"Excellent...Shuzer I've heard of your loss to this Alkaiser person…it seems that you have nearly jeopardized our plans. It would be wise for you not to fail again. I know you are the only human among us but failure will not be tolerated for much longer even for a simple human" said the creature.
"My master I will not fail you again" said Shuzer bowing his head humbly.
Berva cracked a smile at Shuzer.
"You all may leave me now" said the creature in the darkness.
(Next Scene)
Aya got out of bed late that night to use the restroom. She had still been taking a mandatory break from work and she was not enjoying it. She walked to her sink to wash her hands. Her left arm was finally out of the sling. The whole time she was forced to take this break from work she wondered about that case. She figured if she could somehow find Alkaiser then maybe she could get a lead but that was easier said than done. Aya washed the soap off of her hands then looked down at them…
"What the…"
Aya was shocked to see her hands were glowing with a strange green colored energy.
"What's happening to me?"
(Next Scene the following morning)
Squall got out of bed after having a good nights sleep. He had had a lot of fun the previous night at the club but there was something bothering him…the voice…
"Ok well this is worth a try I guess….and no one else is in here so…" said Squall.
Squall sat at the end of his bed in nothing but his pajama pants. He sighed then he spoke out loud.
"Ok will whatever has been talking to me the last couple of days just…say something so I know I'm not crazy?" said Squall.
There was silence for a few moments and Squall was convinced that he had lost his mind then finally he heard the voice in his head
"I am here little lion" said the voice. The voice seemed like the combination of a human voice and a lion's growl.
"Ok so I'm not crazy! Who are you?" asked Squall.
"Deep down I think you already know who I am" said the voice.
Squall was silent for a moment then he spoke.
"Griever?"
"Indeed little lion" said Griever
"Well what is it you want from me? What's up with always calling me little lion? Did I inadvertently junction you?" asked Squall
"Well for the first question I want nothing from you. I'm simply here to help you because you will need my power very soon. I call you little lion because only those that carry similar traits to mine can use my power. I am called the Great Lion. The third question….you did not junction me it would be more accurate to say that I…junctioned you" said Griever.
"Don't we junction with GF's? It's not the other way around" said Squall.
"Well I'm no ordinary GF's…and neither is he…" said Griever.
"Neither is who?" asked Squall.
"Catoblepas" answered Griever.
"Who?...ugh this is all I need right now…" said Squall.
"Squall you don't have to talk out loud for me to hear you. You can think to yourself. People might think you're…crazy…if you talk to yourself" said Griever.
"Ok is this better?" thought Squall. From then on Squall spoke to Griever in his mind.
"Yes. Squall you intrigue me" said Griever.
"How do I intrigue you?" asked Squall.
"There are many who would love to have the things that you have in life. You have great friends, a great career, and a beautiful woman that loves you….yet there is still a great deal of uncertainty that you have about yourself" said Griever.
"-sigh- My GF is analyzing my life…" said Squall.
"If I'm wrong then why haven't you asked Rinoa to marry you yet?" asked Griever.
"I'm waiting for the right time" said Squall.
"You've had several opportunities" said Griever.
"Griever can you be like my other GF's and…not give me advice on how to live my life?" asked Squall.
"I told you I'm not your average Guardian Force"
(Next Scene)
Cloud, Zack and Red XIII walked down the street towards Auron's Gym. Along the way they ran into Barret and Marlene.
"Hey Cloud you're back. How did things go at SOLDIER?" asked Barret.
"Hey Barret and Marlene…well I didn't make it into SOLDIER. This is Zack and this is Red XIII by the way" said Cloud.
"Hi" said Zack
"Hello" said Red XIII
"Hey. Cloud it's probably best you didn't get in with those stinking Shinra" said Barret looking at his gun arm.
"Puppy!" laughed Marlene as she went over to Red XIII. She started scratching him behind the ears.
"No I'm actually not a puppy I'm…..oh…that actually feels rather nice…a little to the left…" said Red XIII as Marlene continued to pet him like a puppy.
Cloud had another one of his headaches again. Everything around him got red and hazy and for no reason he spoke.
"They shot your hands…you and Dyne…they burned Corel" said Cloud with his eyes closed.
"What? Cloud what are you talking about? I lost my hand in an accident at a Shinra plant. Dyne lost his life there. I thought you knew that….you're creeping me out…" said Barret scratching his head.
"Cloud, are you ok?" asked Zack.
Finally Cloud snapped out of it.
"Oh umm I'm fine sorry just a little tired or something…" said Cloud trying to play it off.
"Oh wow that feels great" said Red XIII.
Red XIII was on his back and Marlene was rubbing his stomach. He was enjoying it a lot.
"Well I'll see you all later. Marlene, are you ready to go to the park?" asked Barret.
"Ok daddy. Bye Mr. Puppy" said Marlene as she stopped rubbing his stomach and walked off with Barret.
Red XIII got to his feet and Zack and Cloud stared at him. Red XIII held his head down.
"I'm so ashamed" said Red XIII.
"Don't worry we won't say anything "Mr. Puppy"" laughed Zack.
Cloud laughed a bit too and the three of them went on up the street a few blocks to Auron's Gym. They entered and Yuffie was standing there holding some boxes.
"Hey Yuffie what's up?" asked Cloud.
"Same ol Same ol. I saw you last night at the club but I didn't get a chance to speak" said Yuffie.
"Oh it's ok. Where's Auron?" asked Cloud.
"Oh he's over there" said Yuffie as she walked off with the box.
Zack, Red XIII, and Cloud walked over to where Auron was. He had his back turned and was looking at a slip of paper. He turned around and saw them standing there.
"Cloud you're back!...is that Zack I haven't seen you in such a long time" said Auron.
"Hey Auron" said Cloud.
"Hey Auron it's good to see you again" said Zack.
"It seems you have a friend from Cosmo Canyon" said Auron smiling at Red XIII.
"You've been there?" asked Red XIII
"Oh yes I have but it was a really long time ago. So how did the try out go?" asked Auron.
"Well we didn't make it" said Cloud.
"Oh?" asked Auron.
"Well we sort of got into a fight with these guys then they sort of kicked us out and kind of dumped us in the wilderness with no weapons where we were saved by Red XIII here…sort of…" said Zack.
Auron chuckled a bit.
"So that's basically the whole story?...sort of?" chuckled Auron.
"Yeah that's pretty much it" said Cloud.
"We want to become Mercenaries. Is the Mercenary Guild still around Auron?" asked Zack.
"I believe it still is. Is there something you need from me?" asked Auron.
"Well we were wondering if you could loan us some weapons or materia? We would pay you back as soon as we could" said Cloud.
"Of course I can do that. I assume you'd prefer weapons with materia slots in them?" asked Auron.
"Yes" said Cloud.
"Alright" said Auron as he walked away.
"Hey Cloud long time no see" said Paine. Paine had her equipment in a bag and looked as if she was ready to leave the gym.
"Hey Paine what's up? Still practicing so you can be as good as me?" joked Cloud.
Paine just rolled her eyes and walked away. Now Auron came back carrying some sword cases, a sack full of materia and a duffel bag across his shoulders. Yuffie saw this in the distance and grumbled to herself.
"Look at him giving away all that good materia…"
Auron set the cases on the ground and opened them up to reveal two Ragnarok Swords. They were double edged broadsword type weapons that happened to be fairly light despite their size.
"Wow Auron I was thinking you were going to loan us some old rusty things" said Zack.
"I have some rusty swords in the back if you prefer those?" joked Auron.
"Oh no these are fine" said Zack.
"They're Ragnaroks. A rare model feel free to use them as long as you need….well pick them up and tell me what you think" said Auron.
They both reached over and picked up the swords.
"They are really light" said Cloud as he swung it around a bit.
"Yeah, it makes it really easy to do this!"
Zack held the sword in his right hand and twirled it around. He then struck a little victory pose by holding the sword behind his back.
"Wow that was pretty cool looking" said Cloud.
"I'll show you how to do it" said Zack.
"Here's some thing for you too Red XIII" smiled Auron as he bent down and fastened an armlet to Red XIII front right leg.
"For me?" asked Red XIII.
"Yes it's a Diamond Bangle found only in Bone Village" said Auron.
"Thank you very much Mr. Auron" said Red XIII.
You can take this whole sack of materia. There are a few basic things in there like Fire, Ice, Lightning, I think there's a Restore in there and then you'll find some goodies like All, Added Effect, and Contain. Combine them however you want and good luck to you both. Also in this bag I have two uniforms for you. You'll like them they are light and allow for great flexibility" said Auron.
"Do they look cool?" asked Zack.
"…yes I guess so. I'm glad you're still looking out for the important things Zack" laughed Auron.
"Hey you have to look good when fighting" said Zack.
"Wow thanks for all this" said Cloud.
"It's no problem. Remember everything happens for a reason. Perhaps being in SOLDIER was not the way that you should go" said Auron.
(Next Scene)
Lenne ran on a treadmill in a very expensive and upscale gym. International Super Stars have to keep fit you know? Lenne was wearing a white tank top and some jogging shorts. Her long hair that normally hung down was tied in a ponytail. After a few minutes of running she stopped the treadmill and got off.
"Phew good workout today" said Lenne to herself.
-Ring Ring-
Lenne's cell phone rang and she reached in her pocket and answered it.
"Hello"
"Hey it's me. I made a whole lot of money off that picture! I ended up selling it to Celebrity Life! They are going to run it in their magazine and have a story about it on their show" said the sleazy photographer on the other end.
"That's wonderful" said Lenne.
"Thank you very much for helping me to make a load of gil! I'm headed to the Gold Saucer right now to make a bunch more on Chocobo races!" said the photographer.
"No…thank you" said Lenne. She then hung up the phone.
Lenne reached for a bottle of Midgar-Ade that she had set on the tread mill and took a sip.
-sigh- "Everything's going perfectly" thought Lenne.
(Next Scene)
Rinoa and Squall spent a little time in Square Park like they usually do during breaks from work. They sat on a bench and talked and laughed. Squall occasionally looked around because he was expecting Maechen to appear randomly and bore them with a long story.
"Why don't you simply ask her now? You have the ring on you" said Griever.
"Griever, will you please leave me alone about this? I'll do it when I'm ready" said Squall in his mind.
Rinoa went on talking about everything that had happened to her that day but Squall was arguing with Griever in his head so he wasn't really paying attention.
"You're afraid" said Griever.
"I'm not" said Squall.
"I'm inside you remember? I know your feelings. You're not necessarily afraid of her saying no…it's something else" said Griever.
"Will you stop analyzing me!" yelled Squall in his mind
"…and then this lady came into the boutique with really bad breath and…" Rinoa continued to talk about her day.
"I can't help it…" said Griever.
"If I take this ring off can I un-junction you?" asked Squall.
"I already told you that I was the one that junctioned to you! The ring was just a way for me to get to you. Oh I think I should mention that you can't junction to another Guardian Force while I'm with you" said Griever.
"…I tried holding my breath for a bit but she kept talking and eventually I had to breath…" continued Rinoa.
"Great so I'm stuck with a GF that's extremely interested in my life. I was certainly going to switch you out with Quezacotl" said Squall.
"You'd trade me for that weakling?" asked Griever.
"…and then she kept standing right in my face talking and I just wanted to throw a breath mint right in her mouth…" continued Rinoa.
"Well Quezacotl doesn't analyze me. He just comes when I summon him and then he leaves" said Squall.
"…so then I tried to lean my head a bit to the side so her breath wouldn't blast directly in my face but I still got a good whiff of it…" continued Rinoa.
"Let's go to the Training Area then and I'll show you my power! You'll never want another Guardian Force once I show you!" said Griever. He seemed somewhat insulted that Squall said that. His voice faded in and out from normal talking to a lion's growl.
"Fine then…" said Squall.
"Squall, are you listening to me?" asked Rinoa.
"Of course" said Squall to Rinoa.
"No you weren't…" said Griever.
"Quiet you…" said Squall to Griever.
Fujin and Raijin walked up to them.
"Squall, Rinoa you seen Seifer lately ya know?" asked Raijin.
"You still haven't found him?" asked Squall.
"Seifer is still missing?" asked Rinoa.
"NEGATIVE" said Fujin shaking her head.
"He's been gone for days. I'm so worried ya know? We're going to call the police and file a missing person's report ya know?" said Raijin.
"Yeah you should do that" said Squall.
Raijin and Fujin said goodbye and walked away.
"Seifer's a jerk and all but I hope he's not hurt…" said Rinoa.
Squall just said nothing.
"This Seifer….there is something between the three of you isn't there? It contributes to your fear…" said Griever.
"Cut it out!" said Squall to Griever.
"Seifer is your enemy?" asked Griever.
"…I guess you could say that" said Squall.
"Hmmm" said Griever.
(Next Scene)
In a conference room on the Blackjack, Setzers airship, Celes, Vincent, Locke, Setzer, Cyan, several other returners and a wild looking boy named Gau sat around a table. Gau wore a loin cloth and his hair was very messy. Everyone sat in their chair except for him. Gau had his feet in his chair and was crouched over. Cyan was next to him and tried to calm Gau down.
"Sir Gau, do settle down" said Cyan.
Shadow was on lock down in another part of the ship. A screen was on a wall and Celes placed the stolen disk into a projector machine on the table.
"We've analyzed the data from the disk and we have a schematic of the Empire's plans" said Celes as a diagram of Square City appeared on the screen.
"That's Square City" said Setzer.
"Correct. The Empire is working with Shinra and other organizations to attack Square City during the Gaia Summit when several world leaders will be meeting all at the same place. The equipment provided by Shinra is a technology that modifies Exit Materia and dramatically increases the range of its teleportation capabilities" said Celes.
A diagram of the Exit Materia appeared on the screen.
"Do you know anything about that Vincent?" asked Locke.
"I have Exit Materia now. I took it from the lab at Shinra Headquarters but these experiments that they've done on them I'm unaware of" said Vincent.
"Well the Shinra have found a way to hone this particular Exit Materia onto beacons strategically placed through out the city" said Celes.
On the screen another diagram of the city was shown and several red blips appeared all over the city.
"Then they'll be able to simply appear in the city…" said Setzer.
"No one will even see them coming…by then it will be too late" said Locke.
"The other forces in on this conspiracy are already in the city laying low" said Celes.
"King Edgar and Prince Sabin are going to head to the city pretty soon. We have to get to Square City as soon as possibl…."
-BOOM-
The entire airship shook and everyone held onto the table.
"Setzer we're under attack!" yelled a Returner over an intercom.
"Ah damnit! Did they find us out!" yelled Setzer.
"Everyone get ready!" yelled Locke.
Everyone in the room rushed out and began to run out onto the deck of the Blackjack. Setzer ran to the cockpit.
In the sky there were several smaller aircraft closing in on the airship.
"Damn those are Empire aircraft! I thought we made a clean break!" yelled Locke.
"Sir Locke those knaves are boarding the airship!" yelled Cyan.
A few of the enemy aircraft looked like flying platforms but they were moving at high speed. Each one of them had harpoon guns that shot out and stuck itself into the deck of the ship. The empire troopers began sliding on zip lines and landing on the deck of the ship. Several other aircraft began circling the ship and they looked like large jet planes. These ships shot several large canisters that embedded themselves into the deck of the ship as well. These humungous canisters opened up and soldiers in Magitek armor stepped out. These large robotic armors were powered by the stolen magical energies of Espers.
"They brought out the big guns" said Locke.
"Get those jerks off my ship! I'll try to hold her steady!" yelled Setzer over an intercom.
"We need Shadow…hold them off I'll be right back" said Locke to Celes as he ran off.
"Ok everyone! Attack!" yelled Celes running into the enemy troops and unsheathing her sword.
"Me smash bad guys?" asked Gau.
"Yes sir Gau. Thou must "smash" the bad guys" said Cyan unsheathing his sword.
"Get the traitor!" yelled an empire soldier pointing to Celes and unsheathing a sword.
A soldier swung his sword at Celes' neck she ducked quickly and stabbed the soldier in the stomach with her sword.
"Urk!" yelled the soldier.
Celes kicked the soldier of the end of her blade and he fell to the ground. Two other soldiers with swords ran at her from her right and left.
"The soldiers have gotten weaker since I left…" said Celes.
She blasted the one on her left with a flare spell. As the soldier was blasted back with the force of the spell his sword flew into the air toward Celes. Celes grabbed his sword in the air and began fighting with two swords. She stabbed the approaching soldier through the stomach with both swords. Another soldier ran at her from behind. She turned around quickly and blocked the soldiers overhead strike by holding the sword in her right hand horizontally. She then quickly stabbed that soldier in the chest with her other sword.
In the distance an enemy soldier pointed a rifle at Celes. Vincent pulled out his pistol and shot him. Celes noticed that Vincent was watching her back and gave him a quick smile before going back into the fight. All on the deck Returners and Empire troops were fighting with casualties on both sides. The lumbering Magitek armors were firing shots of magical energy at Returners mowing several of them down at a time.
"I have to stop those those things…should I use the summon materia…no it's too many Returners in the way and that summon doesn't seem to coordinated…guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way" thought Vincent as he ran into the fight. Several soldiers aimed their weapons at some Returners.
"Matra Magic"
Vincent cast the spell and several missile-like projectiles began flying at them. When they collided on them they were blasted very hard and a few of them fell overboard. Vincent ran to where Cyan and Gau were fighting. Cyan swung his broadsword and slashed two soldiers across the chest at the same time. Gau jumped on a soldier's back and knocked him into the ground. He then began pounding the soldiers head into the ground repeatedly.
"We have to stop those machines. They are taking several people out" said Vincent.
"Thou art correct Sir Vincent but how art we to get close to them?" said Cyan.
At that moment a large blast of magical energy came directly at them. Gau, Vincent, and Cyan leapt out of the way narrowly escaping the blast.
"Fight our way to them" said Vincent pulling out his gun as he ran forward.
Cyan and Gau ran after him. An empire soldier wounded a Returner by stabbing him in the stomach with a sword. The Returner fell to the ground and the enemy soldier raised his sword to strike him while he was down. Cyan came and blocked the attack with his sword just in time.
"What a dastardly act!"
The soldier thrust his sword at Cyan's mid section and Cyan parried. He then followed up with an overhead strike that the soldier blocked horizontally. Cyan quickly glanced off his blow and slashed him horizontally across the chest. Gau managed to grab a soldier by his legs and began twirling him around like a helicopter. When he let him go the soldier went flying into several other empire troops.
Vincent managed to get close to a Magitek armor. He shot at it with his pistol but the bullets just bounced right off of it. The pilot in the Magitek armor noticed Vincent and began to aim at him with the armors primary weapon which was a beam that shot out of the center of the suit. Vincent ran away as the pilot attempted to lock on to him. Vincent ran toward another armor that was busy shooting at some Returners. Just as the Magitek armor shot at Vincent he leapt out of the way and the beam collided with the other Magitek armor knocking it to the ground and destroying it.
At the same time as all this was going on Locke had run to where Shadow was being held. Locke opened the door to see Shadow sitting Indian style in the middle of the storage room. Shadow looked at him and said nothing.
"Shadow you know we'll pay you good money just help and don't try to kill Vincent anymore" said Locke.
"If he is on your side I refuse to help" said Shadow coldly.
"What? What do you have against Vincent? It's got to be something big if you're refusing money" said Locke.
"…He injured my dog" said Shadow finally.
"-sigh- Shadow the empire is out there kicking our asses. Can you let this pass for the time being? You know King Edgar can pay you a lot"
Shadow said nothing.
"What'll it take? Ok just do this job for us and after the job is done you and Vincent can settle your differences. You better just hope he doesn't use that choco thing on you again…hey and what's up with you throwing that shuriken at me earlier?" asked Locke
Shadow still said nothing and the noise of battle could be heard on the deck.
"Well Shadow here is your stuff. If you won't fight for money then at least fight to save your life. If this ship goes down then you're going down with it!" yelled Locke as he put Shadow's sword and other things on the ground. Locke ran out and Shadow sat there silently. The noise of the battle seemed to get louder. Locke ran out on the deck and the battle was on the deck was raging. Locke ran up to Celes who was still wielding two swords and fighting off soldiers.
"Any luck getting Shadow to stop sulking?" asked Celes as she pushed back a soldier with both her swords.
"Nope" said Locke.
Locke stabbed a soldier with a knife just as he approached. Another soldier swung a sword vertically at Locke who side stepped to the left then gave a wonderful left hook to the soldiers face. Three Empire rifle men aimed at Celes and Locke.
"Celes look out!" yelled Locke.
As the soldiers prepared to fire several shurikens came flying toward them and they all fell to the ground dead. Locke and Celes looked back to Shadow standing a few feet away from them.
"Shadow!" yelled Locke. Locke grabbed the hilt of an Empire soldiers sword as he rushed him and pushed him back.
Shadow didn't look at them but instead ran into the fight. Two soldiers one with a rifle and the other with a sword stood in Shadow's way. The soldier with the sword slashed at Shadow vertically. Shadow swiftly moved to his left, unsheathed his sword and sliced the soldier in the neck. The other soldier aimed his rifle at Shadow. Shadow threw a shuriken and it lodged into the soldier's neck. Both of the soldiers fell to the ground dead and Shadow didn't give them a second look.
He ran further into the fight where several Returners and Empire soldiers were fighting. Shadow leapt into the air and threw shuriken taking out many empire soldiers. Shadow flipped in the air and continued forward until he was near Vincent who was trying to avoid getting blasted by the Magitek armors. Vincent looked over at Shadow. Shadow looked at Vincent. At first it seemed like the two of them would fight each other but soon they ran at the Magitek armors.
Side by side they ran at one of the humongous machines. A red beam shot out of the middle of the armor. Shadow vanished and Vincent leapt out of the way. Soon Shadow appeared on top of the Magitek armor right behind the pilot. He stabbed the man in the back.
"Fire 3"
Vincent cast a Fire spell on the machines legs which knocked them out from under it. The Magitek armor began to fall to its left. Shadow leapt off the armor and landed on top of another one. He stabbed the pilot of that one as well. Vincent followed again with a fire spell that knocked the legs out from under it.
"They're taking them out!" yelled Locke.
"We got something else closing in on us fast!" yelled Setzer over an intercom from the cockpit.
In the distance a purple looking object began flying at the airship really fast. As it closed in on the ship it could be seen that it was Ultros riding on the back of Chupon.
"It's those things we saw at their camp" said Locke.
Ultros and Chupon closed in on the ship and began flying along side it.
"Heh heh heh looks like the fight has gotten pretty heated eh Chupon? Too bad it all has to end! We were told to make this ship crash. It doesn't matter if there are Empire troops on it! Show em Chupon!" laughed Ultros with his yellow crooked teeth bared.
The strange creature named Chupon inhaled and then sneezed. The sneeze was very powerful and caused the ship to blow off track a bit. Chupon kept blowing strong winds on the Blackjack. In the cockpit Setzer fell over. This knocked the controls off and caused the ship to start shifting most of its weight to the left. Chupon didn't let up and kept blowing more and more air. The ship shifted more and more to the left.
"Everyone get off the deck!" yelled Locke as he started to run back into the ship.
Celes, Cyan, Gau, Vincent, Shadow, and the rest of the Returners began running back to the ship. The ship began to move more and more to the left and several Empire troops fell over board. As the ship tilted even the Magitek armors began to slide off the deck. In the cockpit Setzer got up and tried to take control again. All the other Returners had run inside the ship.
"Everyone hang on I'm trying to hold her steady!" yelled Setzer over the intercom.
He grabbed the controls and tried to make the ship stop leaning to the left but the force of wind was too powerful.
"Ughh!" strained Setzer.
"Uh oh down they go!" laughed Ultros.
The Black jack began to fall at an increasingly fast rate. Everyone inside grabbed on to anything they could as the ship fell from the sky. The remaining Empire troops fell off the airship to their doom below.
"We're going down!" yelled Celes as she held on to a railing near some steps.
Cyan, Gau and Locke held on to a column and Vincent and Shadow on another railing. Objects in the ship began flying around the room as they continued to fall.
"Everyone hang on its going to be a rough one!" yelled Setzer as he continued to struggle with the controls.
Setzer was trying to steer the ship as best he could
"Ughhhh!
The ship came plummeting down and Setzer pushed as hard as he could. The ship started shifting a little more to the right as it fell. Setzer then pushed back on the controls. Little by little the ship began to pull back but it kept falling still.
"Let today be my lucky day!" yelled Setzer struggling with the controls.
The ship flew over a forest. The bottom of it clipped the top off of several trees. The ship got lower and began crashing through the forest knocking over many trees. Everyone inside braced themselves as the ship skid through the forest. After sliding several for hundreds of feet the wrecked ship finally came to a complete stop.
(End Chapter 20)
Hello there folks I hope you enjoyed Chapter 20. Today we saw Rufus Shinra for the first time and he doesn't seem to care very much that his father died. We've learned that Red XIII enjoys the Cait Sith Comedy Hour and getting scratched on the stomach by Marlene. Cloud is still having his weird moments but hopefully he can hold it together for a while. Terra met Ramuh. Many of you guessed that it was him in the club. He has given her some warnings and taught her a bit about the Espers.
We finally see all of the Black X emperors Berva, Shuzer, Cindy also known as Arachne, and the strange being shrouded in darkness…this can't be good. Aya is having some strange things happen to her as well. Squall has a particularly nosy GF named Griever to keep him company. Will they ever get along? Oh by the way the uniform Auron gave to Cloud and Zack will look like Cloud's Kingdom Hearts costume once they start wearing them. Poor old Fujin and Raijin are still looking for their buddy Seifer and Lenne is continuously plotting like always. (I don't hate Tidus but I do like drama)
We finally know the details of Shinra's plans for the Gaia Summit. Vincent, Cyan, Gau, Locke, Celes, Setzer, and Shadow fought well against the empire. Has Shadow finally put his differences with Vincent aside? We'll see. It's too bad that Ultros and Chupon wrecked their ship though. I thank you all for reading and like I said before I'm going to thank each of you individually at the end of the story that way I don't miss anyone. Take Care.