Chapter Eight: Betrayal
The phone rang.
Judy Adams sighed with frustration as she hastily tucked the large official folder from Shinra's science department under one arm and the report from the defense department between her knees, then opened her purse as the phone rang for the second time. Just as she flipped open the phone, the folder under her arm slipped out, scattering papers across the carpeted floor of the empty corridor. She moved to catch them, and the files between her legs fell, landing in a disorderly heap among the other documents. Judy began to scoop all the papers into one pile, no longer caring where they belonged, while the phone, now forgotten on the floor, rang again.
Trying to keep calm, Judy considered how perfectly fitting this was with the rest of her day, in which everything had been impossibly chaotic. Reeve's sudden departure had left her with hundreds of tasks to manage; in addition to her own workload, she had to speak at Preston and Schwartzberg's funerals, and sort through all the meaningless paperwork Preston would have handled, were he still alive. By now she had gathered all her papers into one pile and stuffed them into a folder, then found her phone, which lay on the floor several feet away. As the phone rang for the fourth time, Judy began to grow irritated. Who was it, anyways? What could be so important that they had to bother her in the only time she had to herself all day? Probably another stupid official bothering me with another stupid statistic. The phone rang one more time, and she finally picked it up. Sighing with vexation, she spoke into the phone rather crossly.
"Yes?"
"Hello, Judy," came the reply in a quiet, eloquent voice. "Do you know who this is?"
Judy's breath caught in her throat. In the midst of her new responsibilities she had completely forgotten about Maxwell. How did he know my number? she wondered, her mind racing to think of some way, any way, out of her dangerous alliance with the man without risking death. Cid Highwind had succeeded in what she had deemed impossible: bringing back the true Reeve, who, though naïve and inexperienced in some ways, was nonetheless a competent leader. But she could not expose Maxwell without bringing her former plans to light and ruining herself. And I'd die of shame if Reeve realized my intentions last night. She reddened just thinking about it, and quickly took her mind of the subject, as if Maxwell could somehow read her thoughts over the phone. Considering everything he knows, she thought, it wouldn't be surprising. Judy realized that she had waited too long, and turned her attention to the phone.
"Maxwell," she whispered, and heard soft laughter on the other end of the line.
"So you haven't forgotten me after all. Presumably, then, you haven't forgotten our deal either. So tell me what has transpired since we last spoke. Has everything gone according to plan?"
For what seemed like an eternity Judy considered how to respond. She knew the night had not turned out as he had planned, and had no idea how he would react. But lying to him presented its own dangers. He could already know what happened, she realized. This could all be a test. And what would he do if he catches me lying? With no better plan available, she decided on telling the truth. Taking a deep breath, she recounted everything that had happened after she left the storage room, skipping only the details of her encounter with Reeve in the middle of the night. There was silence for a long time after shed finished, and she began to dread Maxwell's response.
"So it was this Cid Highwind who ended up ruining the plan," he said finally, in a flat, emotionless voice. Judy realized that he was not asking a question and didn't know how to respond. She was afraid that anything she said would let loose the anger that the man was clearly struggling to hold back. Just as she began to wonder if Maxwell had hung up on her, he spoke again. "This is not what I had planned, but I believe we can turn it to our advantage." Judy sighed with relief when she heard the calmness in his voice, then realized Maxwell had more to say.
"However, in order to succeed, we must take action, and quickly. I will require some small actions on your part; nothing involving…the skills you employed for your previous assignment."
Judy blushed heavily, glad that Maxwell could not see her.
"What exactly do I have to do?"
"First you must contact the Soldiers you sent to Junon and order them to return. After that you can meet another of my associates, who happens to work for this same company. And then our work will begin."
Judy closed her eyes in horror as Maxwell elaborated on his schemes. She had never considered that Maxwell could have other agents within Shinra, but now that she thought about it, she realized he was sure to have many. They were probably influential, powerful members of the company who could present evidence against her if she tried to alert anybody to Maxwell's plot. She had no way out. All she could do now was hope, hope that wherever they were, Reeve and the others managed to slip out of Maxwell's grasp.
The sun beat down out of a clear sky over the wide, open, grasslands, where the remnants of the previous night's heavy rain had formed puddles in the muddy ditches that grew more numerous as the rugged hills around Neo-Midgar gave way to the fertile fields to the east. Something about the sudden change in the weather invited nostalgic memories in Tifa: hiking across these same fields under the constant gaze of the relentless sun, with Cloud, Barret, and Aeris close by and Nanaki scouting a few yards ahead. She remembered it vividly, walking all day from what was then only the quiet town of Kalm, resting at one of the many lonely chocobo ranches that dotted the plains, and passing through the dark, silent Mithril Mines to reach the Fortress of the Condor by sunset. She could almost see Cloud walking beside her, his eyes locked on the distant mountains, putting his arm around her shoulder to reassure her…
Tifa shook her head suddenly, and the image faded. Cid stood several feet ahead, gazing out at the distance they had yet to cover, his maimed right hand blocking the glare of the afternoon sun. Turning, she saw Reeve hurrying to catch up, his face red with effort. After leaving Neo-Midgar in the morning, they had set out at a brisk pace through the rocky hills with no bad weather to slow them down, and reached the grasslands early in the afternoon. Now, the sun had passed its peak, and they had made considerable progress across the plains, stopping only a few times to rest for several minutes and let Reeve catch his breath.
Cid scowled as he turned his gaze back towards Tifa and Reeve and lit a cigarette.
"Damn! There's still plenty of fucking ground we gotta cover to reach the mines by nightfall," he said, clenching his spear tightly. "C'mon, John," he added in a somewhat calmer voice, looking down at the Shinra executive, who had collapsed on the ground from fatigue. "There's lots of work we still gotta do today." Tifa's legs seemed about to collapse, but she did not protest, and Reeve pushed himself off the ground without a comment.
They walked onwards silently, and Tifa thought about the changes that had come over Cid in the past few hours. He seemed to have picked up habits he had on their original journey, habits she had noticed were gone when she met him again at the reunion. He was spitting and swearing just as much as when Tifa had first met him; his habits seemed to have resurfaced subconsciously because Shera was no longer there to moderate them. Cid was silent on the matter of her death, and though Tifa could understand why, she was surprised he had told nothing to the police officers who had questioned him about her death. It was clear that Cid had seen the assassin, and even fought with him, but he refused to give the police a description of the man. It was as if he did not want anybody to prevent him from personally getting revenge. Tifa realized that Cid was walking beside her, periodically glancing back at Reeve, who was still lagging several yards behind.
"I'm worried about Reeve," he said in response to her inquisitive glance. "I don't think he'll be able to make it if it gets dangerous. We've been out here for only six hours and he's already completely exhausted. We could be out here for more than a week if we don't find any leads soon. And I don't like where this whole thing is heading. Something tells me it's gonna get pretty fuckin' ugly. If he keeps this up, there's no way he's gonna be able to handle it when it gets rough."
But as Tifa thought about all that had changed over the past seven years, she realized that Reeve's chance of survival was not any lower than hers. She felt clumsy and awkward after seven years without practice, and she doubted she would be able to defend herself in a dangerous situation. She could only hope Cid could get them out of trouble alone, for she was sure her skills would fail her. But I'll try, she resolved, gritting her teeth. I won't give up, even if death is certain. I have to find Cloud before it's too late for both of us.
Looking around, Tifa saw that the ground was gradually leveling out and becoming soggier. The bountiful fields had vanished, and patches of marsh grass stuck out above the muddy ground. They had reached the swamps, the last stretch of ground separating them from the Mithril Mines. They had made it in good time, too; there were still two hours till sunset, which gave them plenty of time to cut across the marsh and enter the caves. Tifa and Cid had realized immediately that the only hope they had of finding Cloud was following his path, but they could only guess at what that could be. The food he brought suggested that he intended to take a long journey, which meant that he probably would cross the mountains. And if this was the case, he would be sure to use the Mithril Mines. They were not the shortest or the safest path through the mountains, but they had been seven years ago, and Cloud knew them better than any of the others.
For a long time they walked onwards across the marsh. Reeve seemed reluctant to go on, but Cid didn't slow down. Finally Reeve spoke up.
"I don't like this place. The ground has been moving beneath my feet ever since we got here."
Cid sighed with exasperation.
"That's what happens when you're in a fucking swamp. Get used to it." He glanced back in the direction they had come, where the grasslands were now out of sight, obscured by the dense mist that settled over the marshes, and then at the mountains again, which loomed up out of the fog in the distance. "We've only got about an hour of walking left to do anyways. Let's go."
"Wait," Reeve cried out as Cid strode off without a backwards glance. "I'm serious about this. There's something moving down there. I don't know what it is, but it isn't just–"
Reeve was thrown off his feet as the ground erupted near him, and a shower of earth sludge rained down on Cid and Tifa. Shielding herself from the falling earth, Tifa saw a massive serpent rise out of the gaping pit where Reeve had stood only seconds earlier. She could only watch in horror as the snake slowly rose higher and higher into the air, swaying menacingly and gazing intently at the terrified Reeve. The colossal snakes known as Midgar Zoloms were the main reason that the Mithril Mines were abandoned; each year more and more travelers vanished before they even reached the caves. Tifa had come across two in her lifetime, one impaled on a tree at the edge of the marsh by Sephiroth, and another which she, Cloud, and Nanaki had barely managed to evade. She was sure she could have killed one when her skills were at their peak, but now she just stood helpless, paralyzed by fright.
Only Cid reacted in time, grasping his spear tightly and gritting his teeth as the blade began to glow a brilliant emerald green. The Zolom lunged at Reeve, who gave a terrified cry and closed his eyes, just as lightning arced out from the Venus Gospel into the back of the serpent's head. The snake hissed angrily and darted at its new opponent. But Cid remained perfectly calm, jumping out of the way as the snake lunged and jabbing at it with his spear. Tifa came to her senses and concentrated on her own materia, and flames sprung up around her hands. She leapt at the Zolom without hesitation, delivering blow after blow with her blazing fists. Distracted, the Zolom turned towards Tifa, and that was all the opportunity Cid needed. The Venus Gospel struck the snake right below its jaw, and the blade punctured the weakest point in the scaly armor easily. The Zolom thrashed madly as blood gurgled from the wound in its throat, and Tifa was flung from the body, landing next to Reeve, who was watching the dying serpent in shock. Finally the writhing slowed down and ceased completely, and the body fell to the ground with a crash. Cid pulled his spear from the wound and walked over to Tifa and Reeve.
"You guys okay?" he asked. Tifa slowly pulled herself up, gazing at the pilot in surprise. Apparently, he had not lost any of his skill over the last seven years. Reeve nodded numbly, still preoccupied with the Zolom's body. "Come on, then. We're nearly there," Cid continued, and began to walk onwards.
The rest of their journey was undisturbed, and they reached the mines shortly after sunset. Cautiously, they entered the dark caverns, with Cid in the lead. Tifa summoned a small flame to light their path, but, in the flickering light, the caves only seemed even more vast and foreboding. All they could see through the gloom was the eerie greenish glow of the lichen that painted the jagged rock walls. Reeve was the most affected, jumping with fright and staring wildly into the darkness at every noise. After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped on a ledge overlooking a large cave, lit up by the glow of a fire. By the edge of the fire, a hunched-over man sat next to some worn blankets and discarded scraps of meat covered in a mass of mangy furs. Hearing them enter the cave, the man turned around quickly, revealing himself to be elderly and grey-bearded.
"Bloody 'ell," he said in surprise. "Been gettin' a lot of visitors lately. No problem though. Make yeselves at home, mates." So saying, he turned back to his meal. Upon closer inspection, Tifa stepped back, trying to keep the disgust off her face. The man was gnawing on a rat, several more of which were strewn out across the cave floor. But his personal habits did not interest Tifa. She was more intrigued by what he had just said.
"A lot of visitors?" she asked. "Could you perhaps describe one of them? Somebody who passed through here very early this morning?"
"A tall lad with ridiculous hair, carryin' a bloody 'uge sword? That who ye lookin' for?" Tifa nodded, hardly daring to breathe.
"I was out in the caves, huntin' some of these critters for me dinner," he continued, gesturing towards the pile of dead rats. "Then that fellow wandered in, mumblin' to 'imself. Poor bloke must 'ave been mad. Seemed to know where 'e was goin' though. I was curious, so I followed 'im. After a few minutes 'e lay down on the floor and fell asleep. I went back to get meself more food, and when I returned 'e was gone. Must 'ave been real eager to get somewhere." Tifa's heart raced anxiously.
"Do you have any idea where he was going?" she asked hopefully.
"Actually, I do. Before I left, I 'eard 'im mutterin' something. I didn't quite catch what 'e said, but I did 'ear something about Nibel'eim."
Thanking the hermit generously, Tifa followed Cid and Reeve back through the caves, immersed in her thoughts. So Nibelheim's where we're headed, she thought, frowning slightly. Tifa's hometown was one place to which she did not want to return. It reminded her too much of what she had lost twelve years ago, making her realize just how much she needed Cloud to hold the pieces of her shattered world together, to maintain the illusion when she could not confront reality. Cloud was the only remaining link to the world she grew up in, the world that had suddenly vanished. After the destruction of Nibelheim, the desire to prevent others from facing the devastation she had was all that had fueled Tifa's desire to live. After Sephiroth's demise and Shinra's reformation, she had lost even that. She had tried to live an ordinary life, using Cloud to convince herself that somehow, nothing had changed. She had to find him soon, or face the reality that she had avoided for years. Tifa made herself stop thinking about it, and noticed that Cid had stopped.
"We'll rest here for the night, and follow Cloud in the morning," Cid said, and began to unroll the sleeping bags they had packed. Reeve remained standing, motionless.
"You mean here? On the floor?" he asked incredulously. Cid looked up, exasperated.
"Yes, on the floor. Get used to it; we're might be doing this pretty often in the days to come." Reeve still seemed unconvinced.
"But what about protection?" he asked. "Anything could be lurking around here."
"Just go to sleep. We'll take turns staying awake to watch the camp."
"I'll take first watch," Tifa volunteered. She doubted she would be able to get to sleep soon anyways, with so many thoughts crowding her mind. As the two men prepared themselves for sleep, Tifa stared into the darkness all around her, the darkness separating her from Cloud. And then what? she wondered. Will everything just go back to what it was like before, the happily married normal life that I always hoped for? Could I even bear to live that way, after everything that has happened? Tifa tried to ignore the questions, but she had a horrible feeling that it didn't matter. Somehow, she knew that a normal life was not coming, and that her future would be anything but certain. Getting to Nibelheim and finding Cloud would only be the beginning.
Night turned to day, and sunlight bathed the rock wall in front of Cid. He stood up to wake the others, gripping his spear resolutely. It was past time to be gone.
"Here's the plan," he said when everybody was awake and ready. "We're gonna head to Junon, where we'll explain what's up and get a plane to take us to Nibelheim. Depending on how Cloud went, we might even get there before him. We gotta go soon, to get there as quick as possible."
"For once I'm eager to get going," Reeve said, looking considerably more cheerful than he had the previous day. "I just hope we get to Junon before I die of exhaustion." Tifa simply nodded in acknowledgement and they headed off.
It was a long and uneventful five hours before Junon came into sight in the distance. Like Neo-Midgar, it had grown in the past seven years, and now covered more than twice the area it had before. The city had expanded beyond the armored fortress walls that once contained it; now that it was at peace with its neighbors the city's importance as a military stronghold had declined. Junon had originally been built as a two-tiered city, clinging to the face of a massive cliff, but now it had overflowed its former limitations onto both the plains above and the shores below. Huge power plants, built to compensate for the energy that was lost when mako power was banned, stood out sharply against the pale sky.
"Civilization at last," Reeve said, his face lighting up, as they entered the city. "We'll finally have a chance to rest."
Neither Cid nor Tifa replied; they were gazing at the city in surprise. Junon was not at all like Cid had remembered it, when he had last been there four years ago. But there was no time to wait around and explore. They had to press on to the Shinra sector and get a plane. All of Junon had been controlled by Shinra seven years ago, but the city had gained independence after the company's reformation. Shinra Soldiers no longer patrolled the streets, and none of the past three mayors were Shinra employees.
As they walked down broad avenues towards the company headquarters, Cid glanced into a shop window, and saw three red-clad Junon policemen following them. It's probably nothing, he thought. They just happen to be walking in the same direction as us. But as they walked onwards, and the policemen did not turn away, he began to doubt it. He began walking faster, and Tifa and Reeve hurried after him, but when he caught sight of the policemen again, in the side-mirror of a parked car, they were even closer than before.
"We're being followed," he whispered to Tifa, who looked at him in surprise but said nothing. "Stay close to me."
The police had been slowly increasing their pace, and Cid knew he did not have much time. Nodding to Tifa, he turned at the next intersection, breaking into a run as soon as he was out of sight. There was very little time before the policemen would turn the corner and see them. He darted blindly into an alley, and Tifa and Reeve entered seconds later. They crouched in the shadows as footsteps sounded in the otherwise abandoned street. Then Reeve, regaining his breath, said aloud,
"What's going on? Why are we– " Tifa clamped a hand over his mouth desperately, but it was too late. They had been heard. The footsteps quickened, and the police entered the alley.
"Excuse me. We're from the Junon city police department, and we'd like to ask you several questions," their leader said, and then continued without waiting for a response. "We're on the lookout for a group of criminals wanted in Neo-Midgar, and–"
"This is ridiculous," Reeve cut him off angrily. "You've clearly got the wrong people. Are you blind? I am John Reeve, the President of Shinra, and I demand an explanation for this behavior."
"We just received word from Neo-Midgar. John Reeve was shot at the ceremony yesterday and died from his wounds later in the evening." The police sergeant smiled triumphantly. "The criminals we are hunting are an impostor and his accomplices, whom James Warrington believes to be in league with the assassins." Reeve was speechless, and the sergeant signaled for his men to come forward. "I don't think anything else has to be said. Get them."
The two policemen moved quickly, but Tifa was faster. Her first punch caught one of them directly in the face, and she followed it with several others, knocking him off his feet. The second man grabbed for his gun, but Tifa's precisely aimed kick struck his wrist, sending the pistol flying from his grasp. Defenseless, the man fell as Tifa brought the kick down into his stomach. The leader tried to escape, but Cid swept his legs out from under him with the shaft of his spear, then hit him again in the stomach with its butt. Checking that the police were unconscious, Cid sighed.
"This is gonna be more complicated than I thought. We gotta steal a plane."
"Are you mad?" Reeve asked incredulously. "There must be some easier way to deal with this. We'll talk to somebody in the company headquarters. Warrington's the one who's responsible for this; he must have faked the news from Neo-Midgar. I'm going to bring that bastard to justice, whatever it takes. We have to go to the headquarters and contact Neo-Midgar. They'll straighten out this whole mess."
"It's not gonna work, John," Cid replied. "Whether Warrington or somebody in Neo-Midgar is behind this, they think we're criminals and we can't change that right now. The most we can do is try to stay focused on our original goal. Something tells me isn't a simple misunderstanding. We can sort it all out once Cloud's back with us."
Reeve finally nodded, and Cid looked over at Tifa. She had not said a word in the argument, and appeared lost in her thoughts. From her expression, Cid could see that she wasn't surprised by this turn of events.
"We better go, then," Cid continued. "It won't be long before somebody finds these bodies." But here Cid stopped to take the a pistol from the body of one of the policemen. Checking its ammunition, he tossed it at Reeve, who caught it with surprise. "Keep that on you," Cid instructed. "You might be needin' it soon."
"Wh…What do I do with this?"
"Just pull the trigger and hope you kill something. Let's go."
After over an hour of darting down side streets they gazed out onto the Shinra airport from the end of a trash-ridden alley. A high fence separated them from the huge cement lot that held all of Junon's aircraft. Cid smiled to himself as he saw the label warning passerby that the fence was electric. He pointed the Venus Gospel at it, and, as one of his materia began to glow, the electrical current flowed from the fence into the spear, traveling up the blade and into the glowing orb. After a short time, the glow in the orb faded, and Cid turned to the others.
"It's harmless now," he said with a short laugh. "Who woulda thought getting into a highly guarded airport would be the easiest part?" So saying, he grabbed a hold of the fence, and quickly clambered over it. As soon as they were all over, he looked around with a smile. "I got a plan."
Several minutes later, a mechanic's truck pulled up in front of a small military transport plane. Nobody noticed as a scruffily dressed man climbed out, unlocked the door, and ushered two others inside. As Tifa closed the door behind them, Cid glanced around the cockpit.
"It doesn't look too hard. I'll get the hang of it."
"You're telling me you don't know how to fly this thing?" Reeve asked, looking more than a little worried.
"Don't worry, John. I'll figure it out." Cid felt the same tension he knew the others were feeling as the plane began to slowly move. This was it; the final barrier they had to overcome before they were clear of Junon. After what seemed like an eternity, the plane began to accelerate, and finally soared out into the open air. Cid let out a sigh of relief. But it wasn't over yet.
Glancing in the carefully positioned mirror on the inside of the windshield, Cid saw four Shinra helicopters gaining on the heavier transport ship rapidly. They had only just left the ground, but at the rate they were moving, they would overtake him soon.
"Shit!" he swore, glancing frantically ahead for any means of escape. "Get ready, guys!" he shouted over the roar of the engine. "We got company!" Tifa and Reeve clambered into the cockpit, and Cid pointed at the rapidly approaching helicopters, then ahead to a patch of sky that was completely covered by dense clouds. "This ship's got no weapons, so if they catch us, we're pretty much fucked. But if we can get to that cloud bank, I should be able to shake 'em. It's risky, but it's the only chance we got. Just try and hold off these fucking helicopters."
The heavy steel door in the side of the plane opened slowly as Tifa pulled down on a nearby switch. With Reeve right behind her, she cautiously approached the opening, careful not to step too far and be whisked away by the violent winds whipping up around the plane. She saw the first of the helicopters steadily gaining on them with a group of Soldiers crouched inside, ready to attack as soon as they came in range. Flames sprung up around Tifa's open hand, and for a moment she hesitated. It had been long, too long, since she had last fought to take human life. She had sworn to leave that life behind. But they were Soldiers, trained to kill without mercy. It was either them or the Soldiers, and she would not let her friends die.
Without further hesitation, she flung the fireball in an arc, watching as it streaked through the air and collided with the strongest source of heat nearby: the helicopter's engine. The helicopter exploded in a cloud of flame, and scraps of debris were all that she could see through the smoke. Tifa looked on without blinking, surprised at how calm she had remained. Even after seven years I didn't flinch. Could I ever live a normal life now that I'm so used to death? Tifa suppressed the thoughts. There were still three helicopters getting closer by the second.
"Good job, Tifa!" Cid shouted from the cockpit. "Just give me a few more minutes and we'll be clear."
She saw the helicopters again as the smoke cleared and immediately realized the gravity of the situation. One of them would be in firing range in seconds, while the other two were advancing at a greater distance, attempting to cut the plane off. Hastily, Tifa summoned another fireball, but cried out as a bullet skimmed her shoulder, and she stumbled backwards. The fireball flew from her hand, spinning out of control, and struck the helicopter's thick windshield. From a secure position behind the plane's side wall, she peered out and saw that the windshield had splintered. But the pilot did not seem deterred, and the helicopter was still closing in rapidly. Tifa tried to summon another fireball, but found herself unable to do so. Looking down at her materia orbs, she saw a faint grey barrier surrounding them. A materia lock, or silencer, was one of the basic techniques taught to higher ranking Soldiers. Without her materia, Tifa was useless against the enemy helicopter, and it would be less than a minute before the Soldiers boarded the ship and killed them.
"Reeve!" she said, remembering the gun Cid had given him. "You have to help me. My materia have been locked down." Turning, she saw that he already clenched the gun tightly, so tightly that his knuckles were white. His eyes were locked intently on the helicopter, and his brows were set in determination, but he had not moved. Tifa saw that his arms were shaking. "Please, Reeve," she whispered helplessly. Slowly, with a confused mixture of terror and determination, Reeve raised the pistol till it was level with the helicopter. But still he didn't fire. Behind her, Tifa heard bullets embedding themselves in the steel of the ship wall, and knew that they would soon penetrate the plane's armor.
"Fuck! What taking so long?" Cid demanded angrily. "I need less than a minute to get us to safety; just keep them from blowing us out of the sky!" Clenching his jaw and steadying his arm, Reeve moved into the doorway. And then he fired. Tifa followed Reeve's horrified gaze to the helicopter pilot, to the surprise on his face as the bullet hit him in the forehead. He slumped over slowly, falling forward as the helicopter spun out of control and plummeted towards the earth. Reeve was now staring at the Soldiers, abandoning their guns, those who had not been flung from the helicopter struggling with their parachutes. And then the world went white. Cold mist billowed in through the door, and from the cockpit, Cid let out a whoop of laughter.
"We fucking made it! We got nothing to worry about now; there's no way the other helicopters can track us in here. Hey, somebody close that door. It's fucking freezing in here." Reeve did not move, so Tifa flipped the switch up again, and the door slid shut. "It'll be a while still before we get to Nibelheim," Cid continued. "Probably four or five hours. Try to get some rest or something. Nibelheim's not such a big place; finding Cloud shouldn't be too hard. With any luck we'll be out of there by tomorrow morning, and we can head back to Neo-Midgar. What do you say to that, John?"
Reeve did not reply. He was staring wide-eyed at his empty, shaking hands.
"Wake up, Reno."
Reno felt a sharp kick in his side. Moaning, he rolled over and covered his face.
"Lemme sleep. It's Sunday. I'm allowed…to sleep late…on Sunday."
"It seems he doesn't want to get up. Let's go, Rude," Vincent said. Instantly, Reno sat bolt upright.
"Vincent? What the hell? Did I just imagine–" Memories of the previous day suddenly came back to Reno, and he stopped abruptly. "Shit," he muttered, shaking his head as he slowly pushed himself up off the floor. "I can't believe that you're actually alive. You gotta tell us how that happened." Vincent regarded both Turks with a blank expression.
"It's a long story," he said finally.
"We got time," Reno replied.
"You first, then." Reno sighed. He knew from experience that arguing with Vincent was an exercise in futility. He cleared his throat.
"I guess it started after we stopped receiving updates from the research group in Nibelheim," he began. "After about a week, the President sent us to investigate. We found your body on a table in the basement. We thought you were dead. Next thing I knew Hojo was behind us with a gun to my head. He forced us into a pair of cylinders filled with some kinda green shit. That's all I remember before they woke us up thirty years later.
"Meanwhile, the Turks were getting fucked over by Shinra. During the war with Wutai, Shinra began to cut back on the Turks' budget so they could put more money into their Soldier Program. Without decent equipment, dozens of squads were lost, and others were disbanded to reduce Shinra's debts. By the end of the war there were only four left. One of them was ambushed by some rebel tribes in the Gongaga jungle. Only a Wutaian named Tseng survived, and he was badly wounded. For defeating the rebels, Tseng was given his own squad as soon as he recovered. That's when some people finally got their asses down to the basement and revived us, and Elena was recruited to be the fourth squad member.
"We were assigned to follow your fucking terrorist pals around the world on some kinda ridiculous goose chase. Shinra was going from bad to worse. After Rufus took power, we worked our asses off all day and got no breaks. Tseng went off early one morning to reach the Temple of the Ancients before Sephiroth or Avalanche." Reno paused for a second. "He was gonna take us with him, but gave us a day off 'cause we were tired. I can't stop wondering what woulda happened if we went. Tseng never came back. We found his body in the evening, leaning against a pillar. I never got the chance to repay that fucker Cloud, but when I see him–"
"Sephiroth," Vincent interrupted. "There were several things I disliked about Cloud but he was not the one who killed your leader."
"Shit!" Reno said in surprise. "All this time I thought it was him. Y'know, I don't really have a reason to hate Cloud so much anymore. I gotta change that."
"He cares to much about his hair," Rude suggested.
"Yeah, that works," Reno replied after a moment of consideration. "Anyways, after Tseng's death, everything fell apart. Ray's squad was sent to guard a Gelnika full of freakish experiments that was supposed to attack the crater, but it was shot down by one of the Weapons. We searched the wreck later but didn't even find their bodies. When Diamond Weapon advanced on Midgar, Rufus sent Gunter and his squad out to delay it. It was suicide, but Gunter was loyal to Shinra. Adan, Gareth, Cole, and Spark tried to kill Rufus before things got any worse. All of them were killed by the ruthless Soldiers still loyal to the company. And then it was just me, Rude, and Elena. The Weapon's lasers blew the top of the Shinra building to pieces, killing Rufus. As Hojo, Scarlet, and Heidegger struggled madly for power, we decided it was past time to be gone.
"Since then, we been all over the fucking place. We were in Midgar for a while, but it's just a pile of shit now. We're only up here, freezing our asses off in these god-fucking-forsaken mountains because some guy offered us the first job we've had in years. Motherfucker could have been a bit more specific, though." Reno let out a short, bitter laugh, then turned to Vincent. "Your turn." Vincent nodded.
"Fair enough. As you know, I left you two with orders to guard a group of scientists working in the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. Hojo was there, as well as Professor Gast and an aspiring young biologist named Lucrecia Silver. Everything was fine while Gast was there, but soon he was recalled to Midgar. Hojo took over and things began to get worse. I didn't know exactly what happened down there, but I knew enough to realize that it had to be stopped. Lucrecia reassured me. She told me she was confident in Hojo's judgment and was sure the experiments were not dangerous. I shouldn't have listened to her. Hojo must have drugged her or something." Vincent's hands shook with rage. "She didn't know what she was doing. The next time I saw her, she was pregnant. The child was Sephiroth."
"Jesus Christ," Reno whispered. "So that was how it all started."
"Hojo was insane," Vincent continued. "He wanted to make some kind of superhuman by injecting Lucrecia with cells from Jenova, an alien creature that came to this planet thousands of years ago. He thought Jenova was an ancient, that her cells would make people stronger and smarter. He didn't think about the consequences, about the anguish it caused Lucrecia. I couldn't sleep. I heard her screams of pain every night as she struggled against the monster inside her. I couldn't look her in the face, knowing that I had failed to stop him. I went down to Hojo, and the sight of the bastard, calm and collected as if nothing had happened, infuriated me even more. I shot him, and time seemed to slow down. Something stopped the bullet, some invisible barrier, and I realized there was nothing I could do against him. I tried to run, but a wave of force knocked me back into the wall. Hojo leaned over and grabbed the gun from my limp fingers. The last thing I remembered was the gunshot, and then everything went black.
"I was awakened thirty years later, by members of Avalanche who had deciphered Hojo's notes and unlocked the cold basement room where my body lay. They told me they were following Sephiroth and enemies of Shinra, so I joined them in the hope that I would be able to take revenge on Hojo. To make a long story short, we infiltrated Midgar and killed him at last. I followed the team into the crater, where we fought and killed Sephiroth too. I guess I just… left after that. Somehow, it seemed too easy, like it wasn't really over. Something was calling to me, something that needed finishing. I've wandered the world since then, searching for it, whatever it is." Before Reno could speak, Vincent continued.
"I have to warn you, though, I…am not who I used to be. Hojo injected Jenova cells into me as well, using my body as a subject for his sick experiments. I no longer feel the effects of age, but not without a price. Changes come over me now. Sometimes I can control them, but when I don't, I become a monster, and lose control over my own body. It would be best for you to leave me as quickly as possible, for your own safety."
"What, right after we got here?" Reno laughed incredulously. "Fuck no, man. We're staying. Nothing you can do about it." The silence that followed was too silent. Something was wrong. "Where's Elena?"
"She was right here behind…" Rude trailed off. "Shit."
"Why does it matter?" Vincent asked. "If the woman wants to wander, let her wander."
"Not Elena," Reno replied. "If we're not there, she always manages to get herself into the stupidest fucking situations. Spread out and search the reactor." When all three of them returned empty-handed after twenty minutes, Reno began to worry. Then she went outside. How stupid can she be? This could take forever.
But it was not long after they stepped outside that Rude called out to them, pointing downwards at a trail of fresh footprints in the snowy sludge. The footprints disappeared as the ground grew rocky, but it was already clear where Elena had gone. A large cave mouth marked the mountainside, and from what little Reno could see of its interior, the rock was unnaturally smooth. Vincent approached the cave.
"It's a recent development. Very recent. Some kind of excavation." Reno laughed.
"Whaddaya know? Once we find Elena, we just follow this tunnel and find our employer too."
"If," Rude corrected him. "If we find Elena." He was right. The depths of the cave looked dark and foreboding. Anything could be down there. Reno shuddered.
"Anybody got a light?" Vincent waved his hand, and a ghostly flame appeared in midair. Reno glanced around him, thinking back fondly to the old days, when nobody had ever complained like Elena. "Just like the old days, huh?" Nobody replied. Vincent walked off into the tunnel.
Oh right, Reno realized. In the old days, I was the only one who ever fucking said anything. I guess you can never win. Sighing, he followed Rude into the darkness.