Twilight Perfection

by thegr8sephiroth

AU. Frequent runaway plot arcs. A long piece, prewritten, to be updated as I finish editing chapters. We reversed some roles and replaced others. The changes should be pretty clear. Finally Aeriseph. Warning: Hellsing referenced on a regular basis

33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 Here we go, it's getting close, now it's just who wants it most!

Mirri exchanged looks with General Sephiroth and the rest of the group. "General, I've been fighting long enough to know when I'm about to lose. As I speak, I can see my death barreling down on me." The thing was huge, considerably bigger then the last WEAPON, and slowly making its way towards land. /We will be but fleas to it Black Fury, but I will not back down.\ Aeris did not have her staff, she had left it in Junon along with her need to use it.

"We don't have any choice. Whatever Shinra does, we have to buy them time. At the very least they may be able to evacuate parts of the city." The Valar hovered over them like a guardian angel. Sephiroth drew Masamune into his preferred two handed grip. "Even if we're nothing but fleas to that thing, we can bite it again and again. At least the Valar is a hornet, and it looks like it's got a nasty sting." "So then I suppose this will be known as Sephiroth's last stand won't it?" "Mirri, your humor is not appreciated." "General, there are times in life when you can either laugh or cry, and I always prefer to laugh."

----

"Sir it looks like Sephiroth and the others are going to try and stop the WEAPON. Rufus glared at Reeve as he brought them that news, even though it was the first good news about the situation. He had three terrorists loose, somewhere, in his building, and a giant monster heading for Midgar. But these problems were about to sort themselves out. "Reeve, start charging the Sister Ray, we'll take out that thing while Sephiroth holds it still!"

Wonderful, that made two problems which would deal with each other. Rufus hit another button, hopefully the intercom wouldn't have some kind of obstruction over it at the moment. "Reno..." He was in luck: apparently the Turk Lounge was taking calls today. "Yes, Mr. President?"

Rufus smiled as he spoke. "Reno, gather up Rude and Elena, I have a mission for you. I want you to search this building from top to bottom, find the three terrorists, and kill them." The line clicked dead, Reno should be able to take care of something as simple as that. Reeve, for some odd reason, looked surprised. Bah, what did it matter, sooner or later the world would understand his glory, Shinra would survive and rise again.

-----

It was clearly shaping up to be Sephiroth's last stand. Even Masamune did precious little against the WEAPON, even less than it had against the Zolom. Mirri's blades were totally useless, so she had switched to using magic which was little better. Aeris and Alex had both adopted their Crinos forms, but even the fangs and cclaws of the war form were ineffective against the lumbering monstrosity.

The Valar flew above them attacking with it's 20MM cannons and missiles. The cannons were barely "scratching the paint" though the missiles managed to at least give it something worse then a paper cut. The only good thing about the trying to fight he WEAPON was that it apparently was paying considerable less then its full attention to them. It had at least stopped its advance, but it was hardly hitting them with everything it had.

All it was doing was shooting some lasers, and launching a couple of rockets at them. The ground was getting pockmarked by explosions but not yet stained by blood. Though apparently, the WEAPON had just taken all the irritation it would. It stood still, and then every single weapon it had been possible to cram onto its body revealed itself. It was all pointed directly at them, like flies about to be nailed by a ton of bricks.

Mirri prepared for her death and waited for her life to flash before her eyes, or maybe some other kind of spiritual awareness. Nope. All she got was the bright white light that you generally don't want to go towards. She opened her eyes, and realized that perhaps Melkore deserved more credit then she had ever given him.

The WEAPON fired, but it was not firing at them. It was firing at Midgar, and even as it did so, Midgar fired on it. The Mako Cannon, or whatever stupid name Shinra was calling it by was every bit as good as Melkore said it was. Even the WEAPON stood no chance against what happened to it. The huge slug slammed through thing's body, and it was a perfect shot, right through the center of it.

The thing tilted backwards, even as it released its overstocked arsenal. All of the WEAPONS shots flew over their heads, and made their way straight towards Midgar. At the same time, the WEAPON had its death throes. It slammed into the water, and vanished from sight.

---

The Mako Cannon's slug kept going. Unlike the last one, this slug had managed to have built up enough velocity to keep going even after it hit the WEAPON. It kept going, straight on its path until it hit the invisible barrier protecting North Crater. That finally managed to stop the slug, but not before it as well gave before the Mako Cannon's might. Melkore Morningstar's pride and joy had destroyed both an unstoppable force and an immovable object with one shot.

----

Sadly for Dr. Melkore it would be a pyrrhic victory. Not even the Mako Cannon could stop the swarm of weaponry heading for Midgar, even if it was moving at a much lower speed.

----

Reno tapped his foot on the ground and hummed along with the elevator music. This would be simple and enjoyable. Finding the three terrorists meant searching this place from top to bottom, so that was just what he would do. Knowing the way that southpaw Firecat thought, Reno was sure that he would be on the roof. Someone as hopelessly attracted to bright shiny things as he was would be stuck starring out from the roof like a bug with a bugzapper.

Sadly his plans hit something of a surprise when the doors opened. "Hi!" Reno had to hand it to Firecat, throwing a sucker punch through the elevator as soon as it was wide enough to permit his arm through. That should have been something that Reno had decided to do! Fortunately, Reno knew better than to simply double over because he had been punched in the gut making his head an excellent target. Instead he decided to go the whole hog dropping flat on the floor of the elevator.

This was a good thing because there was no way for Firecat to hit him with another punch. Granted it did make him somewhat vulnerable to the old standard of "kick him when he's down" but just as he expected, Firecat was too nice for his own good. He didn't go for the kick and that gave Reno time to plant his feet under him and come up swinging. Firecat jumped back, and Reno decided that he might as well try and settle this with his fists since he didn't want to leave himself open by going for his nightstick.

He leapt forward with a quick jumpkick that Firecat ducked under. The moment his leading foot touched the ground, he twisted around and performed a leg sweep with his still airborne leg. He managed to successfully bring the leg down and hook it around Firecat's left leg, taking it out from under him.

Apparently Firecat had learned a couple things about momentum as well however. Rather than stumbling, he went with Reno's blow, and twisted his entire body to deliver a powerful punch to Reno. The Turk fell backwards rubbing his bruised cheek, but there were other things to worry about. Fireact of course had paid the price for that maneuver; by committing himself to the blow he had completely thrown off his sense of balance.

The end result of which was that all he could do was throw out his hands to catch himself as at the last moment. Fortunately for Reno, this was a situation that he had plenty of practice at. Even while he was rubbing his face with both hands, his right leg was winding up for the boot to the head that this situation demanded. Unfortunately Firecat was noticeably more aware of his surrounds then most people who Reno found himself kicking, saw it coming and rolled away.

By the time Reno managed to close with him, he had once again gotten his feet under him. "Okay righty, let's get this over with!" "Nothing would please me more lefty!" The two rushed at each other, and Reno paid Firecat back for his punch with a kick strong enough to knock a tooth from his mouth. Firecat fell back spitting some blood, apparently he hadn't realized that Reno had longer reach than he did.

Reno couldn't help but look at the tooth that he had knocked out, a man had to take pride in his work after all. It wasn't quite like any other one that he had knocked out, human canines just weren't that pronounced. Firecat was more cautious now, circling around Reno, so at once Reno started circling him as well. Yeah this felt right. Forget Shinra, forget the Seraphim, forget the war, forget Meteor, two men who wanted the same woman were going at it with everything they had.

Reno took a moment to take advantage of the fact that they were busy circling and finally drew his nightstick. He probed the slightly swollen side of his mouth and then spoke. "TURK LIGHT!" There was a brief flash off light from his nightstick and then Reno dashed at his disoriented foe. Reno then let Firecat have it with his own jab to the gut followed by a left hook and a right uppercut. Finally he threw in a nice solid kick to the gut that knocked his foe down flat.

Reno looked down at Firecat and cocked an eyebrow at him. "I dare you to get back up." Firecat shook his head to clear off the effects of Turk Light and smiled showing off the gap in his teeth. "What are the stakes?" "You just don't learn, do you?" Reno had to hand it to Firecat, he was damn fast. He rolled forward, balanced on his hands, and slammed both legs into Reno's chest. Then he pushed himself off the ground to land on his feet. "Ask Seph sometime; I think he'll have your answer."

Reno adjusted the grip on his nightstick bringing it back up to point at Firecat and smiled with his mouth still full of teeth. "Too bad for you, I don't either." James rushed in again and slid under Reno's kick taking his other leg out. Rather than try to get back up with Firecat to his back Reno rolled over, and got a foot planted firmly on his chest. It pushed him hard to the ground and his elbow hit the ground the wrong way. The limb went momentarily numb and the nightstick rolled from his hand. It was only after this happened that Reno discovered how Firecat had done it. He had decided not to turn around and had apparently somersaulted backwards, landing on Reno while still facing the other way.

"So how did you know I was going to try and kill you?" Firecat gave another kick to Reno's still flickering nightstick sending it skittering over the edge of the roof (great now he had lost two nightsticks in about a week. the quartermaster was going to rip him apart even if he survived this) and then took a moment to turn around. Once he had done that he seemed willing enough to make conversation. "Oh, I wasn't sure, but Mirri told me that you would. Mentioned something about a consistent track record." Damn, Reno had one of those didn't he?

How in the name of all that was malted was Reno suppose to win against somebody who was close to being as good as him, and had Mirri's ability to predict the future? It was like trying to pour an entire keg into a glass, without spilling any! "So are you going to kill me now?" What he heard affirmed his two worst fears. "Nah... Mirri said she wanted you alive, something about gloating. That's why I didn't use my wires during the fight either, in case you were wondering."

Fear number one: it was clearly Mirri who was giving this guy his orders. Fear number two: he would live long enough to get wiped out with the rest of humanity, that was no way for a Turk to go. Granted he might not have to worry about that second fear as his eyes caught something on the horizon.

"Umm Firecat, are you seeing what I think I'm seeing? Cause I think I see a storm of high explosives that's gonna kill us both." Firecat took one look up and spoke the words Reno always knew he would hear before he died. "Come on! Whatever happens next I'm sure as hell not gonna follow Mirri's orders halfway." Yep, Reno's impending death was now 100 certain.

---

Rufus Shinra looked out from his office and glared at Midgar. He glared at this city and glared at the world that had done this to him. But he would carry on and the name of Shinra would rise above. He watched and smiled as countless weapons thudded against the "glass" window of his office. While he had been honored in Junon contractors had been replacing his office window with one that would have been able to survive tank shells or strikes from Sephiroth's Masamune.

Let the rest of the world think what it wanted, money and forethought would always outlast natural skill. He saw it proven now quite clearly as those missiles slammed up against his window and didn't even scratch it. So much for the WEAPON.

-----

"You're Vincent Valentine." Vincent spun around as he suddenly discovered a foe had sneaked up on him while he had been studying the huge vault door between him and success. It had been no real obstacle at all, there was more than enough room for shadow to slip through, but now he had another problem. "I almost didn't realize it was you, you look younger then you did the last time I saw you."

Vincent looked up from his work, the Turk had managed to catch him flat footed, that alone showed his skill. In a stroke of pure blind luck Vincent actually did recognize the person who was talking to him. "Tseng, you look much older then you did the last time we met." The two former Turks, neither of whom now worked for Shinra took a moment to size each other up.

"You know, this can only end one way." "There can be no peace between my mistress and yours." "Last time I checked you served a master." "My martial allegiances haven't changed in the slightest, now I just work for something else as well... never mind." "What?" "It's too pathetic to say out loud." "True love?" "Straight in one." "You are pathetic." "What are you working for? Unlimited power? When it comes to this vicious cabaret they call life, from the lead to the extras every single one of us is pathetic." "Fair enough."

Tseng drew forth a glowing green sword from a sheath on his back, and held it before him with both hands. "Hojo made this for me. I realized that guns were too unreliable. This is sword rivals your son's, it's called the Makomune." Vincent sniggered in contempt. "You think someone as smart as Hojo claims to be could come up with more original name." "Yes I know. I hope Jenova purges him. Oh, and by the way, I saw you on your way out to Nibelheim when I was first coming in as a recruit."

"I know, I recognize that spot on your head, I'm surprised you did so well in the business with such a distinctive mark." "We're Turks, people don't see us in the first place." "A valid point." They both looked at each other with mutual respect and hatred. The age reversal was ironic, Vincent had drunk so much blood inside Midgar that he looked like little more then a new recruit. Tseng was still mortal and mako and Jenova cells could only do so much, he looked the age Vincent had before he died. if not a little older.

The two looked at each other, and they bowed to each other, they were both Wutaians, they had both gone to Shinra, and they had both deserted Shinra the moment another opportunity had come along. As soon as they straightened, there was no signal, they both simply acted. Vincent emptied 10 shots in Tseng's direction, classic Turk maneuver, always leave a bullet in each gun.

Tseng was too fast for anything as simple as a bullet to stop him however. He dodged all of the rounds, and then with a grotesque smile he drove his blade home. The Makomune went right through Vincent's claw, and then up through Vincent's entire left arm was shattered in a mind wrenching blast of pain. The Cassul was left as nothing but a melted heap of scrap from it's brush with Makomune's blade. Vincent fell backwards, and at the same time Tseng took Vincent's legs off at the kneecap with his blade.

He drove forward to finish Vincent off with a stab through the heart, and then recoiled backwards in pain. Vincent had only one hand, but there was one critical difference between an enhanced human, and a vampire. Even having taken wounds from a sword that had apparently been forged of solid mako wasn't enough to break his stride. What would have been crippling pain to someone else, he was able to push aside long enough to get the job done.

Even with only one arm and no legs, Vincent, was not impeded by his situation, he put his last bullet right in Tseng's head when he overconfidently went for a quick, clean kill. Tseng fell back, but it was only a 9MM lead bullet, even in the head it wouldn't kill him. Vincent crawled towards the vault door, dissolving his body to shadows as he went through it. Tseng was back on his feet soon however, and he put a hand to the wall.

"Not bad Vincent, this might as well be a bank vault door, there's no crack large enough for me to slip through. But then I'm totally prepped for this. I'm going to blow this thing off its hinges. It doesn't matter how much blood you drink, I'll have you in a moment." It did take slightly more then a moment for Tseng to set the explosives, but Vincent had no place to run to. Particularly when Tseng had his boots right here, Vincent would need them before the sun rose, not that he would live that long. Just a touch of a button, and the vault door was in pieces.

-----

"THANKS A LOT FLAMETAIL! YOU SAVED MY LIFE JUST TO KILL ME!" "DON'T BLAME ME, BLAME THE WEAPON!" "FOR ALL THE GOOD THAT'S GONNA DO ME!" "SHUT UP!"

Things were not looking good. James and Reno were currently failing the 70 stories to a splattery end on the sidewalk of Upper Midgar. Of course if James hadn't jumped off of the roof of the Shinra building they would have both been incinerated by the attack that had blown away most of the top floors of the building. Of course that didn't seem very philosophically comforting to Reno.

"THIS IS IT LEFTY! WE'RE GOING TO DIE AND THEN MIRRI IS GOING TO BECOME AN OLD SPINSTER WITHOUT ONE OF US TO MARRY! FOR THE SAKE OF THE HOTNESS THAT IS CATWARRIOR I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN!" "THEN WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?" "WE BOTH SURVIVE!" "GOOD PLAN!" "YEAH, BUT THE IMPLEMENTATION IS A BITCH!" "I'VE GOT THIS ONE!"

James whipped the wires out of his gloves, and shot them out at a rapidly passing statue jutting off of Shinra HQ like a gargoyle. They wrapped around it, and James tried to give his wires as much length as he could. Thus he and Reno found himself precariously hanging 20 stories suspended only by a thin white line of hope. A white line of hope that was wrapped around a monument to "Shinra's Solid Foundations". Had he been a very different Firecat indeed, he might have wondered how he knew to use the 'safe' wires that Melkore had installed but forgotten to mention. "Wow, nice job lefty."

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for Mirri." "Wonderful anyway Firecat, okay now lets swing ourselves through that glass window and get back inside." "Sounds like a plan." "But first, let's share a scream." "FORRRRRR MIRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIII!" They smashed through the window together, both James and Reno were beaten and bloodied, but far from broken as James snapped his wires back into his gloves.

The two red heads looked at each other, and smiled. Reno couldn't help but notice that the tooth he had knocked out of James' mouth had regrown. He also felt the swelling already going down in his cheek, and to think some people said mad scientists were only good for holding the world hostage with death rays. "You know, lefty I'm starting to like you." "Me too." "Truce?" "Truce." "For Mirri?" "For Mirri." Reno slipped off his blue Turk outfit, revealing a shirt stained by so many different materials it's original color was impossible to verify. He stretched like he had spent hours in a jail cell, and spat on his uniform. "F you Shinra! I'm now in the service of Mirri Catwarrior!" "Power to the princess!" "And Gaia save the queen! But first I have to find a phone." "What?"

----

"Sephiroth, this isn't good at all." Melkore was hunched over the Valar's control panel which he hadn't left ever since the battle had started because he had been running diagnostics on the damage done to his ship however light it was. Sephiroth didn't bother to look at Melkore. "What is it?" "Shinra is preparing to fire my Mako Cannon again." Sephiroth was not even mildly perturbed. "So? Don't tell me this thing has been damaged so badly that it can't break any kind of lock they have on us."

Melkore spun around his face filled with blind rage, the only time he had ever come close to this level of anger was when his laptop had saved his life by taking a bullet for him (Melkore had given her armor plating for just such an occasion). Poor Megabyte (Meg) Morningstar, the world hadn't been made for one as beautiful as her. That sniper had disserved far worse then simply having his head bashed out in a rage by Meg's monitor.

This was even worse for Melkore. "Of course we can dodge! But the Mako Cannon is just what it sounds like, A CANNON! General please tell me all those stars you got were not just to make your uniform look shiny! Tell me that you've studied military history!" Melkore's helpless rage at Sephiroth's unemotional face was spared at this time by an angel. Or by Mirri at least, she seemed to flip flop between being an angel and a devil, generally depending on whether she was helping or hurting you.

"Please, doctor, enlighten us." Melkore slammed his hands down on the control panel (accidentally damaging parts of it, he didn't know his own strength) in vindication. "THANK YOU! Now, ancient cannon style weapons existed before we had the powerful steel we now use to make them, they made cannons out of iron! They couldn't be fired near as fast because otherwise the cannon's shots would generate enough heat to melt the barrel and in very bad situations, cause the cannon to explode."

Mirri nodded along confirming everything he said and filling in slightly. "He's right, that's not a problem with modern day ordinance, but older weapons, back when they measured the weapons in weight rather than size, the cannon's rate of fire went down over time to let the barrels cool." Now that he knew he had Sephiroth's attention Melkore turned back to his readings. "Shinra is preparing to fire the Mako Cannon again, and they can't! The thing should be allowed to cool down for at least a full hour, and it's only been half that! Shinra is just charging the cannon full of juice, and if someone presses the fire button... boom."

Melkore covered his eyes and wept in pain. It wasn't fair! How could it come to this? "Boom?" That was Sephiroth, but Melkore couldn't force words out of his mouth. Mirri, showing her traditional distain for anyone's emotions but her own, could. "Boom, Sephiroth. Boom, there goes all of Midgar wiped out in the blink of an eye thanks to a mako explosion. Upper and Lower, even if some of the buildings survive people will choke to death on gaseous mako. The lucky people will die instantly, the unlucky ones become horrible monstrosities and then die, boom. But most of all as I'm sure Melkore is thinking, boom, the Mako Cannon's greatest act of destruction will be its own."

Melkore finally managed to get words out through his blind rage. "So help me gods, Shinra will not destroy my masterpiece by doing something so idiotic as this!" Mirri tapped her foot with a look on her face that Melkore knew all too well. It was the look she used when she was simultaneously being an angel and a deamon, not some mix of the two, simply both at once. "I don't know... Midgar land of 'mako and honey' only appropriate that goes down in mako. Thing about it, boom, no more Shinra HQ, and the entire company is blasted off the map. Can't think of a more deserving place."

"Boom, no more James." Mirri spun around and faced the fourth person who had entered the conversation, a mix of pride and anger in her eyes. "You're getting too smart, sweetheart. Midgar has been hit by a hurricane of firepower from that WEAPON, and knowing James, he'll be at the center of it all. Someone is gonna have to pull his flaming tail out of the fire and I'll do it by his ears if I have to."

Sephiroth nodded briefly. "Melkore, set a course for Midgar." The order was unneeded, Melkore had already grabbed the steering controls and activated the ships comm. Thus not a single person aboard the Valar would go unknowing of Melkore's cry of mingled panic and triumph. "HOLD ON, BABY, MELKORE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU!"

----

Reno picked up a phone and listened to the dial tone and then turned to his new, for lack of a better word, partner. "Hey I should warn you that I'm about to kill someone." James scratched an ear. "You're going to beat someone to death with a phone? Cause if it's me, I have a problem with it." Reno shook his head and took a moment to dial the first three digits. "No, I got smarter than that a long time ago. I might try to strangle someone with a phone chord now, but that's neither here nor there. It's just that I've tried to kill you, hit on your girl, and you still haven't killed me. Quite frankly I don't know how to be more offensive without trying to kill Mirri and hit on you, but I'm just not willing to go down that road. Anyway, I'd have to say that you are a, well, I think the phrase 'pussy' works however you want to define it. Granted there's a pretty good consensus in Midgar that I'm a rat so I guess it's understandable why I keep losing to you. So do you have a problem with me killing someone?" "Depends, who are you killing?" "Rufus Shinra."

"Mirri gave me a list of the people who we were supposed to take out if Shinra tried to stab us in the back and Sephiroth okayed most of it. Rufus is right up there at the top with Hojo, roll with it, it's what Mirri would do." "Yeah I know, I'm thinking of making that into a bumpersticker. WWMD?"

----

Rufus Shinra's office phone rang and he picked it up. "Yes?" "Can you hear me now?" Rufus practically snarled his response into the phone. "Reno, you better be calling to tell me that you've gotten rid of the terrorists." "Well about that, I've joined them. But I really don't think you should put down the phone because this is the last call of your life." "WHAT?"

Reno's voice was a cockily sure as ever. "Well it's like this Rufus. I never really liked you. In fact, to put a fine point on it, I've grown to hate you over the years. What with you being a stuck up brat who has been given everything his wanted and me being a humble servant of the people, or at least a kid born in the gutter who has done a lot more work than you ever have. And I hold that statement as true even bearing in mind this is me we're talking about.

So there comes a time when a man must decide that there are some things that no amount of money can make him do. Like put up with taking any more orders from you to pick one at random. But to get back on the subject of what money can make a man do, you should know that I got pretty friendly with those contractors you hired right after your father's death while I was recovering from my injuries. I bought them a couple of rounds, this and that.

I don't mean to ramble, but would you do me a favor and look behind that picture of you that you have hanging in your office?" Rufus walked over to it still holding onto the cordless phone, not quite sure why he was doing this. He pushed aside the picture and found an open safe behind it. It had a video camera in it. But that wasn't what really drew his attention, that was several blocks of C4 in the safe with a stick note reading "Love: from Reno" attached to one. Reno's voice grew even cockier.

"I had the contractors knock the hole in your wall while they were working on your window and I prepared the 'gift basket' myself, you like it? By the way, wave, I'm watching you right now on my camera phone and you should see your face! Of course I'm also about to use my phone to send a message that will detonate that pile of explosives, but really, it's hard to tell which function I'm enjoying more at the moment." "Reno think about what you're about to do." It was a hopeless plea, Reno never thought about what he did.

"Did I just pop the rose -or should I say gil- colored bubble you were living in Rufus? I'm thrilled, to be honest. Of course, to be fair, I only expected to do this as a bit of petty revenge rather than as my very first political killing, but ce la guerre. All I can say is that you should take a deep breath and realize that this, Mr. President, is the sound of ME firing YOU."

"CLICK!" For the first time in his life someone had hung up on Rufus Shinra. Then a cellphone sitting on top of the explosives decided to play what from Reno's point of view must have been a delightful little jingle. "One, two, fuck you! Don't tell me what to do!" After which the explosives went off with Rufus standing less than a foot away from them. He had just enough time to wonder how exactly he had been out thought and outbought by a man whose only use for a tie was to mop up spilled liquor.

---------

"What the hell are you?" It was impossible. The Makomune had been made of steel mixed with mako, it should inflict wounds that Vincent wouldn't be able to heal, Hojo had told him so! But Tseng was forced to once again become acutely aware of the gap between what Hojo's theories suggested and reality. Not only had Vincent regrown both his legs, (even if he was standing barefoot) he had also grown back the arm that he had lost 30 years ago.

That was the sight that Tseng had been greeted with when his charge blew the vault door wide open. Vincent Valentine once more looked the age he had been when he died, but for some reason that age now seemed to suit him. He was dressed in a Turk uniform except that it was now crimson instead of blue. The long rifle he gripped in his newly restored left hand would have been frightening to a normal person, to Tseng it was nothing.

"Not that it matters, you expect to fight me with that out of date boomstick?" Vincent smiled all too confidently for the way Tseng had won the first round of fighting between them. "Justice never goes out of style." Vincent pulled the trigger, and Tseng prepared to block the round with his sword. But the single shot rifle's bullet missed him by a mile. It flew over his head and Tseng stared at Vincent, amazed that the supposedly expert gunman could have done that. "You missed."

Tseng prepared to run Vincent through and finally kill his foe. "This gun doesn't miss. It'll seek you to your grave and even farther on. There is no escape, there is only the end, your sentence has been decided, you will receive the Death Penalty." "Death Penalty" was in fact the name etched on the side of the rifle which Vincent was holding. Tseng stepped forward to put an end to this drivel, and then stopped. Death Penalty's round slammed through his chest, it was not a critical wound, but it was impossible! The bullet had flown over his head, to have hit him now, it would have had to have reversed in flight!

Bullets were powerful and fast, but they were not magical tools! Bullets could only attack in straight lines! Then his horror grew, it was a straight line that the bullet followed, but more then one. It slammed through his chest, and then it sped straight towards Vincent. But halfway to Vincent, the bullet stopped, shot to the right, then it shot to the right twice more, which left it pointing right at Tseng. It was another straight line for it to follow through Tseng a second time.

Tseng turned, this was insane, he was going insane. "The bullet is filled with my blood Tseng, ingenious isn't it? I can control my blood even when it is separate from my body, letting me control my bullets. The gun may not seem impressive at first, but it is not the gun that will kill you, it will be the bullets, or bullet in this case." Tseng turned to run, but the bullet was staring him in the face. It was mocking him, and it blew through his chest for the third time.

He ran, and the bullet hit him for the forth time. He ran down the hall, and he was hit a fifth time. He turned a corner, but the bullet still followed him, going around a corner, like some demonic joke. It shattered his kneecap with that hit and he fell to the floor, well aware that his demise would be very soon.

Vincent was apparently getting tired of the joke, however. The bullet flew over Tseng's head, and turned around to face him. It flew straight at him, and at the very last moment, stopped. It stopped an immeasurably short distance from his head. Tseng could here the sound of Vincent's boots (he had put them back on) on the floor as he walked up on him. "If you're going to betray everything you believe in Tseng, you shouldn't ever look back. Allow me to free you from the last vestiges of your humanity." Tseng felt Vincent lift him up, and sink his fangs into his neck. Freedom was painful.

-----

"Where are we going?" "The motor pool, don't you recognize it from the last time you went here?" "No." "Okay, well that's where we're going. We're going to borrow something to help Mirri. Understand?" "You had me at 'Mirri'." "...'kay."

-----

"So how do we get down there?" "We fall, like angels." Sephiroth, Aeris, Mirri, Alex, and Melkore looked down on Midgar. It was time to get to work. Alex was in his human form, and he looked even less sure of himself then Melkore did. "Are you sure this para-chute will work?" Aeris touched Alex's arm lightly. "It will work Alex, it will work." Of course Aeris' words might have been a bit more convincing if she had ever done anything like this. So in the end Aeris, Alex, and Melkore all turned their attentions to Mirri and Sephiroth.

"I commanded an army. Air support was Scarlet's job." "I was first class SOLDIER, but I always fought with two feet on the ground." Melkore summed up the problem quite well. "So basically, none of us have ever done air ops, and we're now about to try for the first time?" "Yeah. Don't worry, you just have to pull the chord. I'm sure Alex will have no problem with that so what right do you have to complain, Melkore?"

"Mirri I hope that your chute malfunctions. Because then, when you have to unfurl your batlike wings for the world to see in order to keep from splattering, people will finally recognize you for the demon you are." "Don't bet your cannon on it happening Melkore." They all jumped, counted to five, and pulled the chords. The parachutes deployed and five people drifted safely to the streets of Upper Midgar.

----

Four people landed gracefully on the streets of Upper Midgar. Sephiroth and Mirri both possessed too much generic training to screw up something as simple as the landing. Aeris and Alex both managed to pull it off successfully, chiefly because both of them grew claws to slice the straps off right before they hit the ground. Melkore Morningstar was not so lucky. He landed on his feet, but wasn't fast enough cutting his ropes.

His parachute fell down on top of him like a collapsing tent. They had landed almost directly on the doorstep of what was left of Shinra HQ. SOLDIERS and guards were already rushing out to challenge them, and Mirri quickly made her hostility clear. As soon as she fired her first salvo she turned to her commander. "Sephiroth, you and Aeris should go deal with whoever is overcharging the Mako Cannon. We'll fight a rearguard action here."

Sephiroth blatantly disregarded Mirri's words, walking right past her to face the guards emerging from Shinra HQ. "Get out of here now, or I might just suffer a nervous twitch and kill you all." The guards raised their guns. Sephiroth stood perfectly still. "You should seriously think about what you're doing, because you don't seem to be realizing one very important thing, men: I'm General Sephiroth. You know those stories about how I could defeat an entire army just by snapping my fingers? Not. Stories."

Sephiroth's middle finger brushed up against his thumb. A small spark left his hands. It flew forward, and when it hit the ground it suddenly exploded into a giant ball of flame. When it dissipated Sephiroth once again had his fingers ready to snap again and madness glinted in his eyes.

"Run! Run! Or you'll be well done!" The Shinra personnel turned about and gallantly they chickened out before Sephiroth's hand moved again. Sephiroth helped them on their way by snapping his fingers a few more times inflicting more property damage on the streets of Midgar.

Then he turned toward Shinra HQ and snapped his fingers again. This spark struck just as accurately as all of his others, and when the dust cleared, the rubble that was left had created an impromptu barricade to keep more Shinra personnel from joining the fight. Only once he had dealt with the immediate threat did Sephiroth turn to Mirri.

"Why should Aeris and I deal with whoever is responsible for this?" Mirri shrugged and pointed towards the Mako Cannon. "Simple logic. All of Shinra is going to hell, who would be smart enough to know what firing the Mako Cannon again would do, yet stupid enough to want to do it? Or to be more exact, who would want to destroy all of Midgar, but be high enough up on the Shinra list to have access to the cannon?"

Sephiroth stared at Mirri as he suddenly realized that at times all his tactical brilliance wasn't worth a damn off the field. "Hojo. Aeris, come on we're going to finish him off once and for all. Mirri, Alex, Melkore, whatever else happens, hold them back." Mirri gave Sephiroth a thumbs up and Alex started to shift into his Crinos form. Aeris shifted to her full lupine form so that she could keep up with Sephiroth.

As Sephiroth and Aeris took off, Melkore finally managed to get out from under his parachute. He took one look at "his" Mako Cannon and was about to take off when Mirri put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "You're not going anywhere, Mornignstar. And before you say a single thing, the Mako Cannon is not related to you, so it's your job to kill every single person working for Shinra who tries to get past us. Understand?" /You had better Glasswalker, I'll drag you to the frontlines with my teeth if I have to.\

As Alex "spoke" the impromptu barricade before Shinra HQ was blasted apart as someone apparently managed to find some explosives to use on it. As guards rushed out, a very odd thing happened. Melkore stepped forward, and bravely faced his foes. Even as the men started shooting, Melkore made a small adjustment on his guitar and started playing.

The bullets stopped halfway to Melkore, and then suddenly they suddenly flew backwards. The guards followed suit as waves of pure sound slammed into them, knocking them to the ground. Melkore stopped playing once he had floored all of the guards, and the waves of sound stopped. He turned to his two very surprised partners and smiled. "Did you guys like that? It seemed to have a nasty feedback effect!"

--

"Hojo." Hojo turned around and faced Aeris and Sephiroth with a mix of anger, surprise, and delight. "Oh, it's you two." Sephiroth's response held only cold rage. "Step away from the control panel, it's over. Shinra's being wiped out as we speak and Melkore tells me that 'invincible' barrier protecting Jenova has already been broken. Once I'm done with you, I'll go deal with Jenova. Consider all of your experiments finished."

Hojo laughed as he reached into his pockets and tossed a number of empty syringes over the railing to fall where they would. "That's the wonderful thing about it Sephiroth, this experiment called 'life' that whatever powers exist are making us run will never end! Science is trial and error, forbidding research because it is "immoral", don't make me laugh! It's not only myopic but reckless!

Don't you realize everything I've done for you Sephiroth? I have made you a god among men, and don't you have any gratitude for me? But then I suppose it is simply a matter of hate, it is the nature of man to make monsters, and the nature of monsters to destroy their creators." Masamune felt incredibly warm in Sephiroth's hands. "You don't get it, do you, Hojo? This stopped being just about you and me decades ago. This is about everything you did, everything you would have done, and now the only thing you have left to do: die."

Hojo smiled that incredibly greasy smile of his at Sephiroth. "You know Sephiroth, you're absolutely right." Without a moment's hesitation he reached for the firing button and Sephiroth was caught flatfootted for one of the few times in his life. Where military training failed however, instinct was more then ready to pick up the slack. Aeris leapt past the stunned Sephiroth and when Hojo's right hand was almost to the button when Aeris bit down on it, and then with a good yank proceeded to rip it free of Hojo's shoulder.

Then with supremely calm kick from her right back leg she knocked Hojo backwards, before she took her time about eating the limb whole down to its last bit of marrow. Hojo stared in shock as the wolf Aeris then proceeded to latch her teeth firmly around the lever responsible to how much power was flowing into the mako cannon and pull it down from 100 to 0.

The whining sound that the cannon had been emanating quickly became little more then a hum. Sephiroth meanwhile placed Masamune at Hojo's neck and smiled. "Thank you Aeris, now then let's settle this shall we?" Aeris looked over at Hojo, and a lupine tongue licked her very sharp canines.

----

Niro looked around the wreckage of the 68th floor of the Shinra building. Most of the WEAPON'S fire had been focused on the upper two floors, but this one had been hit badly as well. Many sections of it have the roof cave in partially and it was slow going even for Niro.

Still, even if he had to climb over some pieces of rubble and crawl under some others, he had finally made his way to Hojo's lab. There was no reason for Hojo to have kept working on it since he left, but common sense was not Hojo's strongest point. The thing he needed was in plain sight once he finally got into what was left of Hojo's lab. It was lying on a table all shiny and new without ever having once been used, that would be a shameful way for any weapon to exist. A case for it was nearby and Niro placed it inside its protective case before slipping it over his left shoulder to hang opposite his gun.

"Freeze." Niro turned around, it was the bald Turk whose name Niro couldn't remember saying anything the last time they had met, and the blond one was with him. The bald Turk however took one look at Elena once Niro was finally looking back at him and lowered his gun. "We do this because it's our job, and a job is only a job so long as we get paid. I have a strong feeling that won't be happening anytime soon, so long." The Turk saluted Niro and then he turned around, Niro exited through an already broken window, shifting as he went.

----

The thing was so big that the ground shook with each step it took. It was painted red, and, although it was nowhere near as big as the WEAPON had been, there was some kind of huge artillery cannon on its back. As it marched toward the three of them an amplified voice boomed out of it. "We have you now, terrorists! Prepare to face the might of the anti-WEAPON armor, THE PROUD CLOD!"

Mirri snickered into her hand, and Alex nearly howled with mirth. Melkore was slightly more concerned about the possibility of his imminent destruction then what the name of the hand that killed him was. "Uh, guys, is it really a good idea, to be laughing when we can't run and that thing is about to squash us like cockroaches? Because right now, I really wish I had the Valar."

It was too late for his words to prepare his companions for battle. The Proud Clod, directed by the hands of General Heidigger and Weapons Developer Scarlet, quickly leveled every weapon it had at them. What happened next can only be called a miracle of modern engineering.

Every single one of those weapons misfired. Guns jammed, rockets exploded inside their firing tubes, beams overheated and melted their focusing devices, it was the same everywhere. Melkore certainly found the entire debacle a religious experience, rather like Jesus suddenly realizing as he put his foot down that the water would support him rather then giving way.

With all the vigor of a fresh convert he pointed an accusing finger at the fumbling and disarmed behemoth before him. Like Jesus attacking the money changers Melkore berated the greatest disrespect to God in his holy book. "SLAPDASH CONSTRUCTION WORK!" Perhaps somewhere in Melkore's largely amoral family tree some member of it had been an inquisitor, either way there could be no mistaking the tone of voice he took. "MASS PRODUCED TRINKETS! SOULLESS EXPRESSIONS!"

Needless to say things seemed quite willing go along with Melkore's rage for at the end of his last charge there was a huge "BOOM" that echoed through the streets. Had Melkore been a priest of some holy order that sound might have been the resounding blast of thunder striking the sinners down where they stood As it was, it was a sound that came before the sinners were struck down, though it still did herald their imminent destruction.

The huge cannon on the back of the Proud Clod exploded in flames, and the rest of the Proud Clod was soon alight with more explosions. Apparently whatever had destroyed the cannon had also hit the thing's various munitions, which were now all going off like a string of firecrackers. There was no instantaneous destruction, that of course annoyed Melkore as well because a "good" weapon should die in the blink of an eye, eradicated by the same kind of unstoppable force it dealt.

The Proud Clod, however, refused to die; it was simply to massive even for the magazines' eruptions to destroy it. Still, its destruction would be coming, Melkore might not be able to see the person who spoke from behind the Proud Clod, but his voice was unmistakable. "Direct hit Mr. Reno, load another round and fire!" There was another loud boom as shell of a size that Melkore couldn't see slammed into the back of the Proud Clod.

The monstrosity buckled and swayed like it was drunk yet still too big to simply understand that it was dead. That same voice broke the night again, this time giving a new target to the gunner. "Another hit! Now clip it on the right shoulder!" This time there was greater length between the command and the resounding "BOOM" but it came.

The round did just what the commander had wanted it to, causing the Proud Clod to spin helplessly. It began to part walk, part fall backwards, (crushing a few houses as it went) but it did manage to regain it's balance. Sadly for it, it did this on the very edge of the giant hole where the Sector Seven plate used to be. With the Proud Clod no longer between them Melkore, Mirri and Alex could see the backstabbers who were proving quite important in destroying the helpless Proud Clod.

James Firecat, perched on the top of a Shinra tank would have made a fine recruiting poster. Its caption could have read "join the army, it's so simple even this guy can do it!" James bellowed new commands down into his tank. "Spin us around and fire right in the thing's chest!" The tank rotated slowly as its treads were not exactly made for spinning around quickly, and its barrel adjusted for the distance.

BLAM! The shell shot as truly all of the others. It slammed into the body of the Proud Clod and exploded. The thing teetered backwards, and it took "one small step for man" one giant drop for the sake of humanity. It tried to right itself, but had no chance, the Proud Clod soon plummeted from view to be dashed to pieces on the bottom of the plate.

Later studies would show no survivors, but even if they had been, they would not be bothering the group for a considerable length of time. James whistled and soon another body joined him on the top of the tank. It looked like that red haired Turk but he wasn't wearing his uniform. "Reno!" Apparently it was that Turk but he wasn't wearing his uniform. Even though Mirri didn't currently have blades loaded into her gloves, Reno was acting as if she had.

"Easy, easy, Catwarrior! Do you think I would have been following you around for so long if I couldn't tell which side is winning? Besides, your catboy took away my gun and my nightstick." Mirri cocked an eyebrow at Reno who was smiling far too innocently. He should have known better than to try and play innocent; when he was next to James he would always look guilty by comparison.

"James did you check his pants?" Deciding to spare himself the embarrassment Reno reached into his quite numerous pockets (the pants were as much a part of the Turk uniform as the suit) and removed the following: a .22 pistol with a silencer on it, two grenades (one incendiary, one shrapnel), a pack of cigarettes, a cigarette lighter, another gun of indeterminate caliber disguised as a gun that was supposedly a cigarette lighter, a couple of anti-hangover pills, several clips of ammunition, and a wallet containing a superfluous number of IDs. Finally Reno removed his tie which, while looking like an ordinary clip on was actually made of a strong enough material that he could (and had) garroted people with it before.

Tossing all of those before Mirri he spread his arms awkwardly. "There, that's everything I have. The only place left to look for concealed weapons would be between my legs." Melkore had obviously gotten to know Mirri much better then Reno had, because he knew what she would say to that. "James kick him between the legs and tell me if you feel anything metal."

Melkore shut his eyes tight and bowed his head in a silent prayer for a fellow brother of the wounded crotch. When it was over, Reno lay doubled over on top of the tank looking at Mirri upside down. "Fair enough..." he managed to wheeze out in his high pitched voice. "He's clean!"

James sounded far too amused by the pronunciation, and Mirri looked far too amused by it. Alex amazingly enough was perhaps having his first true moments of sympathy for a human being he hadn't known. Melkore could guess well enough what the cause was, Alex was also a member of the brotherhood of the wounded crotch. Funny how the oddest things could bring people together.

----

Hojo practically burst out of his skin before Sephiroth. His clothes were shredded as badly as his skin, and that was left was a rapidly dissolving organs and skeleton. But as rapidly as it was dissolving it was reforming itself in the shape of a monster with two horrendous arms.

Aeris jumped backwards, already shifting from being "merely" a four and a half foot long wolf to her Crinos shape. It was not as grand as Alex's, but it was still a considerable threat to be reckoned with. Sephiroth switched Masamune's grip from one hand to two, and regarded the monster like some particularly aggressive lump of ambulatory offal. "It's nice to see that the outside finally matches the inside!"

A huge hand lashed out at Sephiroth who ducked to the side, the hand left a dent where it landed. Sephiroth slashed out at the hand, but it was like striking at water. His blade went right through the arm severing it, but the moment his blade left Hojo's body the hand reconnected itself. That unexpected ability caught Sephiroth by surprise, when he could ill afford it. The other hand whipped out at him striking him in his chest and knocked him backwards. He almost went over the platform, but managed to shift his grip on Masamune to one handed fast enough to grab the railing as he flew past it.

He held on as it sagged under his (and Masamune's) weight but began to pull himself back onto the platform. Even as he started however, the beast that had been Hojo closed in to finish him. Aeris dashed between him and Hojo, letting out a howl to the sky, and then standing perfectly still. Hojo rained blow after blow on Aeris but she neither grave ground or showed any sign of wounds.

It continued, as Sephiroth pulled himself out of his indefensible state at rate so slow it felt like it took hours. Even as Sephiroth managed to get back on the field of battle, things were already turning in his favor. Hojo seemed to be slowing down from throwing so many blows while Aeris was showing nothing of the kind. She must have sensed this shift in momentum for after shrugging off another of Hojo's attacks she suddenly dashed right at him.

The monster that had been Hojo exploded in every direction as Aeris slammed through his body. Before Sephiroth or Aeris could catch their breath with relief however the pieces of Hojo's body once again began to pull themselves back together. This time the shape they took was relatively human. It bore a gross representation of Hojo's face, though it floated in the air, and had no legs but instead a long tail. It looked rather like a horrific representation of a naga of legend.

Sephiroth braced himself, when suddenly he saw a flash in Aeris now golden yellow eyes. He saw it, and it made an inability to communicate with words minute beyond measure. Aeris and Sephiroth both rushed the monster at the same time, Sephiroth heading to meet it face to face, Aeris hitting it from behind. Whatever unknown powers this form granted Hojo, they did not avail him against naked force and animalistic rage.

Sephiroth took its head off with one clean slice while Aeris rent its body to shreds with teeth and claws. Once more the remnants of the body began to knit themselves together again. This time it was back into his original form which he smiled scornfully at them. "Fools! You can't hope to defeat me! My body is one with Jenova, no matter how many times it is destroyed, it will reform! I'll kill you one way or another! I am immortal, I can not die!"

Before the validity of Hojo's words could be put to a true test, a fourth person joined the combat. Vincent Valentine descended down onto the platform like a bat out of hell, a most appropriate similarly as he currently had two huge bat like wings composed of shadow growing from his shoulder blades. He landed directly behind Hojo and spoke only a few choice words before acting. "Ah, but Dr. Hojo, you should know there are things so much worse then death!"

Vincent's maw opened to improbable proportions, like a snake unhinging its jaw. The chief difference however was that snakes only have two fangs, Vincent's entire mouth was lined with razor sharp implements of pointy mangling. He bit down hard on Hojo's neck and did not let go. After about a minute, he let go of the body and cast it down from the platform.

It was only the enhanced senses that both Sephiroth and Aeris possessed that let them see what happened to the body. It landed head first on the concrete streets, and the head was instantly smashed to a pulp. A moment later the entire body exploded into dust to be carried away by the wind.

Vincent took a moment to lick his lips while Aeris and Sephiroth watched what happened to the body, by the time they turned their attention to him he was ready to answer. "A body without a spark of life to inhabit it is like an empty metal can, much easier to crush than when it was filled with something."

Regardless of who they had been fighting Aeris (who shifted to human after seeing Hojo's body turn to dust) asked the question Sephiroth would not. "What happened to his spark of life?" Vincent beamed showing a mouth full of teeth that would rival Alex's. "Payback, pure and simple, Hojo is finally footing the bill for everything he's done."

----

Alex watched the tank pull away and shrugged. The others might find safety in that giant metal beast but he was just fine with his fur and fangs. So he kicked at the rubble and sighed. They would be coming back for him in half an hour. "So much time, so few honorable kills." A moment later a single figure emerged from Shinra HQ. He had blond hair and brown eyes and glared at Alex in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Alex carefully examined the white jacket and black pants that the man was wearing, and smiled at the sight of them. "I've been waiting here for someone like you. You're Seraphim aren't you?" The man drew a set of spiked silver knuckles, slipping them on over his bare hands. "Harold, currently the fourth most powerful Seraphim. So who exactly are you?"

Alexander raised his hands and assumed a stance he had learned from Sephiroth. "Alexander Diamondclaw. The Garou who's going to be defeating you. Seeing how you once worked for my Alpha, I'll bring your broken and bleeding body to him to decide your fate." Harold stroked his silver knuckles and smiled. "Come and try it."

Alexander did. He charged right at Harold who took a jab at him with his right hand. However Alex countered by shifting his body, grabbing hold of Harold's shoulder, and then twisting around hurling him to the ground. "My Alpha taught me that." Harold pushed himself up off the ground. "Do I look like I'm really trying?" Alex shrugged and relaxed his stance slightly. "Do I look like I am?"

True to his word Alex simply took Harold's next punch to his chest from spiked silver fist. Well he didn't move in the slightest, but he did shift to Crinos. While Harold was extended with his strike, the werewolf dug his claws into the Seraphim's shoulder. "I learned this from a Black Fury I know." With that, he kneed his opponent in the crotch, then in the stomach, and finally in the forehead as he doubled over.

Finally, he removed his hands from his tormented foe's shoulders, though rather than simply pulling them free, he tore them out, leaving grievous wounds behind. As Harold fell back, Alex bit into his shin and leapt into the air, his opponent dangling from his jaws by a leg. Several stories up, he backflipped twice before disengaging his hold and planting his feet on his opponent's chest. With a triumphant snarl, he slammed the Seraphim against the ground and leapt off. Harold lay in a broken heap with half a dozen crushed ribs, a concussion, lacerated shoulders, and a broken shin. He wasn't dying, but he was clearly in no condition to keep fighting. "Ouch."

Alex shifted back to human. "Silver pains me, but everything is relative. You hurt me, but my Spiral Fang limit break broke you. I'd taunt you some more, but you appear to have passed out." Alex shrugged and ripped the dog tags from his opponent's neck as a trophy, then settled down on a piece of debris; there was nothing to do now except wait for his Alpha.

-----

The world was nothing but a swirling mist of shadow and crimson. Hojo tried to walk away from it, tried to run away, but nothing changed. The cries of the damned filled his ears, a figure in black, one of the failed clones tired to grasp onto his legs and Hojo barely avoided it.

He ran away from the being that was unable to match his stride, but what he ran into was even worse. A ghostly being came to life from the void, it was like the seeing a black and white negative image brought to life. A being so black that it was only possible to see where by where portions of the flowing crimson in Hojo's way was suddenly blocked from view.

Strands of night flew from its hands in an all too familiar fashion and Hojo's legs separated from his feet at the kneecap. The image vanished to wherever it had come from, leaving Hojo to die. But he wasn't, he felt pain coursing through his wounds, but his legs were not bleeding, that was impossible.

Another photonegative image came into being, like a shark drawn to the scent of the wounded. It looked over Hojo as he lay unable to run and spoke. It's voice sounded like the cackling of harpies, and before it departed it left fives blades apparently composed solely of shadow embedded in Hojo's back. If the blades were made only of shadow, they were no less effective (or painful) than the strands of night that the last image had attacked him with.

He lay there for a long time writhing in pain listening to the howling of wolves coming from nowhere and everywhere as he felt an "imaginary" pack circling him. One wolf, larger than the rest, stepped into the circle and turned into a stocky man wearing his long hair in a ponytail. He snarled at Hojo and kicked him in the face, sending him into an impromptu double backflip to land on his back. Through the blinding pain of the blades in his back being driven through his chest, Hojo was vaguely aware of the wolf rejoining the circle, as well as of booted footsteps. Finally, he heard voices speak to him. At that pointed he didn't care whose voices they were, anyone would be preferable to this, whatever it was! The moment he saw who had spoken and his mind told him what the words were, he revised that statement, however.

The words were "Having fun yet, Doctor?" spoken by Vincent Valentine, and he wasn't alone. What was Tseng doing just standing there? He should be helping Hojo, they both served Jenova, why wasn't he helping him or attacking Valentine? All too soon the answer was made evident for Hojo. Tseng pulled out a pistol, pulled out a clip, and loaded the gun.

Then he got down on his knees, chambered the first round into the gun, and pressed its barrel to Hojo's head. "You lied to me." BLAM! Hojo felt his agony increase tenfold, but somehow even after taking a bullet to the head he was neither losing consciousness (thus numbing the pain) dieing, or simply dead.

"That's because you are already dead Doctor. Of course your soul won't enter the Lifestream until I die, which won't be for a long time. You understand why, don't you? You made me what I am, what I do, blood is coin of the soul. Your Lifestream essence is now inside me, just like Tseng's." Tseng shot Hojo again after Vincent finished speaking.

Then Tseng kicked Hojo in the side, spinning his body around like a top. "You told me there was no price to pay for what you did to me, Doctor. You told me I was immortal. I'm not immortal, and neither are you, nor Valentine, but he is far, far closer then we are." Tseng shot Hojo a third time, this time in the chest.

"You used me Hojo, and Turks don't let anyone use them without making them pay. You expected me to fight Valentine and win, no human, enhanced or ordinary can fight him and win, humanity doesn't have that kind of power. Humanity can't fight a river of death! You sold me to the Styx Hojo, so I made a deal with Hades to get a return trip back up it."

Tseng paused to shoot Hojo again before continuing. "I'm just as much a prisoner here as you are Hojo, but I'm on much better terms with the warden. You should have told me that Vincent could take souls, and how he grows more powerful with each one he takes. He doesn't just run on blood, he runs on humanity." Tseng fired again not really caring which part of Hojo he hit.

"You sick bastard, you should have given me what you gave him! You turned him into a 'living' mako reactor! He sucks up a person's Lifestream essence through the blood and then he uses it to augment his own. How do you expect me to be able to fight something like that, how can even Jenova fight something like that? It's like trying to fight the will of the planet itself, except the Planet has a much better temperament then Valentine."

Tseng fired his last bullet into Hojo before tossing the gun at him. "That's why you didn't do this to me, you realized that he's so powerful you that you couldn't control or even destroy him. I hate to be overly dramatic Doctor, but 'YOU'VE CREATED A MONSTER!'" Hojo lay in pain barely able to gasp out his words.

"Fight him Tseng, for the sake of Jenova, fight him!" Tseng pulled out another gun, and another clip which he loaded into it and chambered a round. "It doesn't work like that Hojo. We're in Vincent's world now, for the rest of eternity he is your own personal god, and he can do anything he wants to, but like most gods he's a touch schizophrenic."

Vincent coughed loudly into his hand, and Tseng quickly amended his words. "By which I mean it's impossible for any human to understand exactly how a god thinks. How long a chain we get is determined by how much he feels we should have, so the more we give in to him, the longer our chains are. If we try to fight him, the leash gets shorter and shorter till he starts choking us with it, like he's doing to you. You saw those weird things, Vincent says they're soul fragments.

They're created whenever Vincent drinks a small amount of someone's blood when it's given to him willingly. The more willing the 'donor' and the more they give, the more representation they get in this world. If somebody let Vincent drain them dry then they would probably wind up giving Vincent's multiple personalities.

I resisted him, of course, so I can never hope to have anything like that, but I can make an eternity as enjoyable as possible. Of course because we're already dead we can never die, but that doesn't make the pain any less real. So like I said, it doesn't matter what my previous allegiances were, I only continue to exist as long as Vincent does, so I should make that as long as possible."

"Traitor!" Hojo wheezed the word out and Tseng shot him in the chest, aiming for where his lungs should have been. "Oh please! Do you think that word even means anything to me? I traded my honor to Shinra for gold, I gave up that gold and traded my soul to Jenova for power. Now I've lost my power, and the only chance I have for holding onto anything is by being a good prisoner. Spilling my guts isn't worth squat, Vincent can read our minds like open books, so actions speak much louder then words, like this."

Tseng shot Hojo again. "Don't look so surprised Hojo, haven't you heard that joke, Doctor? The one about the Turk who goes to hell? He ends up turning this giant spit with a demon whipping him for all eternity. As soon as he starts he tells the demon to go easy on the whip or he'll regret it. The demon laughs and whips him harder. A week later the demon is the turning spit and the Turk is doing the whipping. Apparently he impressed Satan so much that he got promoted to his boss's job.

That's how it is Hojo, I'm gonna bend over backwards to score brownie points with Vincent for every single perk I can get. You see, Vincent can manage his own internal affairs just fine, but he can always use somebody else to take care of things for him. So that's my job, I keep the other souls in line, make sure the coals are always hot whenever Vincent comes to 'visit' you, that's how it works.

So let me make this clear for you Hojo, you can look forward to getting screwed six ways from Sunday every day for the rest of eternity. Of course it's my job to take care of you most of the time, so you should feel honored when Vincent even pays attention to you. That's how it works, Vincent is god, I'm his prophet, and you're the poor, pathetic sinner who's going to burn for his crimes, understand?"

Tseng clearly wouldn't be able to help him, so Hojo appealed to Vincent. Big mistake. "Vincent, let's be reasonable about this!" Vincent scratched his chin for a moment, (he used his left hand now that he had it back) and spoke with a surprisingly whimsical voice. "Be reasonable? Me, be reasonable, how can I do that? You should know me Hojo, at best I'm a cold blooded killer. Right now, I'm sadistic monster who's waiting to inflict three decades worth of revenge. After all, what was it that you said about monsters and their creators?"

"Why are you doing this Vincent? It doesn't matter what you do, soon this entire world will be wiped out and only Jenova can save any of us! Don't tell me that pathetic slut's corpse is worth dieing for!" Vincent pulled out his own gun; its bullets were already loaded and he spoke very slowly.

"Worth dieing for?" Vincent shot Hojo, and the gun sounded like a thunderclap. It's impact felt a hundred times as painful as Tseng's shots had. "Worth killing for?" Vincent pulled the trigger again, Hojo's body was almost reduced to shreds by those shots. "Worth going to hell for?" Vincent fired a third time, and then finally returned his pistol to wherever it had come from. "I think so, and she wasn't even my wife. I think she'll agree with me."

A third negative photoimage suddenly came into being, and unlike the others, Hojo recognized who this one was. If what had been done to him up to now made him shriek with pain, this one did with terror.

End Chapter 34

FN: A quick request. While writing that fight between James and Reno I seem to have misplaced my tone, do any of you know where it is? But I guess that's cosmic irony for you, the two most comedic characters also get into (trust me) the most knock down drag out fight in the story.

Anyway props to the movies SWAT, Gross Point Blank, and the video game Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines for inspiring the manner of Rufus' death. The song line that Reno's "explosive cell" plays is from "Art of Losing" (something Reno has shown his mastery at throughout this fic) by American Hi Fi. Also if you couldn't penetrate Reno's unique view on language, the original phrase is the French "Ce la vie" or "That's life" his translation probably is suppose to mean "That's war" but actually comes out as gibberish.

Most of you probably missed a joke that probably would have required you to hear the words spoke to get it. So here it is spelled out for you, remember when Sephiroth was threatening the guards, imagine him saying "I'm General Sephiroth", followed immediately by "savvy?". Of course there were plenty of rejected introductions, here are a few...

Sephiroth: Do you know who I am? I'm Sephiroth!

(Buzzer from "Whose line is it anyway" sounds)

Sephiroth: (Random guard fires out of terror of looking at him and bullet blows some of his hair into his eyes) That's it, NOBODY MESSES WITH THE DO!

(Buzzer sounds)

Sephiroth: You're making me angry; you won't like me when I'm angry.

(Buzzer sounds)

Sephiroth: A man who would slaughter innocent, does the most evil of evil deeds with a price of 60,000,000,000 gil on his head, YES I AM THAT MAN!

(Buzzer sounds)

Sephiroth: You don't have guns, all you have are bullets, and the hope that when you run out of them, I am no longer standing. Because if I am, I'll kill every single one of you before you can reload.

(Buzzer sounds)

Sephiroth: Do you know who I am?

Guard: (Nods)

Sephiroth: Have you got any idea how many anonymous henchmen I've killed over the years?

Guard: (Nods again)

Sephiroth: I mean, look at you. You don't even have a name tag. You've got no chance. Why don't you just fall down?

(Guards all fall over)

Melkore: He's good.

(Buzzer)

Sephiroth: I'm Sephiroth!

Alex: I'm Sephiroth!

Mirri: I'm Sephiroth!

Aeris: I'm Sephiroth!

Melkore: I'm Sephiroth...

(Buzzer)

Sephiroth: Are you feeling lucky, punk?

(Buzzer)

Sephiroth: I'm not saying I'm God, I'm just saying I'm a god.

(Buzzer)

Sephiroth: Of course you know, this means war.

(Buzzer)

Sephiroth: Valentine, Sephiroth, Valentine.

(Buzzer)

And of course

Sephiroth: Damn there are so many idiots whose asses I have to kick, I'll just have to start carrying a list just to keep track of them all!

So there you go.

Of course some you might have noticed that Sephiroth's actions directly afterward probably prompted this conversation...

Kefka: How dare you steal my best line?

Sephiroth: Screw off nutjob, I've got fangirls, one CGI movie, one animated movie, two secret boss cameos, and I will be damn surprised if I don't make an appearance in Dirge of Cerberus(OWAN: what a pity, eh?). Not to mention I've got this sweet hair, compared to me, you're just a sad, sad man who dresses like a clown for some reason.

Kefka: Well excuse me for only getting rendered in 16 bits!

I know what you're thinking: "hey I got gypped, where's my show stopping number?" Okay fine, this goes out to Sulphurya. While I see Rufus in more or less the same light Twilight Reno does, she writes him with a soft sensitive side underneath. Since Twilight clearly proves all things are possible, here's how thing might have gone down differently between chapters 32 and 33 in a universe we'll simply call Avenue R.

(Shot of Rufus sitting on desk with chin propped up on hands)

(Reno walks in)

Rufus: What now Reno?

Reno: I see your down boss, so I suggest you try one of these! (Pulls out a bottle of pills and shakes them) Fuckidol, Hojo made them. One of these boys and you'll be as close to well, this (Reno drags James in and shows him off) as humanly possible. Two and you'll be in a coma.

Rufus: You know this how?

Reno: Heh, crazy story, you see...

Rufus: Just get out.

(Reno pushes James aside)

(Music starts)

Reno: Rufus!

Rufus: Yeah?

Reno: Listen, buddy, nobody's seen you smile for two weeks. What's up with that?

Rufus: Well I can see everything I ever cared about crumbling down around me. Midgar is about to be wiped out like the Wutaian capital by Godzilla, terrorists have now officially been inside my office thanks to you, and I still haven't escaped my father's shadow even though he's dead!

(Shot of huge picture of President Shinra hanging above Reno)

Reno: All right. Get off your ass and stop angsting! The hedonistic f and s fest accompanying the Armageddon is gonna start soon!

Rufus: Have fun!

Reno: Hey, how can you not want to join in, the world only ends once! (Coughs for a moment, pulls out harmonica blows on it to get the right note and officially starts to sing) There is life outside of your office; I know it's hard to conceive. But there's life outside of your office, and you're only gonna see it if you leave. There is cool shit to do, but it can't come to you, and who knows, dude you might even score! There is life outside of your office, but you got to open the door!

Rufus: (Thumbs trapdoor button which opens to the left of where Reno is standing) No thanks, I'm staying in!

Reno: Don't tell me I gotta force you?

Rufus: (Pushes button and lead weight drops to the right of Reno) Sorry!

Reno: All right, everyone! He's resisting!

(Vincent and James come in at once Vincent grabs Rufus' chair (which has wheels))

All three: There is life outside... There is life outside... There is life outside... There is life outside of your office!

(Vincent wheels Rufus out of his office, builds up a good bit of momentum then takes his feet of the ground and rides Rufus' chair with Rufus still in it into a freshly opened elevator door)

(When door opens again on the ground floor the two go sailing out Shinra HQ's front door with Reno and James waiting)

James: (Looking at a piece of roadkill) There's a pigeon squashed on the street.

(James takes a quick lick to taste the flavor)

Rufus: Ew.

Vincent: There's a girl passing by

Reno: No I think it's a guy

(Rufus is not impressed)

(Later in Sector Six)

Reno: And a homeless man, who only wants to buy something to eat!

Reno and Vincent: Sorry, can't help you.

Vincent: We could go to the zoo!

Reno: Find some girls to screw...

James: We could just sit around smoking nip...

(Sees other's faces)

James: Or not...

All three: There is life outside of your office.

Rufus: (Sigh) Well, I guess I'll give it a shot.

(Randomly fired bullet flies out of nearby window and Reno, James and Vincent throw themselves to the ground for a moment)

James, Vincent and Reno: There is life outside of your office.

Rufus: I know...

James, Vincent and Reno: There is life outside of your office.

Random girl: I'm gonna jump!

James: Don't do it!

Random girl: Okay! (Steps back from the edge)

All four: There is cool shit to do, but it can't come to you. So come on...

(Don Corneo drives by in bright purple stretch limo)

Don Corneo: Get out of the way asshole!

Rufus: F you!

All four: There is life outside your apartment. Oh you never know what's around the bend.

Vincent: You could win the lotto.

James: Or make a friend...

(Group comes upon random harlotprobably not Scarlet who blows kiss at Rufus)

Reno: Take her home to see your office!

Random Harlot: Do you wanna feel special? I can see that you do. Well, I can make you feel special, if you let me feel you.

Reno and Vincent: She'll feel you!

Random Harlot: Where's your pad?

Rufus: Not too far.

James: We could call you a car.

Rufus: We'll be fine, thank you! See ya!

Reno (Gives Rufus a congratulatory handshake while secretly passing him a prophylactic): Hope you don't get gonorrhea!

James, Reno and Vincent: There is life outside your apartment.

Rufus and Random Harlot: But now it's time to go home.

James and Vincent: Yeah it's time to go home..

Reno: For porn!

Well that was a totally pointless adaptation of "There is Life Outside Your Apartment" from Avenue Q. Of course I'm sure that some of you familiar with actual show stopping numbers will say "But James that was just a playful ditty", fine here's a real show stopping number.

(Sephiroth (with hair styled so that it covers the right side of his face walks up to a piano on the front deck of the Valar, he stretches his fingers and cracks them then sits down)

Sephiroth: (Runs hands across piano playing every key and then takes proper piano playing position) They say there's a broken light for every heart in Midgar. They say that life's a game then they take the board away. They give you mask and costumes and outline of the story, then leave all to improvise their vicious cabaret!

(Sephiroth picks up a script that says "Twilight Perfection" By James Firecat and flips through it and casually "red pens" several sections by running a line of flame through them before tossing the script away)

Sephiroth: In no longer pretty cities there's a man with the mind of a kitty, but he's in no need of your pity, for he lives life without a care.

(Cut to James, Vincent and Niro watching through James' portable TV and applauding)

Sephiroth: There's a girl from a town that's been burnt to ash, who desires more than simple cash, she fights bravely for a forgotten past, but who said life was fair?

(Mirri, Melkore, Aeris, and Alex standing behind him applaud but Sephiroth continues)

Sephiroth: Facing such horrendous odds but then what is there to lose, when humanity itself seems to slip back into the primordial ooze, and no where to which we can run anyway. In the details you'll find the devil but also in the blood of all those who meddle and refuse to simply settle for being extras in this vicious cabaret!

(Two male Seraphim behind Sephiroth form a less than impressive chorus line and go from one side of the screen to the other)

Sephiroth: At last the 777 show! The ballet on the burning stage! The documentary seen, upon the fractured screen! The dreadful poem scrawled, upon the crumpled page! There's a Turk with a less than honest soul, who'd stay home from work without a cold, for when it comes to being bold it surely isn't he.

(Reno is listening with walkman and nods along with music while pretending to listen to Rufus talk to him)

Sephiroth: A vampire with a master plan, who would see his lover live again, for any other way he can not stand the pain, so he'll gladly pay the fee.

(Mirri does a cheerleading routine while swearing under her breath)

Sephiroth: The city's ruler in the dark nearby inspects his hands with brutal eye, that have never brushed a lover's thigh but have squeezed a nation's throat! He hungers in his secret dreams for the harsh embrace of cruel machines, but his lover is not what she seems and will not leave a note!

(Shot of Rufus looking at the tank Jenova was held in)

Sephiroth: At least the 777 show! The situation, tragedy! Grand opera, slick with soap, cliff hangers with no hope!

(Melkore picks up a violin and plays along with moderate proficiency)

Sephiroth: The water color in the flooded gallery. There's a girl who'll push but will not shove and who would like to feel a father's love, she believes that hand beneath the glove may be the one she needs to hold! Though she has lycanthropic tendencies, as a lamb she'd be more at ease, but in the end she wants to be free, so she'll grow a coat against the cold!

(Aeris blushes)

Sephiroth: But the backdrops peel and the sets give way and the cast gets eaten by the play. There's a murderer at the matinee there are dead men in the aisles! And the patrons and the actors too are uncertain if the show is through and with sidelong looks await the cue, but the frozen mask just smiles!

(Niro's face is show with his lips slightly arching upwards)

Sephiroth: At last the 777 show! The trochsong no one ever sings! The curfew chorus line! The comedy divine!

(Melkore holds up sign saying "Coincidence, you decide!")

Sephiroth: The bulging eyes of puppets, strangled by their strings!

(Mirri pulls out a puppeteer set and a Cloud Strife puppet which she proceeds to wrap the strings around its throat)

Sephiroth: There's thrills and chills and kills galore, there's ambushes and surprises! There's something here for everyone, reserve your seat today! There's SOLDIERS and renegades and of course people who'd kill for pay, within this bastard's carnival, THIS VICIOUS CABARET!

(Sephiroth plays one final note and suddenly all of the Mako Reactors explode)

FN yet again: If you want a number more show stopping than that, your standards are too high. The original form of "Vicious Cabaret" is from the comic book version of V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

OWAN: If you want to know how it sounds, there are at least two entries on youtube.