Start Date: May 22, 2022
Windwillow
Bolded and Underlined: Tifa
Final Fantasy VII
The fight against Shinra Inc. continued, and so it would until the corrupt corporation finally fell. At least, that was Barret's tagline, minus a few foul words about the Shinra. To combat Shinra's Mako extraction, AVALANCHE has committed a bombing on Reactor One and intends to follow it up with a second punch at Reactor Five.
Would the hit connect, or would someone be waiting to catch their fist?
Chapter Four: Assault on Reactor Five
Scene One
The people of Sector Seven seemed united in their support for AVALANCHE. Everyone Cloud had talked to had only good things to say, and for a terrorist group that's not a bad haul for public relations! Oddly enough, no one talked of the dark underbelly of the issue: collateral damage.
Heedless of this, the scene turns to the Train Graveyard at Sector Seven's station. AVALANCHE's members now descended upon the last train out, with each of Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, entering first. While they did so, Barret was less... tactful. He quickly rushed into the first car and glanced around menacingly.
The car quickly cleared out, with the passengers swiftly running to the safety of the next traincar. As the leader of AVALANCHE gave a grunt of satisfaction, he took a moment to tilt his head.
"Why'd everyone leave?" he queried, not realizing why they all had left: him! Regardless he plopped down on one of the seats and stretched out his heavy legs. Only one passenger remained trembling in the seat next to him, and that man sweated bullets as his eyes darted to and fro from the massive man. "And what's your problem?" Barret asked. The man, a Shinra company manager, nearly jumped out of his skin.
"It-it-it's b-because..." the Shinra employee stammered, focusing what little courage he had, "AVALANCHE is running around rampant and now a giant h-hoodlum is berating me as I'm just trying to go to work!"
Barret's lone arm tightened. "You work for SHINRA?!" As his Gun-arm began to shake, the employee cobbled together a little bit of self-respect, not really pride but determination to earn his measly paycheck.
"Th-the terrorists say there'll be more bombings... of course I'm frightened!" he muttered. Gathering more courage (but not showing it, given that he was still shaking) he swallowed hard. "Do you know how much damage the bastards did to Sector One?! Over a hundred people d-"
Before Barret could react Tifa dragged him from his seat, her grip powerful enough to keep his left arm from even trembling. She gave him a hard glare. "Let it go," she growled. "He isn't worth it. And causing any more trouble will only make this harder! Barret!"
"I..." Barret stammered as the employee fled the car. "I, uh... I... guess you got a point." He dropped into his seat (doing so only as Tifa loosened her knuckles). "Sorry..."
Cloud cracked his knuckles in frustration. "And what," he said quietly, "is our itinerary? I'm guessing you have something more to say than foul language."
"Tch!" Barret scoffed. "Look at you, bein' all serious!"
"I'm doing my job..."
"Whatever." The hefty man hoisted himself up in his seat. "You heard me before, right? 'Bout bombing Sector Five's reactor? But first we gotta get past Shinra's oh-so-touted ID checkpoint..."
Tifa nodded. "After our last mission, they're sure to bump up security. Jessie's fake ID's probably won't work anymore. Meaning..."
Barret groaned, his knuckles tightening. "Yeah... We're gonna have to jump off in 'bout three minutes. Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie will reassemble to ready the bomb."
"Good morning," sing-songed the loudspeaker. "Welcome to Midgar Railways. Arrival time to Sector Four will be 11:45 A.M. Be sure to have your identification ready for the coming checkpoint..."
"Wait, what...?" Tifa muttered. "Isn't the checkpoint supposed to be later?"
A deafening claxon sounded and the traincar was bathed in red flashing lights. "Type A security alert!" the loudspeaker droned. "All cars will be locked down and searched manually! Please prepare your identification! Repeat: Type A security alert!"
Mouthing a curse word, Barret bolted from his seat. Tifa followed with Cloud in hot pursuit, as they quickly escaped the first car just as the door locked.
Scene Two
"Car One: Locked. Detaching for inspection."
Quite literally just as they reached the second car, the first slammed shut and was jettisoned as the party entered Car Two.
"Sh-... The hell's goin' on?!" Barret shouted, cocking his Gun-Arm. Cloud passed right by him.
"Move first, curse later!" he chided. After Tifa passed him and he flipped Cloud off, Barret quickly followed. As the door began to close Tifa crouched and leapt, slamming her heel onto the door and blowing it open.
"Car Two: Locked. Detaching for inspection."
This time, given that there was no door to close, the three got to feel the crushing vacuum of the car detaching. They managed to force their way through, and ran through the stunned passengers. It was only as they broke through to Car Four that they had a shocking realization: they (the passengers) were collateral damage!
"Car Three: Locked. Detaching for inspection."
The screams of said collateral damage barely registered to an AVALANCHE fleeing for their lives. Again they forced their way through onto Car Five, the final car where the other AVALANCHE members had taken refuge.
"Car Four: Locked. Detaching for inspection."
"Jessie, what in the f-" Barret yelled, but Tifa slammed her hand onto his dirty mouth and silenced the giant. He gathered himself and ignored the bystanders' screams, swallowing hard and focusing his senses. "Weren't your IDs supposed to PREVENT this bull-" Tifa again covered his mouth.
Jessie shook her head frantically. "They should've worked! But Cloud's..." Seeing a furious look on Barret's face she averted her eyes. "I tried something new with his! Rookie mistake, but there's no time now!" She rustled through her jacket and tossed a small spherical object into Cloud's hands, which folded into a smaller cube. "It has enough punch to bust the reactor! We'll keep the Shinra distracted, so get going and get the job done!"
"Right!" grunted Cloud as he slipped the bomb into his shirt. His hand moved to the door and slammed it open, and he paused only to latch both hands on the side before launching himself off the traincar.
"Ya NUTS?! We're gonna jump off the goddamn train while it's MOVIN'?!" Barret shouted. Tifa's fingers gripped the same steel Cloud's had, and she deftly leapt from the car. Mouthing another foul word, Barret jumped off as well. Jessie swiftly snatched her pistol and cocked it, followed by Biggs' own as Wedge drew a small revolver.
Don't let it all come to nothing, guys...!
Scene Three
The trainways were well-maintenanced areas with multiple paths criss-crossing all of Midgar. As to where they ended up, the team was a fair ways away from the Sector Five reactor. To get there they would have to take the tunnels into the base of the reactor, force their way through, and make it through to the reactor proper.
By the time the train disappeared from view, Cloud had detached the Buster Sword and Barret readied his Gun-arm. Being without a weapon, Tifa flexed her muscles and cracked her knuckles. She didn't NEED a weapon, since her body was one all on its own. Plus, she had two materia.
"Y-you crazy sonuva...!" Barret stammered, dragging Cloud up by the scruff of the neck. "We were supposed to wait for the damn thing to slow DOWN, at least!" Cloud brushed him off and gave him the finger, leaving Barret steaming mad.
"You preferred waiting for Shinra to come in full force? If we hurry, we can outrun the bulk of 'em. The advance units we're gonna have to cut down, though. Do you guys know where the reactor is?"
Tifa withdrew a small circular object and clicked the button. From it a 3-D image formed and narrowed into a flat map. Their current location glew green, and a curved line ended at a red dot.
"East," she concluded. "Midgar is structured like a clock. We started at seven o'clock, so we move east to five o'clock. Looks like it's about... five hundred meters ahead at the right turn."
Hearing the sound of clacking boots, Barret immediately began to fire into the enemy's direction. As they approached, however, he was stunned that several had been carrying shields that blocked most of his shots. While the majority of the infantry had rifles, about thirty percent wielded collapsable batons as long as their arms.
"Dammit!" cursed Barret. "They were ready for heavy fire!" Adjusting her glove, Tifa tightened it and cracked her knuckles.
"But they aren't all ready for melee! Cloud, let's go!"
With a nod, Cloud joined Tifa in charging the enemy. In response to their rifle fire Tifa held her palm out and charged energy. A rotating flake of ice swirled from it, blocking the bullets. As she approached, Tifa threw her fist forward. The punch expanded into a violent explosion, blowing away some of their shields.
While Barret wasted little time in disposing of the shieldless soldiers, Cloud continued forward. His arm bent and twisted as he effortlessly carved through several soldiers, slicing through their shields and inflicting heavy damage on them. He followed by bending his body in a curve, cutting through the batons of the soldiers who tried to stop him.
Cloud slammed his left hand into the pavement, causing a violent eruption of flame that blew the enemies into either unconsciousness or a brutal burning that threw them to the floor in agony (plus those riddled with bullets, slashed by a sword, and pummeled with fists and feet).
"They've been thinned!" Cloud yelled, shouldering his sword. He turned and began to run towards their destination. Barret briefly stopped unloading his weapon, head turning to scowl at Cloud.
"Runnin'?!" he shouted, turning back to fire. Before he could, Tifa gripped his wrist and dragged him backwards, the shots ricocheting from the ceiling and taking out another group of MPs.
"Idiot!" Tifa yelled, bringing him to his feet. "We can't stop all of them! We've got to keep moving, and stop the ones that advance too far to be supported!" She continued to run and Barret, finally understanding the meaning of tactics, emptied another clip and began to follow her.
Scene Four
As it turns out, the party didn't have to battle another group of enemies, as they were too far back to catch up. The NEW problem was a laser defense system of three HUGE beams, sealing the way shut and keeping them from going any further. There was no way through THAT, but Cloud noted an escape hatch just to the left.
"Down here!" shouted Cloud. "Slide down here and when we get down I'll seal the entrance!" Barret was less than pleased, but this time assented quickly. He tore open the hatch and fit his weight inside (less than gracefully), followed by Cloud and Tifa. Upon reaching the bottom Cloud swung the Buster Sword, a load of rubble covering their way up.
With a sigh, Cloud reattached the Buster Sword and fell to his seat in relief. "Thank God THAT'S over! I never wanna fight that many soldiers again..." Tifa joined him in sitting down, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"I know what you mean! That was my first time in a real battle..." Cloud cocked his head with a smile.
"Was it too much for you?" he asked. Tifa promptly returned the smile and stuck her tongue out in jeer.
"I can take care of myself!" Tifa rejoined, lightly brushing his spiked locks. Cloud's response was a softer smile, extending his knuckle. Tifa returned it, bumping fists. "Well, we did it! Part one, anyway..."
Barret dropped to his own rear with a sharp thud. "Ggh..." he growled, swallowing hard. "It's been a while since I got pushed so far... And DON'T gimme that look, punk!" snarled Barret at Cloud's smirk. "As ya can see I held my own, so shut your damn mouth!" Even so he leaned back into the corridor wall. "Dammit..."
"Barret!" came a voice that, as its owner came into view, became clear as Jessie's. Further behind were Biggs and Wedge, and soon the full AVALANCHE team had assembled. "Took a while, but we ditched 'em!" Jessie smirked. But at Barret's scowl, she lowered her eyes in shame. "Yeah, I know... it's 'cause of me..."
"Why's that?" Tifa breathed as she turned to face Jessie. "You said something back on the train, but I was sort of running for my life and I didn't catch it."
Jessie sighed, her eyes darting to Cloud and back. "I sort of tried something new for Cloud's, and... guess I made it special in the wrong way."
Cloud tilted his head. "And why would you make it special for me?" Jessie's response was to lightly blush and avert her eyes.
Gah... Guess he really is clueless... or just really into Tifa...
"'C-cause you're new!" she said quickly. "I tried a new technique and it sorta backfired. Sorry..." Gathering herself, she shook her head and cleared her thoughts. "Anyway... You have the bomb, right?" Cloud withdrew the cube and it unfolded into a sphere. "Press the yellow button and it'll lock on, and press the red button to start the countdown."
"We're pulling out," Biggs added. "You guys don't need dead weight. Just concentrate on Shinra!" Wedge nodded and Jessie patted Cloud on the back. "Give 'em hell!" Jessie patted him on the back.
"You can do it, Cloud!" she cheered. "We're counting on you guys!" The three AVALANCHE members quickly ducked into an air vent on the back end of the complex. Barret cocked his Gun-arm, and Tifa readjusted her glove as Cloud glanced over to the ladder leading to the reactor.
Time for part two.
Scene Five
After ascending the ladder, the party found themselves at the top of a large ramp. Cloud quickly remembered a similar area at the first reactor, where they had to fight their way through.
"I don't see any soldiers..." Cloud shrugged. "Let's go down." He stepped forward onto the ramp and slid his foot into it, swiftly sliding down to the ground below. Barret stood stunned, his mouth wide open.
"That's it? You're goin' down like it's you're on a damn skateboard?!" As Tifa followed, Barret cursed under his breath and followed them. The rest of the chamber was simple, no enemies or obstructions.
As they entered the next area, well... there were plenty of enemies. A group of thirty infantry waited, shields and rifles in hand; as well as several panther-like cyborgs, blood red in color, with bladed tendrils streaking from their soldiers: Blood Tastes. They snarled, steadily inching towards the party.
Cloud swiftly detached his Buster Sword. "Dammit, they were ready for us!" he cursed. Barret locked and loaded, allowing his gunfire to say his piece. Tifa's knuckles cracked as she crouched, assuming a martial arts position.
"But are they READY for us?" she asked with a grin. Tifa broke into a quick sprint, hands dropping to her sides. The MPs fired their weapons, but she agilely evaded their gunfire and threw her hands forward. Blue energy flowed from her fingers to her palms, and as she flicked them forward long spikes of ice shot from her hands.
The spears of ice shot forward and struck the shields, a freezing cold encasing them in frigid ice. As the soldiers dropped their shields in pain, Barret took them out with his Gun-arm. For his part, Cloud would deal with the Blood Tastes.
He lifted his mighty blade and swung it flat. As the panther cyborgs charged one of them ran headlong into the flat side and was repelled long enough for Cloud to turn the sword and cut it in half. That slice cleaved through another Blood Taste as well.
Now Cloud took his free hand and slung it forward, palm crackling with white lightning. The energy expanded and arced, a whip of lightning lashing and striking the next Blood Taste. Electricity coursed through the cyborg and fried it from the inside out. As it fell the final Blood Taste lunged with its bladed tendrils pointed like bull's horns.
Clutching the Buster Sword in two hands, Cloud knelt to one knee and held it straight vertically. The Blood Taste's dash struck the blade first, splitting it in twain and causing its remaining halves to fall lifelessly to the floor.
By then, the remaining soldiers had been either disabled from Tifa's martial arts or slain by Barret's Gun-arm. Cloud nimbly swung the Buster Sword in a circle and reattached it to his back in a slick motion, and Barret twisted his weapon to reload it.
They advanced into another large chamber, devoid of soldiers. There were a few Blood Tastes, though. Cloud detached his weapon and swung, severing several in a single slice. Barret emptied a clip that cleared out several more and Tifa grabbed onto the final one, slid it onto her foot and flipped, sending it crashing down with her heel busting open its steel head. As what remained dropped into scrap, Tifa turned her attention to the gate ahead.
Cloud stepped up to the control panel and examined it. There were three large plates, each identical to one another, divided into a triangular pattern. He laid his hand on one and pressed, but though there was a beep the door remained closed. "If one plate doesn't work..." he murmured.
Barret locked and loaded his Gun-arm. "We bust it open?" Tifa slammed her palm to her head in frustration, and directed his attention to the three plates. "Yeah, so what're those?" Cloud turned to Barret with an incredulous look.
"You can't be serious..." Cloud groaned. "Do you not see the three plates here?" He gestured to the plates and lifted three fingers. "Three plates, press three, gate open. Was that simple enough?"
"Sh-shut the hell up!" fumed Barret. Seeing Tifa stifle a giggle, he turned to her and scowled. "Ya got somethin' to say?!" She composed herself and held her hand above one of the plates. With a groan, Barret lifted his own over one of the three. The three of them pressed them simultaneously and the gate slid open.
Scene Six
The team entered the final area, the reactor core. This time Barret stepped up first, but quickly whirled around. He'd just now remembered what happened at the first reactor, where he said he wouldn't turn his back to Cloud. For his part, Cloud gave a wry smile but said nothing.
Cloud moved up to the core and withdrew the bomb. He laid the sphere onto the core and it detached, a claw moving to clutch the steel hard, then pushed the yellow button. As he turned, however, there was a flash of green.
I hate them all!
"What the hell?!" Cloud screamed and dropped to one knee. His vision dimmed, slowly fracturing into a misty nothingness. He saw the light coalesce into a green, catlike eye, and the eye swallowed him up. As the pixels reformed, he saw a new scene.
It was a reactor, but it wasn't the Sector Five reactor, nor was it the same area. Just ahead he saw two people: a young brunette and a mutilated adult, cradled in the young girl's arms. Through the fog he came to see that it was Tifa.
"Who did this...?!" she gasped, her voice choking. As she lowered the corpse to the ground, her eyes turned towards the entryway to the next chamber. "Father, who... Sephiroth... It was Sephiroth, right?!"
Cloud's vision phased again, and he noticed a long, sleek katana embedded in the ground. It was nearly seven feet long, solid steel of a masterwork making. He recognized the sword... It was the Masamune, the signature weapon of the First Class SOLDIER, Sephiroth. Tifa staggered to her feet and grappled the hilt, using all her strength to drag it from its resting place.
"Sephiroth..." Tifa snarled, her eyes wild with emotion. "Sephiroth, SOLDIER, Mako reactors, SHINRA...! I HATE THEM ALL!" She lifted the ridiculously proportioned weapon, staggering as she did. With a cry of fury, she dashed through the gateway. Cloud's vision shattered into pixels once again.
He vaguely heard a voice, and slowly opened his eyes to see Tifa gripping his shoulders tight, shaking them. Cloud's eyes snapped open and he staggered to his feet, groggy and confused.
"Cloud, what happened?!" Tifa screamed. The vision of a younger Tifa flashed and faded, revealing the present Tifa. Cloud held his head in his hands and slowly came back to consciousness.
"Dammit, man, AGAIN?!" Barret snarled. "What is it with you and these frickin' reactors?!" Cloud shared the notion.
That's what I'd like to know...
Cloud shook his head to clear it, and as he did the world came back into focus. Whatever was happening, something about the Mako reactors was having an effect on him...
Scene Seven
Flashbacks notwithstanding, the deal was done. The bomb was set, the rest of the team back at HQ, and our heroes armed and ready to fight their way through the reactor. As it clutched onto the core the bomb needed only to be activated. So, why not activate it?
Cloud eyed the red button on the bomb. One press and another explosion would happen. As his fingers approached he felt an odd sensation. Jessie had seemed pretty broken up after the first bombing.
"You're sure this is what you want to do?" Cloud asked. Barret paused, tilted his head, and nodded. Tifa put a hand on her hip and tilted her own head as well. "Remember last time? A hundred people died. Is fighting Shinra worth throwing those lives away?" Barret's eyes widened, then narrowed.
"Y'gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette. What matters is stopping those bastards before they hurt anyone el-" He paused, unsure of himself. Cloud's face dropped, as did Tifa's. There had to be something he wasn't saying...
"Is there a personal reason you're doing this?" asked Tifa. "I mean, I never ASKED, but..."
Grinding his teeth, Barret shook his head forcefully. "Press the damn button, Cloud!" With a sigh, Cloud's finger touched the red button and applied force. The device opened its body like a giant mechanical spider, grappling the core and exposing a red skin beneath. There was no turning back now.
"Now we get the hell outta here!" Barret shouted, gesturing to the exit. With a nod, Cloud and Tifa took point. They ran, then ran some more. Passing each room and the havoc they'd wrought, Cloud noticed something: some of the fallen MPs were gone. The dead were still there, as well as the broken Blood Tastes, but there seemed to be less of them.
Something isn't right...
Passing through each chamber, the team reached the area they had slid down from. As they climbed the stairs, the same thought occurred to Tifa.
"I don't see any more soldiers..." she mused. Looking back at the passage they'd exited from, she nevertheless shook off her doubts. They continued on into the same area they'd escaped from before, a T-shaped intersection, with two exits and the lone pathway they were traveling on.
Barret didn't notice anything was wrong. He still charged forward and gestured towards the exit. "We're almost there!" he shouted. "Everyone gather back at th-"
The click of several rifles stopped Barret cold. At the eastern exit, a cadre of soldiers awaited them. In number, there were about forty or fifty. And all of them had their rifles trained on AVALANCHE.
"Damn... Damn!" Barret snarled as he lifted his Gun-arm. "How the hell'd they get here all at once?! They oughta be securing the..."
"The reactor you're trying to destroy?" came a voice. Barret and the party whirled around to see the source of the noise: a man wearing a burgandy suit, white shirt, and a purple tie. They'd seen his face before, and because they had their blood ran ice cold.
The man they were trying to overthrow: the President of Shinra Inc.
Scene Eight
It had all been a trap. Fifty armed MPs blocked the way out, with no way to escape. And now, right before their eyes, their mortal enemy stood with a vile and confident smile.
"You think you're so skilled, right?" he asked as he shuffled in his pocket and withdrew a small object. He flicked open a lighter and lit the cigar, taking a deep puff. "Whoever you are. I don't remember your name."
Barret trained his Gun-arm directly at President Shinra. "We're AVALANCHE, you son-of-a-bitch! And don't you forget it!" As the soldiers' rifles turned their aim to him, he slowly lowered the artificial appendage. "D-dammit...!"
"I don't take the time to remember every scrap of refuse I come across..." the President frowned, taking a deep breath in and expelling the foul fumes. "Not that it matters what the name your tombstone will have on it is."
Cloud moved forward carefully, slowly reaching for the Buster Sword. "It's been a while, Mr. President..." he growled. "That should have lasted a lot longer..." President Shinra turned his head in confusion, took another puff, and expelled it.
"I recognize that sword, and the glow in your eyes proves that you're ex-SOLDIER. So, you're a spineless, ungrateful turncoat who threw in his lot with a bunch of rats. I don't PARTICULARY care, but what was your name, again?"
Yeah. What's your name?
Ignoring the voice in his head, Cloud detached the Buster Sword and held it tightly in his hands, narrowing the blade at the President. "Cloud," he snarled. The President paused and cocked his head. Wasn't that the answer he was expecting?
"I guess it doesn't matter. I'd remember your name if you'd been half as good as Sephiroth..." A sharp pang pulsed through Cloud's head at the name, and he angrily tightened his grip. "Whatever. You vermin have given me quite the headache..."
Barret angrily lifted his Gun-arm. "We're vermin?! That makes you KING vermin! Doesn't matter! In a couple of minutes this whole place..."
The President removed his cigar and smiled fiendishly. "We've already disarmed the bomb. You fools got full of yourselves and poked the wrong tiger." Tifa's eyes snapped open as her knuckles tightened.
The soldiers from before! The reason they weren't there is because they already took them in! Damn... I should've put the pieces together earlier!
"Regardless," The President sighed, placing his cigar to his mouth. "I have dinner plans. This has wasted enough of my time." He turned towards the reactor, and clicked his fingers. A helicopter flew in from behind the party and began to hover above him. The helicopter's side detached, revealing a small elevator that President Shinra promptly stepped onto.
"Get your ass back down here, punk!" Barret screamed. "We aren't done here, you bastard!" The President began to lift into the helicopter, unconcerned. Barret angrily aimed his weapon at the copter, but was stunned as a large robotic monster zoomed in from the only open exit.
It was a huge construct, with huge limbs and various firearms jutting from all over its body. The machine hovered like a giant hovercraft, a large propeller pushing down its force to lift it from the ground. The Air Buster zoomed forward towards the party, hand outstretched. Barret quickly rushed it and shoved past it.
Tifa vaulted over the machine, landing just behind it next to Barret. That left Cloud facing its front half, Buster Sword trained on the Air Buster. The soldiers behind him readied their rifles, and Cloud quickly realized the situation was dire. As the helicopter reached the top, the President began to enter it.
"I am done. This prototype Air Buster should dispose of you, if the soldiers don't. Now get out of my face... vermin." The helicopter lifted up and zoomed out of the reactor, leaving Cloud trapped between the Air Buster and fifty MPs armed with rifles. Tifa and Barret faced the machina's back, on a walkway large enough for them to maneuver all around it and to try and reach their friend.
Not that the infantry would let them.
Scene Nine
Saying the situation was dire would be sort of redundant, but it was. Cloud was trapped between fifty of Shinra's (presumably) finest infantry and the monstrous machina Air Buster. Although Barret and Tifa were in a position to back-attack the Air Buster, there was no telling what kind of armament it had.
Cloud's eyes darted back and forth, assessing the situation. While he could take out the MPs with minimum effort, he was caught in the flank by the Air Buster. So, yes, the situation was a worst-case scenario. But he did have one idea.
"Barret!" Cloud shouted, charging the Buster Sword with electricity. "Take Tifa and get out of here!" With a mighty swing he cut through the first line of MPs, and quickly turned to attack the rest. "I can stall them long enough for you two to escape!" All the blood from Tifa's face drained into a ghostly white.
"I... I am NOT leaving you here!" she shrieked, running forward with her fist outstretched. Heat and flame burst from her hand, covering it entirely in a sphere of fire. She crouched and jumped, bouncing off the railing and delivering a monstrous explosive punch to the back of the Air Buster.
"Get out of here NOW, Goddammit!" Cloud shouted as he cut through the remaining soldiers, alternating between magic and swordplay. As they fired he used the Buster Sword as a whirling shield, stopping the bullets and allowing him to finish off the next wave. Problem being, there were still about thirty left. Tifa tightened her grip and delivered a roundhouse kick to the Air Buster that also blew a small hole in its back.
No way! No frickin' way! I'm not going to lose you right after I found you after all this time!
The Air Buster's body gave a strange click, and quickly whirled around to face Tifa. Its knuckles opened to reveal two cannons, trained on Tifa. From behind it, Cloud continued to fight the soldiers and had made it through all but the last twenty. "I told you to leave, dammit!" Cloud yelled, another swing cleaving through five at once.
Now in the point-blank sight of the cannons, Tifa's face tightened in both fear and resolve. The veins in her face bulged, as did her eyes. She charged both her hands and feet with a fiery explosive energy. "And I told you I'm not going to!"
Before the cannon could fire the barrel broke open from dozens of bullets riddling it, tearing it open like swiss cheese. A stunned Tifa whirled about to see Barret, Gun-arm smoking. For the first time, her mouth gaped open in a mix of awe and exhilaration. Barret shifted his aim to the Air Buster's head.
"AVALANCHE don't leave a man behind!" The barrels began to rotate, and Barret angrily emptied a clip into the machina's face. "Pull your spiky head outta your ass, punk! Either we all leave or they put us in the ground together!" Cloud's scowl quickly shifted to a grin.
"Guess we're all stubborn fools!" he grunted, as he twisted his left arm and slid it across his weapon. A sheen of fire coated the blade, creating a wildfire along the entire sword. Cloud took the Buster Sword, lifted it above his head, and slammed it into the remaining soldiers. The resulting explosion scalded the final bunch, and Cloud turned with a single, fluid slice that tore a deep gash into the Air Buster's back.
Barret continued to unload all he had, and Tifa unleashed a flurry of exploding fists, as Cloud shifted his left arm towards the Air Buster. His fingers trembled and burst with electricity, a maelstrom of lightning covering his entire hand. "Get back!" Cloud shouted. Tifa nodded and backflipped backwards, skidding to a stop next to Barret.
As she escaped Cloud gave a roar and drove his left arm into the bullet-riddled machina. His hand struggled for a moment but quickly broke through and impaled the Air Buster. The gold orb on his gauntlet trembled and sent a wild current of lightning that fried the machina from the inside out.
The Air Buster shuddered for a moment, and then its hovering mechanism fell and it crashed to the ground. Barret twisted his Gun-arm and pumped it in victory. Cloud smoothly reattached the Buster Sword to his back and approached Tifa with a smile on his face, which she mirrored.
He felt the trembling before anyone else did. In a swift movement Cloud shoved Tifa back into Barret's chest, just as the Air Buster's torso exploded. The heap of scrap caused a massive explosion that tore open the walkway, leaving Cloud holding on by one hand on what remained of it. And, his grip was slipping.
"CLOUD!" Tifa shrieked, moving to aid him before Barret yanked her back and restrained her with both arms. "Let me go! LET ME GO!" she screamed, struggling to no avail. Her face turned to Barret with a mixture of desperation and fury. "Do something!" Barret shook his head, knowing there was no way to help Cloud. Tifa turned her eyes to Cloud as he dangled on the remnants of the walkway.
"Barret! Listen to me!" Cloud shouted. Barret looked at him carefully, and understood what he was about to say. "Take care of her..." he murmured. "Until I get back!" With that he lost his grip and dropped from the reactor walkway into the nothingness below.
Tifa broke free and dashed towards the crash site. "Cloud, I'll be right there! I'll-" She was silenced as Barret whirled her around and punched her in the gut, knocking her out. He hoisted Tifa over his shoulder and turned towards the exit.
"Damn straight you better come back..."
In the ensuing chaos, Barret fled the reactor with Tifa. They would escape... but what of Cloud?
Author's Notes
To those who don't know, the bolded segments are Cloud's inner thoughts - not his, but sort of his - that go back and forth between consciousness and unconscious. And for the guns, I decided to go Hellsing and make everything cosmo-guns with unlimited ammo. Finding reloads for Barret when he dumps everything in one shot just is too hard to do. So sue me.