Start Date: June 4, 2022
Windwillow
Final Fantasy VII
I have no good way to segue into this. Cloud dressed up like a woman to infiltrate the mansion of the notorious pervert Don Corneo, in hopes of discovering why Tifa came there dressed to kill. As it turns out, the Don has info on a potential threat to AVALANCHE. The only way in is to become three potential brides, get picked, and squeeze everything they can from the lech to find out what the danger is.
Two beautiful ladies and a disguised Cloud will be the three options for the night. They've smuggled in their clothes and Cloud's Buster Sword, all three have a one hundred percent guarantee of entering the bedroom, and...
I can't think of a decent way to say this. The mission is to infiltrate, bust some heads, and force the information out of Don Corneo whatever it takes. Hopefully, forcefully.
Chapter Seven: From the Sewer to the Graveyard
Scene One
Among the crime lords of Wall Market, Don Corneo was perhaps the most deplorable, as well as the most influential. His criminal acts included racketeering, shake-downs, and running the Honeybee Inn's questionable business practices. If he wanted it, he got it; that created an attitude of invincibility that pervaded his entire mindset.
His office consisted of a large desk decked out in gold, with gold and silver ornaments and gaudy furniture. Various portraits of himself, as well as explicit photos of his favorite "brides," lined the walls. He wasn't afraid of being outright disgusting in his office, his mansion, and certainly not his bedroom.
The party now stood before the Don, a corpulent pig in a red suit and decorated with garish jewelry. To his side were his loyal lieutenants Kotch and Scotch, who helped run his criminal organization and were given the "rejected" bridal candidates to do with as they wished.
Cloud stood in the middle, with Tifa to his left and Aerith to his right. All three looked stunning, well-dressed and well-groomed, ideal for the perverted lech to choose from. And choose he would, as per the plan. Get inside, squeeze him for info, and hopefully leave him in a crumpled heap of torn-open flesh.
The Don slowly strode from behind his desk, his expensive shoes clacking against the hardwood floor. Just as disgusting as expected, he began by "inspecting" Aerith.
"Mmm..." Corneo hummed. "Love the hair, nice and long. Easy to hold onto. I like that, always helpful in bed." Aerith restrained a wretch at that. "Fine body, gorgeous face... Hm. Has potential." He now turned to Cloud.
"Love the tiara, nice and meaty... Very muscular? Meh. Might be nice for a change. Chest is acceptable, face is a bit... manly... but otherwise a good choice. I'll come back to you, sweetie." Cloud restrained himself from snarling, and he move on to Tifa.
"Red is my favorite color, same as blood... Sweet face, toned body... Mm. Breasts are nice. Don't mind if I do..." As his hand reached out to grope Tifa's chest, Cloud's fingers grappled and tightened, crunching his wrist painfully.
I don't care if this is an infiltration mission or not. Touch her and I'll kill you.
Wrenching his sore hand from Cloud's grip, Corneo massaged the bruised wrist. "Ooh, feisty. Haven't had one like that in a while... Nah. Too manly. I'll go with the one in red." He shifted towards Tifa and tilted his head with a lecherous glare. "My room. Now."
If I have to go in alone I'll kill you.
"Sir, if I may..." Tifa said softly, thinking quickly. "I have a much more... intimate outfit in my luggage." Corneo tilted his head, intrigued. "My finest lingerie isn't appropriate to wear in public, and I'd need to go change. I can't walk around with my groin showing..." Cloud grit his teeth.
Did you really have to go the extra mile, Tifa...?
After thinking for a moment, Corneo nodded. "Take her to the fun room, but don't touch her. Do whatever you want with the other two." He swirled about, idly scratching himself. "Better break out the good stuff here, nice and shiny. This will be oh-so-fun... mmm-huh-huh..."
"Thank you, sir!" Scotch saluted, gesturing to the party. "Bring them to the fun room, let the bride change, and we can have ourselves a good time. I like the meaty one..."
Kotch nodded. "The brunette'll be fun to break in." Aerith's fist clenched, nearly hard enough to draw blood.
Let's see who breaks in who!
Scene Two
What they called the "fun room" consisted of two huge beds, and cabinets decked out with all manner of inappropriate... equipment. I'm not even going to go there. As the three entered they found it full of almost twenty of Corneo's grunts, all armed with daggers and collapsible batons.
Cloud's eyes immediately fell on the large "luggage" containing the Buster Sword, leaning against the far wall. Scotch roughly shoved him into the room, taking his arm and tossing him onto the bed. Aerith was similarly led to the other bed, and thrown down on her back.
Kotch cracked his knuckles, gesturing to the other thugs. "I get the brunette first, but leave the one in red alone. She's gonna change into some nasty stuff and head for the boss."
"I want the muscular one," Scotch growled. "After I'm done, go ahead and go whenever you want, but I go first."
As he brandished his knife, Scotch moved towards Cloud and leapt on top of the bed. He scooted forward, crawling like a wild animal towards its prey. By the time he reached for his fly, Cloud had had enough.
I can't take any more of this garbage...!
With a mighty kick he slammed his foot into Scotch's crotch, compressing its contents and shattering any manliness scum like him could claim.
"What the f-" Before the thug could react Cloud seized his head in both hands and slammed it into his forehead, leaving a massive crack in his skull. Taking his left palm and pressing into the bed, he did a whirling kick that vaulted him onto the ground next to the bed.
"Kill the wh-" Before Kotch could finish Aerith's hand slipped behind her and grabbed her staff. She opened it straight in his face, smashing it open and busting his teeth, before crawling up and hopping from the bed. Now fully armed, Aerith wasted no time in striking another goon in the gut.
The two goons next to Tifa never saw it coming. It being two hard backhands that hurled the toothless punks to the floor, as she quickly crouched to the floor and performed a roundhouse kick that took another one out.
As they all snapped their knives open the thugs charged. Cloud darted forward and elbowed two more out of the way, reaching his luggage and tearing it open to reveal the Buster Sword. Two slices slaughtered another six, a follow-up cutting open the next four and exposing their innards.
Twirling her staff in a wide arc, Aerith slung it into two remaining thugs, while two brutal gut punches dispatched the final two of the perverted punks. The goons all fell defeated (some toothless and others gutted) and dropped to the floor in a pool of blood. Cloud drove the Buster Sword into the ground for it to rest.
Aerith swiftly hurried to the luggage and withdrew her normal clothes, and Tifa followed with hers. Cloud respectfully turned his back and finished redressing, digging his sword out from the ground and reattaching it to his back. He adjusted his gauntlet, the materia shimmering as they clicked into place.
After snapping her gloves tight, Tifa slipped her materia bracelet on. She angrily readjusted one of the gloves, looking down at the two she'd struck first. While she wanted to keep going, there was no time.
As she finished changing Aerith reached into her luggage and withdrew two items: her ribbon, and a gleaming blue and white materia shimmering with green. She retied the ribbon and slipped the materia back behind her ear, tightening her ribbon and securing the materia.
"We have a date to keep," Cloud snarled as he stepped over the broken thugs. "And I hope this is going to be as fun as I'm expecting..."
Scene Three
Unknowing of his impending fate, Don Corneo retreated to his bedroom with fiendish glee. Adjusting the statues of himself (which were idealized to say the least) and flicking on the gaudy lights above his bed he anticipated his fun.
Instead, he was greeted by three angry AVALANCHE members, armed and mad as hell. With a shriek he skittered back in bed like a drunken spider, frantically feeling around for any kind of weapon (there wasn't one; the things he kept in the room weren't sharp).
"Wh-wh-wh-what the f-" Before he could finish Tifa jumped onto the bed with one knee, forcefully closing his mouth with both hands. As she pulled away he angrily and indignantly pounded his fists on the bed like a petulant child. "Why are you punks here? Where's my sweetheart?! " He was stopped as Tifa slapped him, hard, bringing him back to (what he called at least) reality.
"We know you have intel on AVALANCHE..." Cloud growled. "And if you don't tell us everything..." Here he paused, menacingly kneeling onto the bed. "... I'll cut 'em off."
The Don jumped, stunned. "F-fine, fine! I was told to find some punk with a machine gun on his arm! Happy now?"
"TALK," snarled Tifa. "Who ordered you?"
"I squeal, I die!" Corneo squeaked. "And I don't wanna die!"
"If you don't..." Tifa cracked her knuckles. "... I'll RIP 'em off." Swallowing hard, Corneo assessed his options. Being killed by Shinra would probably be less painful than Tifa castrating him. At least they would be quick about it.
"H-Heidegger, the Head of Public Safety Maintenance! He told me to!" Now sweating profusely, he waved his hands in surrender. "Good enough?" Aerith got right up in his face, and gave him a menacing smile.
"Tell us EVERYTHING, or..." She snapped open her staff and aimed it at the Don's groin. "... I'll smash 'em." By now Corneo was about to have a coronary. Any resolve to hold back and avoid Shinra's wrath had long ago been shattered by a desire to remain male.
"G-God almighty you're serious... F-fine! I'm serious too, guys! Shinra wants to snuff out some punk terrorists calling themselves AVALANCHE. I told 'em where their hideout was..." A vicious shimmer in Cloud's eye reverberated across his fat face. "They're gonna crush 'em! And I mean LITERALLY..."
Narrowing his eyes, Cloud's hand began to grip his sword. "What do you mean, LITERALLY? They gonna drop your fat ass on top of 'em?" Swallowing his fear, the Don forced a smile across his sweat-soaked face.
"The plate," he snickered. "They're gonna cut it off - uh, no pun intended - and drop it on Sector Seven, where the punks are hiding. It goes, the sector and AVALANCHE goes with it. Snap... click..." The smile turned into a sneer. "... BAM."
Tifa's face contorted, first in shock but quickly shifting to rage. "They're going to kill all of Sector Seven to get to us?! For SIX people?! That's inhuman!"
Cloud's face folded into a scowl. "You just answered your own question. They ARE inhuman!" In a fury Tifa slapped the Don again and threw him back into his dresser.
"We have to hurry!" Tifa yelled. "Cloud! Are you-" In response Cloud detached the Buster Sword and swung it, ending just at Corneo's crotch. Tifa broke into a nervous smile, and nodded. "Aerith?" The flower girl simply smiled, and the three leapt from the bed and hurried towards the door. They were stopped by Corneo's defiant stare. In confusion, they turned to face him with fury in their eyes.
"Lemme ask you a question..." he growled. "What do you think pond scum like me would be smiling about right now?" His hand felt for a hidden switch by the bedside. "You have any idea, kiddies?"
Tifa's face dropped. "You wouldn't! You-" Corneo flicked open a switch, opening a lever that extended right in front of him.
"That's cause of one simple thing..." A vicious sneer twisted his face. "'Cause I win anyway, losers!" Pulling the lever, the ground around his bed collapsed, sending the party down a huge gap in the floor. Triumphant, he pumped his fist. Then he felt a tweak, and clutched his stomach before throwing up.
Scene Four
Midgar had been constructed not that long ago, built as the symbol of Shinra's dominance over the Planet and every living thing on it. The President's private office, a large open area with a magnificent desk (more of a throne) crowning its center, now enters the scene. Taking a deep puff, the President spewed vile cigar smoke from his face.
"How are the preparations?" he asked, drawing in another deep breath. As he exhaled he turned his eye towards his associate. "Well, Heidegger?"
The man he was referring to was Heidegger, Head of Public Safety. That was a polite way of saying he was in charge of the Shinra armed forces, more a warlord than an executive. He had a heavy build and a large black beard, decked out in a green suit filled with medals he probably didn't deserve.
"Gya-ha-ha-ha!" His laugh, sounding like an asthmatic horse, echoed like a trumpet. "Very well, indeed! I've assigned the Turks to take 'em out! Reno's on his way now."
"I'm against this, sir!"
Turning, the two faced a handsome, bearded man in a dark blue suit. Reeve Tuesti, Head of Urban Planning and one of the people responsible for building Midgar in the first place. He was, perhaps, the only Shinra executive with a soul.
"Are we really going to do this...?" Reeve stepped forward, his fist clenching. "We're going to kill thousands of people to squash an organization with a handful of members? This makes no sense, sir!"
The President inhaled again, expelling the smoke in Reeve's direction. "You want out? Is that an official resignation?"
"N-no..." Reeve stammered. "But I've been intimately involved with the construction of this city. The idea of destroying all that work... sir..."
Heidegger gave a throaty laugh. "Flush your problems down the toilet with the rest of your waste in the morning, Reeve! Both of 'em are worth the same thing! Gya-ha-ha!"
"But, sir..." Swallowing hard, Reeve turned his glare at Heidegger into a pleading face to the President. "Even the Mayor is against this!"
"MAYOR?!" Heidegger scoffed, breaking into another wheezing laugh. "The man's a joke of a figurehead who spends his whole day scarfing down pizza! You call THAT a mayor? We put the idiot on the payroll so it looked like we're a democracy." He turned to the President and bowed. "I must now finish the preparations. Excuse me..."
Reeve swiveled around to stop Heidegger, only to be shrugged off. The President stepped next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Placating the fool would at least make things easier.
"You're overworked..." muttered the President. "Take a few days off, play with your dolls, do whatever. Full paid leave. Now... Leave me, Reeve." Though he swallowed hard, Reeve nodded and left the room. The President returned to his desk, plopping down onto his seat.
A sinister smile formed on his face. "Destroy Sector Seven, blame AVALANCHE, then send in PR to clean up the mess. By the time we're done, they'll be THANKING us. Heh. Damned, miserable idiots..."
Scene Five
The passage from Corneo's bedroom, occupied by filth, appropriately led to a dank sewer in the depths of the sector. Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith landed hard into the muck, but quickly gathered themselves and assessed the situation.
"I can't believe they're gonna drop the Plate to take us out!" Cloud snarled, slamming his fists together. "They're even more screwed up than I thought they were! Those bastards..."
Sweeping back her hair, Tifa cracked her knuckles and angrily adjusted her gloves. "It's only a problem if we let them get away with it. How easy could it be to destroy one of Midgar's sector plates?!"
"Yeah..." muttered Cloud, reattaching the Buster Sword to his back. "But it can't get any worse than this, right?" Quietly snapping open her staff, Aerith turned towards a darkened opening, which began to rumble. At her action Cloud quickly drew his weapon again and Tifa assumed a fighting stance.
"Actually..." Aerith groaned, stretching her leg. "I think it just got worse..."
The source of the rumbling was revealed as a huge gate snapped open, allowing a foul monster to come into view. It was a revolting, hulking blue beast, shackled to the wall of the sewer by both hands. Its snakelike tongue slurped in hunger, as it slowly began to shatter its shackles.
When Corneo tired of his toys, or wanted to punish disobedient underlings, he would drop them down here to meet his "pet," the giant creature he called Aps. The monster gave an ungodly roar, steadily stretching its chains taut.
Aps lifted its mighty arm and swung it, the force dislodging it from its bonds and sending a massive amount of rubble towards the party. Cloud immediately gave two quick sidesteps, leaping into the air and cleaving through it all with a series of swift slices, cutting the rubble into ribbons.
The beast's muscles tightened and its arm rocketed into Cloud's body, sending him crashing into the wall with enough force to shatter it. As he fell into a crumpled heap, an enraged Tifa opened her palms and cupped them together at her side. White flames engulfed her hands as she slung them forward, a massive white wave of energy striking Aps and blowing a hole through its outstretched arm.
As it reeled from the attack Aerith began to twirl her staff in a wide circle. A soft blue light coated the weapon, steadily releasing into a whirling circle of ice. She lifted her staff with both hands and slammed it into the ground, a cage of icy spears surrounding Aps and sealing it off from the party in a large circle of ice.
Cloud staggered to his feet, bracing against the shattered wall. Quickly grasping the plan he opened his palm and created a crackling orb of lightning in his left hand. The idea of caging Aps off wasn't to keep him from attacking them.
It was so they could electrocute it without any danger to themselves. With a mighty roar Cloud slung the orb through the open stalagmites, a massive wave of energy coursing through Aps' body and literally frying it from the inside out. As the corpse fell with a crashing thud, Cloud dropped to one knee as well.
"Cloud!" Both Aerith and Tifa shouted out in concern, but their friend waved them off. He took his left hand and gripped the center of his chest. The cure materia on his gauntlet emitted a bluish-green light that encompassed his body in a torrent of energy. Its magic reset his broken bones and stitched back together his muscles and tendons, leaving him on one knee; exhausted, but alive.
Triumphant, Cloud rose fully to his feet. With a wide, elegant circular motion he spun the Buster Sword in the air and reattached it with a satisfying clacking sound. He was back in fighting shape, primed, and thoroughly pissed off. Tifa's lips formed a wry smirk, as Aerith's blossomed into a full smile.
Shinra wouldn't drop that plate without a fight.
Scene Six
Don Corneo never imagined anyone would escape Aps; there were no more traps in the sewers. The party continued forward through several empty chambers into a wide new area, its walls surrounding the chamber like an arena. Its walls were covered with sewer grates and filth.
Continuing through the sewers, Tifa tossed her hair back defiantly and cracked her knuckles. "When I get my hands on that little weasel, I'm gonna make sure he pisses blood for a month." Adjusting her glove, she shifted her focus to Aerith. "Wanna help?"
Aerith stuck out her tongue and giggled. "I'm game," she chirped. "But how do we get out of here, anyway? I mean, are we stuck in Corneo's toilet for the rest of our lives or what?"
Cloud shook his head. "If we keep following the sewer, we ought to get to the end of the sector. From there we climb up, head to Sector Seven, and bust some heads. I'm sure Barret and the rest are already kicking ass."
Although the sewers were untouched by man, there were other creatures that called them home. Hearing a slither, Cloud swiftly shoved Aerith aside and detached the Buster Sword. For her part the flower girl snapped open her staff, twirling it once.
Tifa shifted her attention from end to end of the chamber, eyes darting wildly. As they narrowed a shadowy figure sprang from one of the sewer grates and lunged at her. She agilely evaded its spear and lifted one leg, slamming her heel down and crushing its head like a coconut.
As the enemy slumped, unconscious, they became aware of their situation: dozens of turtle-shelled, lance-wielding mutants swarmed from the sewer grates they called home. These Sahagin occupied Midgar's underground sewers as if it were their own kingdom, and now that their land had been trespassed upon, well...
Now arriving from every corner of the room the Sahagin swarmed the chamber, surrounding the party in all directions. Frightened, Aerith's grip trembled. But as she turned to her eye to Cloud, her resolve tightened. "We have places to go!" she screamed. "Get lost!"
The party stood back to back, encircled by the attacking Sahagin. Tifa didn't wait for them to come to her; she launched herself into the enemy mass. Stomping her foot into the sewer water, the area beneath her boot became a sheet of ice. Using it as a slide, she rode it and collided her fist with one of their faces, cracking it open like a walnut.
She wasted no time in snapping her fingers over what used to be its head, clutching it and using the Sahagin's body like a whip to clear the area. As more approached, she did a handstand on the frozen ground. With a violent spin her legs moved like a helicopter and wiped out a swath of enemies.
A Sahagin's spear flashed in front of her face, brushing her cheek. Before it could connect the spear was cut in half along with its wielder's arm, and head, by Cloud. Moving in a circular motion he swung his blade in a wide arc and cut through several at once. In a single fluid motion he flexed his fingers and loosed a volley of flame that incinerated the ones closest to him.
Aerith slammed her staff to the ground as she was surrounded. The butt of the weapon ignited into a maelstrom of fire, cooking the Sahagin around her like a fish fry. As the fire abated she lifted her staff and swung in a wide arc, taking out another three Sahagin.
Cloud's blade danced like a slicing wind, cleaving open one Sahagin after another with all the grace of a butterfly. Each cut led into its successor, a pattern met by Tifa's fists and Aerith's staff. Within the span of three minutes, they stood amongst a horde of corpses and shattered spears. Some of the stragglers thought better of it and escaped, leaving behind three humans in a pool of blood-tainted sewer water.
Scene Seven
Shortly after exterminating the Sahagin the party reached the end of the sewer. Just as Cloud suspected it connected to the outer rim of Sector Seven. After bounding from the sewers and climbing up a few connecting tunnels they emerged in a barren wasteland of broken trains.
Tifa eyed the area, examining the horizon. "We're in the Train Graveyard!" she called, pulling herself from the sewer grate. "But it's a lot further away from Sector Seven than I've ever seen it... We've got to be a long way from Seventh Heaven."
"I can see the Plate," Cloud remarked. "We'll need to go a few hundred meters to get there, but I can tell we're close." He stepped forward quickly, hopping over piles of rubble onto the tracks above. As he did he dragged Aerith up into the graveyard alongside him, all three now standing before a group of abandoned traincars.
They continued on through the rubble, going from car to car. After reaching one that was elaborately decorated, Aerith put up her hand. "I hear something..." she whispered, looking back and forth between the elegant paintings lining the walls. "Someone is here!"
Cloud's fingers brushed his sword, listening for any signal of an enemy. From the corner of his eye a shadow emerged, and he detached the Buster Sword and swung at it. The blow passed right through the ghostly apparition before them, a transparent figure cloaked in shadow. Subsequent strikes also phased through the ghost.
"There are more of them!" Aerith called, as Cloud shouldered his weapon. There were six in all, each hooded and robed in ghostly white fabric. They had no visible weapon, but a chilling cold shook the party to their bones. It was as if the chill of the underworld was approaching. "How about magic?"
Tifa shook her head. "Unless we burn 'em, I don't know what would work. And we can't do that because the whole train'll blow up along with us!" The specters slowly approached, bringing a deepening chill along with them. "I'm out of ideas, guys... If we can't cut them or burn them, what do we do?"
As the ghosts clumsliy stumbled forward, Cloud noted that the fog they were made of had a definite source. "No!" he grinned. "We CAN cut 'em!"
Aerith shivered, hands clutching her sides. "What do you mean?!" The mercenary fought through the cold and jumped forward, brandishing the Buster Sword. A series of swift slices dispersed the ghosts in a wail of misery. "What happened?!" She soon noticed that the car's portraits were cut to ribbons.
"They came from the paintings..." Cloud said as he reattached the Buster Sword. "When I saw where their bodies originated, I figured that the portraits themselves were the source of them. We can't cut ghosts, but we CAN cut the canvas they came out of."
Smiling as the warmth returned to her body, Tifa took a deep breath in, inhaling and expunging the musk of the picture frames. As the steam cleared, she turned her hand palm up. Cloud's glove met her own as they hi-fived and clasped their hands together. Aerith looked on with a sly smile.
So are they an item or not? I'd like to think I've got a shot...
Scene Eight
After passing through several abandoned traincars, the party arrived in an open platform that seemed to have once been a terminal. There were a number of trains that were on their sides, others on rails that seemed to lead nowhere. Dotted across the site were a number of barrels used by the homeless for heat, though they weren't lit.
Walking through the wasteland, Tifa paused for a moment. Aerith turned back, with confusion on her face. "What is it, Tifa? We have to hurry!"
"Sorry, sorry..." muttered Tifa. "It's just that I seem so much more rattled than you are. How the hell are you still so cheerful?"
Aerith giggled at that. "Like Cloud knows, I'm used to sticky situations." Cloud shuffled against a traincar and rested his back against it. At his stare, Aerith's face slowly dropped. "I hired Cloud to be my bodyguard..." Tifa's eye twitched. "Because the Shinra are after me."
"Yeah, I know," Cloud said quietly. "But why? Why is Shinra so dedicated to capturing you?" He staggered to his feet, moving forward with conviction. "I think it's time you told me why I'm protecting you..."
"Well..." Aerith's voice trailed off, going from happiness to a more solemn tone. "It's because I'm special."
Cloud raised his eyebrow. "Yeah? And how's that?" Aerith quickly averted her eyes. "What, are you some legendary magical princess or something?"
With a laugh, Aerith waved him off. "I have a very special... heritage... It's complicated." Her face widened into a grin. "What's it matter? I have you guys looking out for me!" Cloud seemed unconvinced.
She hasn't given me a straight answer since I first met her. Well, whatever...
Sighing, Cloud threw up his hands in surrender. It was only as he turned to continue on that he snatched the Buster Sword from his back, quickly putting himself between Aerith and the space before them. "And what the hell is that?!"
From beyond the abandoned terminal, a large monster emerged. It looked like a flying dragon, coiled like a serpent with wings and a barbed tail. Oddly enough, it sort of gave off a vibe that was... graceful.
Aerith snapped her staff open and assumed a battle stance. "I think that's a Deenglow! It's a mythical dragon sort of thing! I heard about them from my mom! They're ice elementals... Watch for cold attacks!"
The Deenglow was easily twice the size of a human, monstrous serpents that borne aloft by enormous shining wings. It slowly opened its maw, jaws stretching. A great vacuum formed around its mouth, covered in frost.
"Whatever it's doing," Cloud shouted, "I know I don't like it!" Its jowls tore open to reveal a nasty set of teeth. Blue light streamed into its mouth, gathered together, and shot out as a huge snowflake. It shot forward towards Tifa. Cursing under her breath, Tifa quickly dodged. The snowflake continued on into a traincar, a violent wind freezing it into solid ice, becoming brittle until part of it broke off.
Cloud tightly gripped the Buster Sword. "You call THAT a COLD ATTACK?! It's a frickin' ice cannon!" He lifted the blade up and then to his side. "Aerith! Can you give me some juice?" A nervous smile overcame Aerith's face, and she nodded. She had an idea of what he was asking, and her only hope was that his sword could take it.
Its maw opening wider, the Deenglow sucked in an increasing amount of frozen air. Cloud quickly drew the Buster Sword to his side, horizontally parallel to the Deenglow's mouth. As he continued to charge, Aerith clasped her hands together and formed a huge orb of fire between her palms.
"Now, Aerith!" Cloud yelled as the Deenglow fired its breath weapon. The mass of fire in Aerith's hands expanded, growing into a massive sword-like shape. As Cloud approached the freezing breath she swung the sword down with all her might. The monstrous fire hit the Buster Sword head-on, engulfing it in a tornado of fire. As the Deenglow's breath surged forward Cloud hoisted his weapon high above his head.
"What the hell are you doing?!" shouted Tifa. "You're running right into it!"
A giant pillar of fire coated the weapon into a huge, column-shaped mass of flame. With all his might Cloud swung down, the pillar sharpening into a line of fire. Its blade cut through the breath weapon and cleaved the Deenglow in half, its remnants dissolving to embers as the Buster Sword struck the ground.
From the ashes a long line of scorched earth cut through several trains and opened a fiery path through the Train Graveyard, walls of fire slowly dissipating into tiny embers. Tifa stood voiceless, as Cloud drove the Buster Sword into the ground, still flaming.
Aerith slung her hands forward, sending a blue sparkle that flew past Cloud to strike the Buster Sword. It immediately was encased in an icy stalagmite, which quickly broke to reveal the weapon steaming and burning red. The fire died down, and slowly the sword cooled enough for Cloud to reattach it to his back.
"What... What..." Tifa stammered, stunned. "What the hell just happened?!" Cloud looked back over his shoulder at her.
"Aerith coated the sword in fire, then put it out with as much cold as she could manage. It's like she was reforging the sword the way a swordsmith makes it... Except with ice instead of water." Aerith breathed in hard, and exhaled sharply.
"It was a long shot. He took a gamble that my magic was enough to overcome the Deenglow, and it looks like it paid off... Just create enough fire to cut it, then put it out." As she viewed the carnage, she sighed. "Maybe I put a bit TOO much juice in it... But at least all the trains are gone!" Tifa slapped her hand to her face.
Well, yeah, the path's open... Whatever.
Tifa shook her feelings off. "It's a straight line to the Train Graveyard's main terminal! Let's hurry and get there as soon as we can!"
Author's Notes
Maybe I overdid it with that last attack... At least it was cool. Other than that, harrassing Corneo was the highlight of the chapter for me.