Author's Notes
--------------------
This is an alternate universe story, so expect a lot of changes.
This version of AR has been censored for language. An uncensored version is available on my website which you can find in my profile.
Check back next weekend for chapter VI.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Chibi Taryn Demon for a very kind review!
If you have any questions, ask them in your review or send them directly to me. I'll either respond directly, or address them as best I can in the next chapter's Author's Notes.
Luminus
Chapter V
Take Off to the Sky
Unease hung thickly in the air after the revelations that Vincent had brought to light. Although he had now agreed to do what he could to help put an end to Rufus, even if that meant working with a man he hated so passionately, Cloud had become distant. He was unwilling to talk to anyone about the traumatic experiences that happened to him in Nibelheim that he'd been reminded of. Unfortunately, the only person who knew him well enough to help him through this was the one he had pushed away.
During these depressing days, Jessie had been working feverishly on Vincent's gun, hoping against hope that she would be able to figure out what had once made it tick so that she could rebuild it. She was making progress, to be sure, and was even starting to believe that she could make it better than it once had been; after all, the design was archaic by modern day standards. So far, though, the gun was the only thing that had progressed at all. Jessie had been trying to talk to the seemingly soulless man in the hopes that he'd open up some. Unfortunately he was much like Sephiroth in that respect; quiet and detached.
Placing her tools down next to the disassembled weapon, Jessie ran her hands over her face in an attempt to rub away her sleepiness. Soon she would be calling it a day, and that meant it was time to go find Vincent and tell him how his gun was coming along. She'd made it a point to tell him about how it was going for the past two days, hoping that it might spark some sort of conversation, but so far he hadn't seemed too interested. Still, it was the best shot she had at getting to him, so she'd keep trying. Stepping towards the door to her room, she was just about to open it when a knock came. Looking surprised, she turned the knob and looked out to see Jeran standing in her doorway.
"Evening, Jessie." The former Turk said. "Hope I'm not disturbing you?"
"No, actually I was just about to leave." She said as she opened the door completely. "What's up?"
"My sources have the information we've been waiting for. I'm gathering everyone into the conference room to plan our next step."
"Hope the tables been fixed." She said, remembering how Cloud had tossed it in anger.
"It has been." Jeran responded, either not realizing that she was joking, or just not caring. "I assume you'll want to be in on it?"
"You bet your ass I do." Jessie said as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "I haven't come this far just to back out now. Who else have you contacted so far?
"Sephiroth, Cloud, and Vincent should be there by the time you arrive."
"What about Tifa?"
"I wasn't planning on involving her." Jeran said, looking a little surprised at Jessie's mention of the girl. "She's never been a soldier, so she doesn't have much business being involved. Besides, from what I hear her emotions are running crazy. Not good for the battlefield."
"And you think Cloud's head is clear after all he's found out?" Jessie scowled, a little angry at Jeran for writing the girl off. "I wasn't a soldier either, you know? Tifa's a tough girl, and she can hold her own in a fight. There's no way you're cutting her out."
"Fine, fine." Jeran raised his hands up in surrender, then turned and walked away. "Stop and pick her up on your way back, I'll meet you up there."
"Yeah, I'll do that. Jerk" Jessie said flatly, muttering that last part under her breath. What was it with guy's assuming that girls couldn't fight just because they showed some emotion? Tifa could kick his ass in a fist fight, she'd wager.
Annoyed, Jessie walked down the dusty streets of old Corel. Tifa's room was on the second story of a small inn, not too far from the building that the conference room was in, so she'd just stop there on the way. Jessie prepared herself as she went; Tifa had spent the last several days inside her room, coming out only to eat. From what Jessie had been able to gather, Tifa had never spoken of her feelings for Cloud out in the open, always worried that he may not feel the same way about her. Over the years the girl had left little clues and tests for him, hoping to discover how he felt, but the boy was either extremely hard-headed, or attempting to avoid the subject. Now that Tifa had at last put her heart out on the line, she'd been shot down. No matter how strong of mind and body she was, she hadn't able to handle hearing Cloud deny her the one thing she'd always longed for. However, Jessie had a feeling there was more to Cloud's turn-down than met the eye.
There was music playing somewhere in the city and she'd been listening to the distant rhythm for at least an hour now; it was helping to keep her mind off of the single thing that had been running through it for days now.
You shouldn't love me. I can't be what you want me to be. Not now. Just thinking about what he'd said in response to her declaring her love for him made her want to cry again. Aside from occasionally going downstairs to eat, the only thing she'd done to keep herself busy was practicing her martial arts. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to meditate beforehand, and that was making it difficult for her to keep focused. All she'd really managed to do was replay that short talk over and over again, and wonder if she'd just thrown away most of her life. For as far back as she could remember, she'd been in love with Cloud, even when they were children she'd always had a crush on him. They'd been together since before they could remember it, even staying with one another when Cloud had moved to Midgar.
She'd hidden her true feelings for so long and had remained his closest friend, always telling herself that one day the time would be right for her to express herself. The time hadn't been right, she knew that even when she'd said it, but Cloud was in pain, and she thought that telling him would help. Now she cried herself to sleep, wondering what would happen between them. Could he go back to being best friends, forgetting about what she'd said? Could she? Tifa kept telling herself that it would work out, that somehow, everything would be alright in the end, but as the hours went by she was finding it harder and harder to believe that. This was the first real break they'd had since this journey began, and now her sudden depression was causing her to think more about Zach's death, which she'd tried to put off until now. Her emotions were running high, and she felt more like a helpless little girl right now than the powerful, skilled woman she was supposed to be.
Tifa was lying in her bed, wearing her normal attire as she hadn't bothered changing clothes for over a day, mulling over all those things when a knock came at her door. Startled out of her thoughts, she rolled to the edge of the bed and stood, wondering who would be here this late at night. Tucking a few stray strands of hair behind one ear, she pulled the door open.
"Jessie?" Tifa asked in surprise. "What are you doing here so late?"
"Jeran wants us all to meet him; he has some news for us to hear." Jessie explained before a look of concern crossed her features. "You okay, Tifa? Your cheeks are all red."
"Oh," Tifa muttered, putting on a fake smile as she did so. "It's just a little hot in here, that's all."
"Uh-huh." Jessie said, her tone making it clear that she didn't buy it. "Look, I might not cry much, but I know what it looks like."
Tifa averted her eyes, her head dropping slightly as she fixated her gaze on the floor.
"I heard what happened." Jessie said, trying to sound consoling. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about." Tifa said quietly. "I thought he'd feel the same way, and I was wrong, that's all."
"Do you really believe that?" Jessie said, her mouth forming a thin line.
"What?" Tifa blinked and looked up, her slender brows creasing. "What do you mean?"
"Come on, Tifa." Jessie shook her head. "I'm not an expert on love or anything, but if you can't tell that Cloud has feelings for you, then you must be blind."
"I'm his friend." Tifa said, then muttered. "He probably thinks of me like a sister."
"That'd be kind of sick if he did, because you aren't supposed to look at your sister like that."
"Huh?" Those words sent Tifa back a bit, not knowing what the other girl was referring to.
"Listen Tifa, it's no small secret that you're a good looking woman. Hell, at the risk of making you worry about me, I'll even say you're pretty nice on the eyes."
"Uhm." Tifa's cheeks turned redder, only this time it really was from heat. "Thanks."
"I've seen Cloud looking you over on more than one occasion." Jessie chuckled, remembering one specific occurrence where she caught Cloud staring right at Tifa's ass, but she wasn't going to say that much out loud. "And I'm pretty sure he was about to stab Jeran when you first met him."
"Why do you say that?" Tifa asked, obviously not catching the drift.
"When Jeran shook your hand, Cloud looked pretty annoyed." Jessie grinned. "And don't tell me he was just being an over-protective pal; he was showing some Grade A jealousy, and you don't get jealous over 'just friends'."
"You think he loves me?" Tifa questioned, not sounding so sure.
"I don't know about that, but there's definitely something there."
"Then why would he reject me?"
"Well, he had just found out some pretty messed up stuff. Maybe he just wasn't thinking straight."
"Maybe." Tifa said, realizing that she hadn't really considered that, though it was a rather obvious possibility.
"Look, I don't know why he turned you down, but I'm sure he has a good reason. I don't think he'd hurt you without one." Jessie put a hand on the other girls arm in a comforting gesture that was out of place for her. "Let him calm down, give him a little space while he sorts things out, and try not to worry about it. Sooner or later, he'll come around."
"Okay." Tifa smiled again, a genuine one this time, as moisture built up in her eyes. Wiping at the tears with her sleeve, she actually leaned forward and hugged the engineer, which seemed to give her a slight shock. "Thanks Jessie, I needed that. I was getting too pink-dresses and bows there."
That comment actually made Jessie laugh, a melodic sound that didn't seem all that characteristic of an engineer, terrorist, or rebel, but it sounded wonderful nonetheless.
"Good." Jessie said as she patted Tifa on the back and pulled her out of the room and into the hallway of the inn. "You need your head on straight and those muscles ready to kick some ass, because I think it's time to go---- Rufus off."
Entering the room, it was clear that Jeran had been right; the four men were already gathered, waiting for them. As Jessie and Tifa slipped into their seats, coincidentally next to one another and across from Cloud, Jessie couldn't help but notice something peculiar. Now that he'd learned of his nature, Cloud seemed to have joined Sephiroth and Vincent in the 'cold-shoulder club', sitting quietly and looking detached. Sephiroth sat at the opposite end of the table, far away from the rest of them, and Vincent was between the former general and Cloud, perhaps to keep the young blond from trying to tear the silver haired man's head off.
"Nice of you to join us." Jeran spoke up, obviously impatient. "What took you so long?"
"Detour." Jessie said without hesitation. "Doesn't matter, let's just get going, shall we?"
"Very well." Jeran looked annoyed, but didn't let it interfere with his cliché, cool guy demeanor. "I received word earlier today from one of my contacts; we know where Rufus is heading now."
"Where?" Cloud said in a way that clearly showed he was only halfway here.
"A small village in the Frozen North called Icicle." Jeran responded. "My sources tell me he has only two more stops on his way there, so we don't have much time."
"How do we know that this information is accurate?" Vincent asked without taking his eyes from the table where they'd been fixed the entire time.
"It came directly from Rufus' tower in Midgar, from one of my top two contacts. I have complete faith in the accuracy of this report." Jeran nodded, his official speech making him sound a bit defensive; perhaps being in the presence of the founder of the Turks was making him act more professional? "Besides that, the village being located in the Frozen North gives credence to the visions that Sephiroth and Cloud have had."
"There are many forests covered in snow." Sephiroth pointed out. "They are not exclusive to the Frozen North."
"No, but my contact knows nothing about your visions. I'm confident that this information is correct."
"What does it matter?" Jessie said, bringing a bit of realism to the discussion. "The Frozen North isn't exactly across the street. Without proper transportation it could take us a month to get to this village. If Rufus only has two more stops left, he's going to get there long before we could."
"I expect Rufus to arrive at his destination in approximately nine days." Jeran confirmed.
"Then how are we supposed to do anything about this?" Cloud asked a scowl on his face. "Don't tell me we're supposed to just let him go get whatever this thing is."
"Of course not." Jeran said, his voice once again defensive. "I've already devised a plan."
"What is it?" Tifa asked, finally getting into the conversation.
"My contact had realized we would be well behind Rufus too." Jeran said as he pulled a paper out of one of his pockets and unfolded it into a map of the world. "So he gave me another bit of information that we should be able to exploit."
"We're here in Outlaw City," Jeran said, marking the map at their current location before making another mark on the northern most continent. "Icicle village is here. Obviously that distance is too much for us, and we don't have transportation, so we'll need to get some."
"What are you planning?" Vincent asked, finally diverting his eyes to look over the map.
"My contact gave me the coordinates of a military base near a small town called Rocket." Jeran moved his hand back to their current continent and made a mark past the Nibel Mountains, near the west coast. "It looks like it's nothing, but apparently there are several big experimental projects being worked on there."
"Like a transport?" Cloud asked, catching on as he leaned over to get a closer look at the map. It seemed he was acting more like his old self right now, perhaps keeping his mind on business would let him act normal for a while.
"Exactly." Jeran confirmed as he looked around at all the people at the table. "An experimental airship called the XGP has been in construction there for some time. It's a military ship, so it's fast and well armed. The base doesn't have a lot of security either, because they're trying not to draw attention to it."
"We're going to bust in and steal it?" Jessie asked, her eyes lighting up as thoughts of an advanced military machine danced through her head.
"Yes, and with any luck, it will be a completely covert ops mission. In and out before they even know what's hit them."
"With any luck?" Tifa repeated, noting that their information man didn't sound all that sure. "What's the catch?"
"The catch?" Jeran stared at her, seeming surprised that she'd caught on so quickly. "There's only one person who knows how to pilot the thing; you'll have to get the ship's creator. A man named Cid Highwind."
"Cid?" Jessie asked, her face going white instantly as that name brought up memories of her past in Junon. Tifa apparently connected the dots too, because she looked over at her with worry as she placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder. Jessie's parents had died because her father had overheard talk about a new type of airship that was being built by a man named Cid.
"Yes." Jeran confirmed. He too knew about Jessie's past, and so he pieced the puzzle together for her. "This airship was originally being constructed in Junon as an advanced civilian transport. This guy, Cid, apparently wasn't happy about it being turned into a military project, so they moved him and the ship to the base near Rocket so they could force him to finish the design. I don't know all the details, so I have no idea if he will willingly assist you or not."
"When are we going?" Jessie asked, her mouth set in a firm line. For the first time since her parent's death, she was suddenly in the middle of an explanation of what they had learned.
"We're on a tight schedule." Jeran said as he marked one more spot on the map, very close to where he'd said the base was. "The five of you will be leaving first thing in the morning and heading straight to this point. There you will rendezvous with my contact."
"Your source left Midgar to meet us there?" Vincent asked, sounding suspicious. "Isn't that a bit dangerous?"
"Very." Jeran nodded. "There's a good chance he won't be able to return to the Empire after this, but it was important that he be there. There's more information that you'll need to know in order to plan the attack, and he wasn't able to securely send so much. When you meet him, he'll explain the rest, and will assist you in capturing the XGP."
"So I guess we should get a good night of sleep." Tifa said quietly.
"Indeed." Jeran jotted down more precise coordinates under the rendezvous point before folding the map up and handing it to Sephiroth. "I'll be staying here to monitor my contacts while you're out so that I can make sure no one knows about this mission. Do what Tifa said and get plenty of sleep, tomorrow will mark a new day for us. We're going on the offensive."
With a loud burst of its horn, and a mighty push of its steam powered engines, the HSIN Gloriosa left another city behind. Rufus could still hear the adoring cheers and farewells of the people who stood on the docks, their voices carried on the cool evening breeze. Surely his visit to their small city would be the highlight of their short, fragile lives.
A heavy sigh left his lips as he turned away from the edge of his boat, stepping down from his platform and walking across the deck. Rude, his faithful body guard, and Kuro, his loyal pet, followed closely behind him as he made his way to his personal quarters, guarded by two soldiers in Imperial dress blues. The soldiers, one man and one woman, saluted him with great respect before the man opened the door and held it. Rufus nodded his thanks, a gesture that would undoubtedly make the soldier swell with pride, as he stepped through.
Behind him, Rude closed the door as Rufus sank down into one of the many finely crafted chairs that decorated the lavish room. Kuro padded his way into the corner and curled up on a large cushion that had been laid out for him. Now within the warm embrace of his private rooms, which were thankfully designed to keep all noise from coming in or going out through the marble walls, Rufus at last lost his temper.
"I am astounded at the lack of precision my military has to offer." He said with contempt for his own soldiers. "And I'm terribly vexed as to how the local authorities are even worse."
Rufus had hidden his anger well in the public eye, as should be expected; after all, he was a master of lies and manipulation. Now being in the presence of those who knew his darker side, he felt the need to express his disappointment with his wondrous subjects.
"You should have expected them to fail." Rude said, pointing out the simple fact that regular soldiers and police weren't up to the task that had been appointed to them. "Cloud was designed in Sephiroth's image, after all. They're no match for him."
"They should have at least spotted him!" Rufus pounded a fist into the arm of his chair, causing the wood to splinter. "He still hasn't lived up to his potential like Sephiroth did."
"No, but he was trained very well. Even a normal member of our Special Operations unit would be hard to catch or kill, let alone one with the innate abilities he carries."
"Obviously, I was careless to leave Hojo to watch over him." Rufus sighed. "That fool would forget to eat if he could do his research without food."
"Do you think he planned this?" Rude pondered out loud. "Like the time he let Valentine escape his confinement so that he could test Sephiroth's strength?"
"No." Rufus said, his expression turning dark as he recalled one of the Professors more ignorant experiments. "No, he learned his lesson for that idiotic scheme. This time it was just an oversight. He was probably too busy tweaking one of his precious experiments to bother keeping tabs on the second most important thing he ever created."
"To be fair, we did leave Midgar rather suddenly. Hojo probably wasn't too concerned with watching over Cloud because he expected us to be there in case something went wrong."
"Even still," Rufus fumed. "He should know better. I haven't kept the Empire in order for nearly a hundred years by making careless mistakes and I won't tolerate such from my subordinates; even those as brilliant and crucial as Hojo. He's becoming a liability."
"Are you planning to have him removed?" Rude asked, his hairless brows rising in question.
"No. Not yet." Rufus mused. "I'm sure that whatever Reno decided to do to him got the message through for now."
Standing from his chair, Rufus walked to a large window that looked out over the ocean as they sailed towards the next city, now so close to his true destination. Placing his hands behind his back and folding them, he took in a deep breath, marveling in the beauty of the waves and the clear sky as the sun began to dip, spilling orange and pink hues across the waters.
"It doesn't really right now." He said after a long moment of relaxation that allowed his mind to clear and center once more on what was about to happen. "At long last, the first spell orb is within my grasp. Soon everything will change, and pests like Cloud and Hojo will no longer concern me."
It was late at night, a chilly breeze circulated through the air as the pale moonlight shone down upon the grassy plains. From this vantage point the lights of the town, Rocket, as well as the Shinra military base nearby, were distinctly visible. The darkness made it difficult to see much else, but it was just as well; if the party from Corel was going to sneak into a fortified area, it was better that visibility be low to help them avoid being seen.
They had just arrived at the rendezvous point that Jeran had mapped out for them, which turned out to be nothing more than a derelict farm house that must have been left to rot years ago. On high guard due to their proximity to the base, they moved with silence and speed. Sephiroth was at point, motioning for the others to move with hand signals; not a word had been spoken in over an hour. Cloud hung back and away from the Butcher as much as he could. He was trying his best not to let his hatred interfere with the mission. With a nod from Vincent, who was covering him at the moment, Cloud ducked inside the broken down entrance to the old farm house, quickly looking for any signs of movement. It wasn't until after he felt it was safe that a man stepped out from behind a splintered old cabinet. Very few could have been so silent and hidden as to avoid his detection, which threw Cloud off balance.
"Step into the open." Cloud said in a commanding voice, not able to see more than an outline of the man in this darkness.
Obliging the order, the shadowy figure moved into the moonlight enough to be recognized. Fairly tall, and a little thin, with long black hair that was combed very straight and fell to his mid back. The man's skin was light, his features young but with an air of calm authority that few could muster. Brown eyes were oddly complimented by a black dot just above his brows at the center of his forehead, and he wore clothing that was all too familiar to any of them; the blue suit of a Turk.
"Tseng!" Cloud gasped in shock at who he was seeing. "You're-! Are you the contact!"
"Why else would I be here?" Asked the current Director of the Turks, a man widely known for his position and his exceptional skill at his job.
"Hello, Tseng." Sephiroth said, startling and aggravating Cloud as he stepped into the structure along with Vincent. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you."
"General." Tseng replied as he saluted the silver haired man out of respect for the title he had once held.
"Tseng?" Vincent asked, looking over the man with something between suspicion and contempt. "Isn't this the man who commands the Turks?"
"Yes." Tseng confirmed, but then corrected himself. "Or rather, I was. I won't be able to return to my duties after this."
"But Jeran said that you didn't believe any of this." Cloud said, turning his attention away from Sephiroth and back to the matter at hand. Behind him Tifa and Jessie stepped into the farm house as well. "That you turned against him because you had faith in the Empire."
"That was our cover up." Tseng explained. "We both learned of the Empire's secrets, and decided to research a rumor about a rebellion that was sparking in the mythical Outlaw City. I decided to stay in the Empire to provide Jeran with information, so we concocted his defection so that I could act as though I'd turned against him for the good of the Empire. It assured me my position in the Turks, and took a lot of attention off of me."
"It just keeps getting deeper, doesn't it?" Jessie scoffed.
"Why did you have to come here in person?" asked Cloud. He was intent on being suspicious of anyone who spoke to Sephiroth as a friend.
"If you are to succeed in this mission, you need detailed information." Tseng told him. "Detailed information is not something I can give through the network, it could have been intercepted."
"But now you can't go back at all." Tifa said. "Won't they know?"
"Yes." Tseng said as he sighed. "But this mission is vital if we are to stop Rufus from obtaining the treasure he seeks. I had to do this, even if it meant abandoning my position."
"We still have our other contact." Sephiroth said, trying to take some of the weight off of Tseng's shoulders. "So long as this mission is a success, your sacrifice will not be in vain."
"Yes. In which case, we should prepare." Tseng walked to an old table in the room and placed a large parchment on it; a map of the military base they were to infiltrate. Holding a small flashlight up, he centered its beam on a large building on the map. "As Jeran must have told you, the objective here is to commandeer the XGP, which is in this hangar."
"He said something about Cid Highwind." Jessie spoke up, her voice seeming desperate for more information on the man. "What's that all about?"
"Cid is the designer, engineer, and currently the only pilot for the XGP." Tseng explained. "He originally began work on the ship in the city of Junon. It was intended to be a transportation device. Division Two of the Turks took interest in it, though, and approached Cid about modifying it into a battle-air-ship."
"What happened?" Jessie asked, her tone a little softer as she remembered that time in her old city.
"Apparently, Cid refused. The Turks then took his wife hostage and moved the project here outside of Rocket. Since then, Cid has been forced into reworking the XGP to the Turks specifications."
"The Turks have truly fallen," Vincent seemed to growl, "if they now resort to blackmail."
"Vincent Valentine." Sephiroth answered the unspoken question that he knew must be in Tseng's mind right now.
"Ah." Tseng responded, seemingly not all that taken back by the presence of the founder of the Turks, and one of the oldest horror stories in the Empire. "Of course."
"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Cloud grumbled in agitation. "How are we going to do this?"
"Yes. Well, as Cid is the only one who currently knows how to control the ship, we will have to get his assistance."
"Will he help us?" Tifa asked the question many of them were wondering.
"After what the Turks have done to him, I doubt very much that Cid has any love for the Empire." Tseng pointed at another building, much smaller than the XGP's hangar. "He should be located here; it's a three room house that he's confined in when he's not working on the ship. There are four guards around it at all times, one at each corner."
"So we sneak in, get him out, and then make our way to the hangar?" Cloud asked, thinking it sounded a little too easy.
"That's the idea, but there's no way of knowing how the situation will change once we're inside. Information about this project is very hard to come by. It took me months to dig up this much, and I have no way of knowing if anything has been left out."
"Wonderful." Jessie grumbled. "So what's our plan of attack?"
"The base's walls are ten feet high and extend around the entire perimeter." Tseng told them, tapping one spot on the walls just behind a larger building that was near Cid's 'house'. "But there isn't a great deal of soldiers inside. The base is meant to appear small so as not to draw any attention to the projects here. If we jump the wall at this point, we can get on top of the mess hall here. From there, some one should be able to get on top of Cid's building and slip inside."
"One person goes in and brings Cid out to the rest of us?" Tifa asked.
"Yes. Tt'd be too dangerous to send everyone inside his house at once."
"Who's going in?" Jessie asked.
"It would have to be some one who excels in stealth, but must also be able to convince Cid to aid us of his own free will."
Everyone seemed to look to Vincent and Sephiroth, both of whom could probably break in without making a sound, but to say that they weren't all that talkative would be a severe understatement. With their candidacy in question, all eyes turned towards Cloud, a former special-ops soldier who seemed to care quite a lot about the people of the Empire. Knowing exactly what the stares meant, Cloud sighed and placed a hand on his forehead.
"I guess I'm it."
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jessie whispered, sounding doubtful as she crouched on the top of the mess hall and looked down at two of the four guards that were stationed around Cid's 'house'.
"Positive." Cloud said. "We used to do things like this in Special Ops all the time."
"Can you do it?" Tseng asked as he looked to Tifa, unsure of the strategy himself, although he had seen such things done before.
"Yeah." Tifa nodded. "Piece of cake, but I won't be able to hold it for more than a minute. Any longer than that, and we risk them noticing something changed in the environment when they come to."
"That should be plenty of time." Cloud said, looking over the small house with a determined expression. "Do it."
"Okay, here we go." Tifa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Spirits of time, hide us from the judging hand of God! Stop!"
As the spell was punctuated, the soldiers below froze completely, one in the middle of taking a step. Immediately, Cloud took a running leap off of the mess hall, landing with a light thump on the roof of the target building. Half a second was wasted as he brought his right hand down onto the shingles to balance himself, and then he was moving again. Pulling a small, light green materia orb that Tseng had given him from his pocket, he quickly scraped it over the roof, forming a large circle from the tiny fragments being broken away. When the circle was completed, he placed the now rough orb in the center and touched his fingertips to it, activating the magic sealed inside. With a rush of green liquid, the circle was filled and the bio spell cleanly ate through the roof causing the materia to fall down inside of the building. As the acidic effect wore off, Cloud placed his hands on the edges of the hole and dropped down inside of the house, finding himself in what appeared to be the bathroom. Scooping the bio materia up out of the sink where it had fallen, he pocketed it and cracked the door open just as Tifa would be dropping her stop spell on the soldiers outside.
Quietly opening the door, Cloud stepped into a room that was dimly lit by one lamp sitting in the far corner. Sweeping the décor with his lightly glowing eyes, he realized that he was standing in a combination living room and kitchen. There was a small coffee table in place before a couch with barely enough room for two people. Atop the table was some sort of portable oven. A tea pot sat on it, not currently in use. There were magazines and books tossed about everywhere, and a thick dust coating showed which items weren't used very often. In addition to the rest of the mess, there was a single desk cluttered with papers; design sketches, blue prints, and massive amounts of notes, most of which may as well have been in an alien language for as much sense as they made to him.
The one thing that was noticeably absent from the room was a living person, making Cloud look to the door to his right that would lead into the last room in the small house; likely a sleeping area. With his steps muffled by old carpeting, Cloud approached the door and opened it as quietly as he could, a thin line of light expanding through the new room as the lamp behind him shown into it. From here he could see a small cot that would make up the bed, and a mound of sheets and covers lumped up into it. It wasn't readily obvious whether or not this Cid character was asleep under those blankets or not, there wasn't enough light to see that clearly, so Cloud took another step forward, quietly sneaking into the room to find out. As he moved ahead a whooshing sound from his left made him instinctively duck out of the way as a thick pipe was swung through the air where his head had been a split second earlier. Cursing himself for his stupidity, Cloud rolled away and nearly hit the cot as the pipe was swung again.
"Stop!" Cloud said in a harsh whisper, trying not to raise his voice too high for fear of the guards hearing him outside.
"What the ---- are you doing in my house, you son of a -----?" Came the gravely voice of someone who must smoke far more than he should. Stepping into the small amount of light, Cid Highwind showed himself to be a rather intimidating figure. Although he was in his forties, he was muscled from head to toe, and looked as if he could bench press Cloud if he wanted to. If he had dressed for bed, Cloud couldn't tell, the man was wearing a thick pair of olive pants with pockets all over them and a blue short sleeved shirt that accented his muscles. Around his forehead was a pair of pilot's goggles, a red pack of cigarettes stuck into them, clashing madly with his graying blond hair. He held the thick pipe in brown gloved hands, and glared at Cloud with a look of crazed anger on his face.
"Keep your voice down!" Cloud snapped, realizing the he was being too loud himself. Continuing in a softer tone, he tried to explain. "My name is Cloud Strife, I'm not here to hurt you."
"Great!" Cid barked, not lowering his makeshift weapon at all. "I ain't buying any of your ----in' Girl Scout cookies!"
"I came here for the XGP." Cloud said, annoyed at Cid's insult but hoping mention of the secret project would calm the other man somewhat. "So I need your help."
"Oh so you just want my ship, is that it!" Cid yelled as he took another swing, causing Cloud to jump back further. "What the ---- is it with you assholes! Can't I finish a single damn project in peace!"
"Cid, settle down!" Cloud hissed. "The guards will hear you! Look, I know you're the only person who can pilot the XGP-"
"Highwind!" Cid cut him off, enraged over the Imperial code name for his machine. "The goddamn ship is called the Highwind!"
"Fine, fine!" Cloud held his hands up in the air, trying to show that he wasn't here to cause trouble. "Look, me and my team outside are trying to stand up to the Empire."
"I know who you are now, dip----!" Cid spat at him. "Reeves told me you were coming!"
"Reeves?" Cloud asked, not recognizing the name. "Who the hell is that?"
"----, what kind of ----in' organization are you?" Cid said and swung the pipe again for good measure. "Don't even know your own damn people!"
"Sorry!" Cloud groaned, making sure to keep distance between himself and the seemingly homicidal man. "My contact is a man named Tseng, I don't know who this Reeves guys is, but whatever. We're going to get you and the Highwind out of here."
"What about Sherra?" He said as he finally lowered the pipe. "No damn way I'm leaving without her."
"Who's Sherra?" Cloud asked, not recalling the name.
"My wife, you little ----!" Cid barked again, deciding to swing the pipe at Cloud once more, out of spite. "She's in another building on this base. If she doesn't go, I don't go!"
"Okay, okay! God, sorry, I didn't know she was here!" Cloud groaned. "And would you please stop swinging that thing at me? I'm trying to help you here!"
"Yeah, only because you want my ship!" Cid tossed the pipe onto his cot and stepped past Cloud, kneeling down beside an odd object that seemed very out of place in his room; a large stuffed cat, black and white with a huge grin on its face, and a tiny gold crown on its head.
"What are you doing?" Cloud asked as he watched Cid pick up the stuffed toy and squeeze one of its paws.
"Reeves gave it to me." Cid said as if it should have been obvious. "It's a com-line. Sherra has the other end. We aren't allowed to see each other more than once a week, so this is the only way we can talk."
As Cid began speaking into the cat's paw, telling his wife that help had arrived and they were going to escape tonight, Cloud shook his head and sighed as he quietly walked back to the bathroom and prepared to signal Tifa to 'Stop' the guards once more so they could climb back out.
Why the hell does everything have to be so damn complicated?
After the initial confusion, Tseng had explained to them that Reeves, the man Cid had mentioned, was Jeran's second contact in Midgar and a major player in the Imperial government. Apparently, Tseng and Reeves rarely ever spoke to one another; their jobs didn't allow them to cross paths often, and being seen together would arouse suspicion. Tseng had come to the conclusion that Reeves must have caught wind of his plan to steal the XGP and had some how contacted Cid to let him know what was happening. Regardless, Cid's story seemed to check out. All that remained now was figuring out what to do next. After quite a bit of arguing the party finally agreed on a plan of action, and so they had split up into a three pronged attack. Knowing that Cid had to be present when they took the Highwind, he and Sephiroth had headed towards the ships hangar. Cloud, Tifa, and Tseng had agreed to break into the building Sherra was confined in and get her out. Vincent and Jessie, their mass-destruction specialists, had been chosen to draw attention away from the other two groups by causing as much chaos as they could. All three teams were to gather at the Highwind in half an hour in order to escape. As the ones chosen to make a distraction, Jessie and Vincent headed out first, followed by the others five minutes later.
"What's the plan?" Jessie whispered as the two of them pressed their backs against a large concrete building near the center of the base.
"That depends." Vincent said quietly as he leaned slightly, turning his face to carefully glance through a window on the building. "Are you prepared to take undefended lives?"
"I have no qualms about killing Imperial soldiers." Jessie said, her lips tightening. "What do you want me to do?"
"We must reduce the amount of soldiers who can target us once we make our presence known. Destroying this building will do that."
"Right." Jessie said as she unclipped an explosive pack from her belt and activated it. "What's inside?"
"Sleeping soldiers." Vincent said as he ducked below the window and ran towards the next building.
"Right." Jessie said again, taking a determined breath before hurling the pack through the window of what she now knew was a barracks and ran after the crimson mantled man. Behind her, she could hear confusion erupt as the crash of woke the soldiers, then their voices turned into shouts of panic just before the explosive detonated. Jessie could feel the wave of heat behind her as the bomb leveled the building, sending chips of stone and steel flying.
Taking a running leap, Vincent landed on top of a pile of crates, and then bounded off of them and onto a low rooftop. Jessie scrambled up after him, not nearly as agile as her companion. The two of them ducked low, watching as lights all over the base came on and soldiers began rushing out of various buildings, some of them only half dressed.
"What now?" Jessie whispered, trying not to let the fear she was feeling come out in her voice. There were at least thirty soldiers running towards the burning barracks now, and she was unconvinced about their chances against all of them.
"Wait." Vincent said as he watched more and more of them gather around the fires, shielding their eyes from the bright flames as they tried to see inside, probably looking for survivors.
"Wait for what?" Jessie asked as she became increasingly nervous, they were no more than forty feet away from the soldiers now, and she didn't like the odds they were facing.
"Now." Vincent said, as a few more soldiers gathered, making the number satisfactory for him. "Another explosive."
"Okay." Jessie reached for a grenade. Vincent watched quietly as she pulled the pin from its handle and brought her arm back to throw it.
"Up there!" Shouted a voice from the ground as one of the soldiers spotted them, but it was too late. Jessie's grenade flew through the air and landed right in the middle of six soldiers. With a boom that shattered the windows of the building they were on top of, the grenade exploded, killing the six soldiers instantly and tossing at least ten more as if they were rag dolls.
"Let's move." Vincent said, his voice unnervingly calm as the two of them took running leaps off of the rooftop and headed south, away from the dazed and confused soldiers.
In the solitude of a plush little office in the command structure of the Rocket base, a heavyset man relaxed in a thick leather chair, his black loafers kicked off onto the floor. The man, wearing Imperial dress blues studded with medals and pins, stroked his thick black beard as he breathed in the atmosphere. Opera music flowed through the air, emanating from an antique record player in the corner of the room. With a sigh that sounded more like a grunt, his aging and rather unflattering face seemed to loosen up. Perhaps this base was a backwater little station, at least in size, but here in his office, he was still at peace.
Heidegger Allgemein had served in the Holy Shinra Imperial Army for over two decades now. Using tactical brilliance that surely made that accursed subordinate Zahn envious, he had slowly risen through the ranks, always aiming for the top. For the longest time, only one thing had stood in his way; Sephiroth. That accursed General Kagemusha had not worked for his title, had not slaved for the Empire to earn his position. Sephiroth had merely been created, designed from the beginning to lead Rufus' armies. Heidegger had hated him. The command of the HSIA should have been his and his alone, but as a loyal soldier, he had refrained from speaking out against his commanding officer. All of that had changed five years ago when the glorified Kagemusha lost his mind and became the Butcher of Nibelheim. Since shortly after that beautiful day, Heidegger had held the title he had so long desired; he was now in command.
Without even a knock, the door to his office swung open, and before he could scold the intruder, a young blond woman in a revealing red dress stepped inside. Heidegger refrained from rolling his eyes at her, though he found it ridiculous that a woman of her title found it necessary to dress in such a manner. Scarlet had arrived not three days prior to check on the progress of one of the two military projects being constructed here. Though, he supposed he couldn't blame her for that; if he had designed that impressive weapon, he would want to see it during its final production stages as well.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Miss Grant?" Heidegger asked, his voice gruff and accented.
"Don't act sophisticated with me, Heidegger." Scarlet snapped, apparently agitated by something. "Did you authorize the weapons systems to be constructed for the MT-1?"
"The weapons systems?" Heidegger repeated as he brushed his beard in thought. "Ah! Why yes, I believe I did."
"You had no right to make decisions for my project!" Scarlet shouted as she walked to his desk and slammed her fist down on the mahogany surface.
"Why are you so angry?" Heidegger let out a hearty laugh, an odd sound that could just as well have been him coughing up phlegm. "The sooner they are finished, the sooner we can test out their destructive power."
"You chubby fool." Scarlet looked as though she was about to slap him. "If the main body isn't finished, the weapons systems will be useless!"
"Bah!" Heidegger waved her off. "You worry far too much. The armor is already mobile, so what if a few of the secondary systems are unfinished? It can move, and soon it will be able to destroy. This is all that matters."
"You idiot, if my MagiT-" Scarlet's words were cut off as the entire room rumbled, causing a light rain of dust from the ceiling. From somewhere outside, they could hear an explosion, muffled by the thick walls of the office. Both she and Heidegger looked around in confusion, but it was she who actually asked the question. "What the hell was that?"
Swinging his chair away from the desk, Heidegger stood and lumbered to the wide window behind him, pushing aside the blinds as he looked out across the base. From here, he could see flames licking against the night sky, rising up from the rubble of what was once one of the troop's barracks.
"What's going on?" Scarlet asked as she ran up alongside of him and viewed the destruction. "Are we under attack?"
As if to answer their question, a dull shout could be heard from the soldiers gathered around the fire. They could see some of them start to point up towards another building, following their line of sight, Heidegger briefly saw two figures crouching atop one of the supply sheds before another explosion erupted in the midst of the soldiers.
"So it would seem." He grumbled, turning away from the windows and sliding his shoes back onto his feet.
"What are you going to do?" Scarlet asked him, knowing that Heidegger wasn't the kind who got involved in the action. The man was a decent strategist, but he couldn't hold his own against a dying dog in a fight.
"I told you that your precious project was mobile." Heidegger flashed a toothy grin. "I believe a field test is in order."
"No!" Scarlet hissed, chasing after him as he walked to the door. "The MagiTek isn't ready for combat yet!"
"It is armored, and it can move." Heidegger laughed. "I need nothing more than that to squash a couple of annoying insects."
The building that Sherra was apparently kept in was quite similar to where they'd found Cid, the only main difference being that it was much closer to the main area's of the base, making it a far more difficult target. Cloud, Tifa, and Tseng found themselves crouching behind a few boxes near the perimeter wall, watching the tiny house and hoping that Jessie and Vincent could manage a fitting distraction while keeping themselves alive. Just like Cid's 'home', there were four guards posted here; not at all too much for them to handle, but it was unlikely that they could take them out fast enough to avoid alerting others.
"You think Jessie and Vincent ran into troub-" Tifa's words were cut off as a loud boom resounded through the night sky, followed quickly by a burst of fire and smoke from elsewhere inside the base.
The three of them went silent again, watching as the guards around Sherra's 'house' looked at each other in shock, quickly discussing the situation with one another before they apparently decided that it would be safe for two of them to leave and see what was going on.
"That's our cue." Cloud whispered, and the other two nodded. "You guys take care of the guards, and I'll get the door."
Without a sound the three of them moved out from behind their hiding spot, each taking a different approach as they ducked low and ran fast in the darkness. Tifa was the first to reach the guards, coming up from behind and taking one down swiftly with a solid roundhouse kick to his temple. A split second later, there was a dull snap as the second guard fell to the ground in front of Tseng, his neck twisted far beyond its limits. Not wanting to be seen, Cloud opted not to approach the door at the front, but rather he decided to make a new one using the same method he had earlier. With a few quick scrapes of the bio materia, he once again limited the spells effect, this time into a four by four foot square, and activated it. Within seconds a small doorway had been eaten away by the stones acidic magic, and he motioned for Tifa to duck inside as they had agreed that it would be better for her to go in after the woman.
Darting into the hole, Tifa found herself in a small living room much like the one Cloud had been in earlier in the night. It was dark, but she could see light emerging from beneath a door connected to the room. Jogging to it, Tifa knocked against it with the steel knuckles of her fighting gloves.
"Sherra?" She said just loud enough for her voice to carry through the door.
With a sudden creak that startled her into taking a step back, the door was swung inward, and a woman stepped into the doorway. Clothed in simple gray and white, she appeared younger than Cid was by at least five years. Though she wasn't nearly as stunning a beauty as Tifa was, she could probably hold her own against most women. The way her light brown hair was tied up into a bun in the back, and the thin, black, plastic eye glasses she wore made her appear to be an educated woman. In that split second, Tifa found herself wondering if perhaps she had helped her husband design his airship.
"Are you with the people Cid told me about?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly; it was unlikely she was used to rescue attempts.
"Yes." Tifa nodded, giving her a warm smile to try and comfort her nerves. "We need to get going, there's not a lot of time to waste."
"Okay," Sherra said, though instead of coming out, she walked back into her room.
"What are you doing?" Tifa asked, following her inside in time to see her kneel down next to an oversized toy that looked something like a moogle on steroids.
"This is what I use to talk to Cid with." She said as she did something to one of its feet. "Cid told me to destroy it before I left so the soldiers wouldn't figure out what it's for after we're gone."
"So that it can't be traced back to this Reeves guy?" Tifa asked the obvious.
"Yes." Sherra said as she stood up and moved back towards the door. "He's a good man. I don't want to see him caught."
"I can understand that." Tifa said, thinking of all the horrible things she'd heard the Empire had done. "Let's hurry though, my friends are waiting outside."
Sherra nodded, and together they hurried back to the living room. Tifa crawled out the hole in the wall to where Cloud and Tseng were standing, both watching out for soldiers and looking unnerved.
"What took you so long?" Tseng asked, as he looked around the corner of the house towards the center of the base, a materia gun in hand the entire time.
As he finished the question, there was a dull thump from inside the house, and thin tendrils of smoke began to rise from the window for the bedroom.
"And what was that?" The Turk asked, not seeming to enjoy the unexpected sound.
"Just cleaning up some evidence." Tifa said, not bothering to explain any further as she helped Sherra out of the hole and onto her feet.
"Doesn't matter." Cloud said as he began moving towards the perimeter wall again. "Come on, let's mosey."
"Mosey?" Tifa asked, nearly laughing out loud at the odd choice of words. "What are you supposed to be? A cowboy?"
"I don't know." Cloud grunted. "It just came out. Let's just go, we need to get to the hangar. They better have the Highwind ready to fly. Vincent and Jessie seem to be causing a big uproar over there."
Sephiroth didn't know what Vincent and Jessie were doing to cause a scene, but knowing the destructive tendencies of those two, he was positive that it would be more than satisfactory. Together with Cid, he darted across the base, taking cover and avoiding detection as they approached the massive hangar that hid the XGP, or according to Cid, the Highwind. They heard the explosion as they neared it, but didn't pause to see what had happened. Their role in this escape was crucial; if they didn't get the Highwind running quickly, the entire party would be captured, and likely killed.
"There's a door on the east side." Cid grunted as they ran, nodding his head in that direction. "Easier to get inside there than the hangar doors. We can open them from inside once we get aboard."
Sephiroth nodded to show he understood, but said nothing as they ran to towards the door, ducking down at the corner of a building as they saw a half dozen soldiers run out of the hangar and towards the sound of the explosion.
"Let me go in first," Cid said as they reached the door. "They're used to me, I think I can throw 'em off guard."
Another nod, and Sephiroth pushed the door open as Cid stepped inside. The hangar bay was quite dark, but several overhead lights were shining down on a massive construct of steel and iron in the center. Sleek and curvaceous in its design, the silver tinged Highwind looked nothing like any of the wooden airships that were common throughout the world. The ship was composed of four primary sections, the smallest being the deck, living quarters, and control room which hung low and resembled a more traditional sea faring ship. Connected to the back of the deck was a massive turbine that extended the entire length of the enormous vessel. Above the deck, and nearly three times its size, was a long metal shaft that housed a large portion of the ships mechanisms. Connected to each side of this shaft were long rod-like chambers, the closest thing the flying ship had to wings, that extended straight back and ended in large fins and massive thrusters that would move the vessel forward. Near the beginning of each of these 'wings', and extending to the left and right of the ships body, were massive round chambers that were topped with the propellers that would lift the ship off the ground, each of them with a span of twenty feet easily.
"Impressive." Sephiroth muttered beneath his breath as he took in the gigantic machine.
Without saying a word, Cid ran towards a ramp that led up onto the ships deck. Sephiroth began following at a brisk pace as Cid made it to the top and opened the hatch to step inside, mentally preparing himself for what was about to happen.
"Cid!" Came the voice of a startled soldier who was standing inside of the ship. He appeared to be the only guard inside the hangar. The rest must have gone to help fend off the attack from Vincent and Jessie. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Bobby." Cid said, sounding casual as he placed a hand on a long metal tube set into the iron wall to his left. "I heard an explosion, so I wanted to come and make sure the ship was alright."
"Oh." The guard said, relaxing as that explanation seemed satisfactory. "Well, it didn't happen here. You better get back to your hou-"
The soldier never finished the sentence. With a twist of his hand, Cid pulled at the metal tube in the wall and a soft click could be heard. The tube fell down out of the wall, revealing itself to be some sort of spear, and with a single twirl, the engineer stabbed it hard into the man's gut. With a gurgling sound of pain, the man fell to the ground, dead before he had time to realize what had happened.
"You built a weapon into the wall?" Sephiroth asked, as he stepped inside and closed the hatch behind them.
"They're all over the ship." Cid snorted as he kicked the dead guard off the spear and dropped the weapon onto the ground. "I wasn't planning on waiting around to be rescued forever. These idiots don't know ---- about blue prints; they couldn't tell if I was installing a weapon or a conduit."
"Is the ship ready to fly?" Sephiroth asked, not bothering to continue the current conversation. They were on a tight schedule.
"A lot of the secondary systems aren't finished yet." Cid said as he began walking towards the control room, followed by the black clad warrior. "I was dicking around, making it take longer than it should to buy me and Sherra more time to escape. The primary systems are good, though. The ship can fly, but Shinra doesn't know that."
They were in danger. For a good twenty minutes, Jessie and Vincent had destroyed and avoided the awakened soldiers in the base. With the Shinra troops groggy, as many of them had been asleep, it hadn't been too difficult to rain doom down upon their heads while keeping themselves hidden and unattainable, but that had just come to a screeching halt. With less than five minutes to rendezvous at the airship hangar, they now found themselves trapped. The remaining soldiers had at last caught up to them, trapping the pair in a corner where they had no where to run..
Hurling one of the few grenades she had left into the midst of the soldiers, Jessie grimaced as the explosion only took down two men. Apparently, they had realized how dangerous she was, and were staying clear of her bombs. With only three explosives left, she was beginning to realize that they would not survive.
To her left, a single soldier wearing no shirt rushed at her, his sword raised up over his head to strike her down, there was no way she could dodge in time. Then, with a flash of red and gold, Vincent intercepted the man, literally ripping the poor fool's arm off with a single ferocious pull of his gauntleted hand. Screaming as his blade fell to the ground and blood gushed from the wound, the soldier stumbled backwards and took off on a staggering run past his comrades who cleared a path for him. Nothing happened after that. The rest of the soldiers seemed to be rethinking their plan at taking them by force now. Jessie had to rethink something as well; maybe she wouldn't survive, but there was a good chance that Vincent would.
"Don't start doubting now." Vincent whispered as he tossed the disembodied arm towards the soldiers, causing them to back away a few steps. "You've handled yourself well. I would hate to see you die now because you lost your nerve."
"Right." Jessie said, a word that seemed to come out often when the scary man spoke to her. "We're not beaten yet."
"Indeed." Vincent said as he stepped next to her, carefully slipping his hand into one of her pockets and withdrawing a grenade in a way that none of the soldiers could see.
"Pull the pin and throw." Jessie muttered, realizing what Vincent was up to. The soldiers were expecting the bomb from her, not her companion.
"So I've seen." Vincent whispered as he popped the pin out with his fingertips before suddenly reeling his arm back. Then, instead of simply tossing the grenade into a group, he took aim at a specific soldier and used his ridiculous strength to throw the metal ball so fast and so hard, that it actually buried itself in the man's chest. Gurgling something as blood spilled down his shattered flesh, the man stumbled a few feet back, falling against two of his fellow soldiers before the grenade in his sternum erupted, killing several of the nearby Shinra troops as well as blowing his torso into pieces.
"Damn." Jessie said, her eyes wide with the same shock that was plastered on the soldiers faces. "That's one way to do it."
"I thought it effective." Vincent concurred, and then went quiet as the ground shook beneath his feet. "Did you feel that?"
"Yeah." Jessie said, frowning as she watched the soldiers begin to back away, not out of fear this time, but as if they were in on some strange joke. "Almost like, I don't know, a really big foot step or something."
"That would be correct." Vincent said as he straightened his body and looked past the soldiers.
Jessie's breath caught in her throat as she followed Vincent's gaze and saw what he was looking at. She felt her legs wanting to move, to run away, as the thing came out from behind one of the taller buildings in the base, but she couldn't seem to move. If nothing else, it was a marvel of modern machinery. Standing at nearly two stories in height, the tan and green contraption seemed almost humanoid. It moved towards them, walking steadily on two thick mechanized legs that bent at the knee and ankle joints much like a bird, giving it the impression of a predator as it stalked forward. Its torso was a good fifteen feet in circumference, and was fitted with several short tubes that looked far too much like cannons to be a coincidence. Near the center of the torso was a glass window reinforced with steel bars set into a compartment that bulged out slightly, most likely the cockpit. Just under the cockpit was a rounded recession set with a large semi-transparent red orb that looked almost like materia, but was far too large to be such. The finishing touches on the contraption were two long arms that came down, moving at the elbows where, as she watched, two large bolts locked into place, causing two enormous claws to emerge from the things 'hands' on each arm.
"Now can I start doubting?" Jessie said, not even realizing that her voice was shaking. She'd never seen such a machine before, and it was clear from the military markings painted all over its body, that this humanoid device was made for war.
"No." Vincent said, his expression remaining unchanged as he sized up this new opponent. "Just fight harder."
The soldiers that had been around them were now far back, clearing a sizeable path for the mechanized horror as it suddenly sprinted at them with speed that nothing of that size should have. Jessie yelped in surprise as Vincent grabbed her arm and jerked her out of the way just in time to save her from getting gutted by the things razor sharp claws.
"Get yourself together!" The red mantled man hissed as he let go of her and leapt towards the machines leg's, raking his claw across the heavy armor that coated its body to no avail. Turning swiftly, the machine swung one of its massive arms backwards and smacked Vincent aside as if he was an annoying fly.
"Vincent!" Jessie screamed, worried for his life as she tried to imagine how much that must have hurt. Any normal person may have been dead, right then and there, but she had a feeling it wouldn't stop Valentine for long.
Grinding her teeth together in anger, she ripped one of her last two grenades from her belt and ran diagonally past the machine. It was a gamble, but she was fairly certain that the machines size alone would mean that it wasn't very maneuverable at close range. Trying to calculate it all in her head, Jessie ducked low just in time to avoid a swing of its arm and then rolled away and onto her feet. As the oversized and very dangerous toy began to readjust and locate her again, she hurled the grenade right at its left elbow, just as she'd planned. While the short blast didn't destroy the arm, it did break one of the two bolts holding its claws in place, causing them to short circuit and retract. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
The machine didn't seem to mind the explosion or the damage it had taken all that much, though. With Jessie now in its line of sight again, it came running at her full speed. Once again, she barely managed to jump out of the way just in time for its other arm to swing hard and completely destroy a section of the thick perimeter wall.
Inwardly cursing, Jessie got to her feet quickly and took off on a mad sprint, looking for Vincent as she went. The rendezvous time would have passed by now, and if they didn't get to the hangar quickly, they could be left here. Behind her, she heard the heavy scraping and grinding of the machine's gears as it began to turn towards her again, but she didn't look back. She just continued to pump her arms and legs for speed, nearly startled into tripping when Vincent suddenly came up along side her, keeping right up with her though he didn't seem to be trying very hard. They had covered quite a bit of distance already at their frantic pace, but a rumble in the ground and a slam of steel told them that the armored machine was about to start running for them again.
As the heavy sounds of its footsteps began reverberating through the base, Jessie couldn't help but think that this was the end. She would die here beneath the feet of a damn machine, and her parents would never be avenged. The sound behind them grew closer, and she could hear the gears of the thing moving as it lifted its arm to swing, to strike them down. There was no point in trying to dodge again, they had taken a gamble by running, and it had failed. Jessie inwardly prepared herself for death, hoping that it didn't hurt too much.
A sudden wave of heat washed over them and a sound like thunder boomed behind them. With a mechanical screech that sounded almost like a living roar of pain, the giant behind them toppled to the ground as an impossible loud thumping and rumbling sound erupted in the sky above them. Coming to a sudden halt, both Jessie and Vincent looked above them as a bright light flashed on and centered over them. Above them they could not see the sky, only an enormous silver thing. For a moment, neither of them really knew what was going on, it was surreal. Then that thunderous sound came again and they could once more feel intense heat as magic-powered blasts rained down from the silver giant above, pinning the humanoid machine to the ground and keeping the Shinra soldiers from coming near them.
It wasn't until a rope ladder was tossed down, unfurling and snapping to a halt just next to them that they realized what they were seeing. Overhead, they briefly spotted Tseng, Cloud, and Sephiroth manning what were apparently materia powered cannons on the deck of the airship, Highwind, firing down at the base to cover them. They heard a shout, Tifa calling for them to hurry, and without another thought they both latched onto the rope ladder and began climbing up. Before they were halfway up the airship lurched and began moving away, prompting them to hold on tightly as they continued up. Though she knew it was crazy to do so, Jessie couldn't help but look down at the base as they flew away and watched as the soldiers ran to the Shinra war machine as it began to stand back up. Suddenly overwhelmed with a grand sense of accomplishment, Jessie flashed Vincent a huge smile and let out a scream of triumph that echoed through the night.
Scarlet watched from a relatively safe distance in absolute horror as the XGP lifted out of its hangar and flew overhead, attacking her precious MagiTek armor and rescuing the intruders before soaring off into the sky. It was absolutely unbelievable, and yet it had happened. What she had thought was a simple attack on the base had actually been a cover up for a theft of the highest caliber.
Realizing that it didn't matter now, the ship was gone and probably Cid with it, she took off in a run towards the fallen suit of MagiTek, arriving at its feet just as it began to stand back up, only to fall over again with a heavy metal thud. Scarlet winced at the sound, sympathetic for her poor baby, then turned furious as she looked over its body. The armor was scorched black from the magic blasts fired from the XGP, and one of its arms had been damaged. While none of it was extensive, it would take weeks to fully repair it, in addition to the time it would take to actually finish the radar and weapons systems that would have normally made the MagiTek armor more than capable of destroying even the mighty XGP.
With a loud creak, the hatch on the back of the armor popped open and Heidegger practically fell out, his tubby form rolling down the cold armor and smacking onto the ground where he lay motionless for a good minute. When at last he did begin to move, groaning in pain as he slowly pushed himself up and began dusting off his ruined uniform, Scarlet walked up to him and gave him a good, hard, backhanded slap across his face.
"You moron!" She screamed in fury at the stupid man. "Look what you've done to my MT-1!"
Suddenly able to move just fine after that smack, Heidegger quickly lumbered up and took a swing at the girl, who easily side stepped the attack, making him all the more angry.
"If your worthless armor had been operational, this wouldn't have happened!" He bellowed. "Now the XGP has been stolen!"
"Only because of you and your incompetent men!" Scarlet hissed. "Not my prototype!"
Going quiet, as if he suddenly realized the severity of the situation, Heidegger's anger settled and he looked to Scarlet with worried eyes. Understanding and agreeing with his unspoken sentiments, she too dropped her anger and let out a trembling sigh as she turned and walked back towards the command building.
Rufus was going to kill them.