Chapter 5: The Great Gathering
"Check it out," Reno announced to everyone, "The newest, baddest thing in the sky! The Shinra 134 Attack Helicopter. What'da think? Pretty sweet huh?" They all stood upon a newly installed helipad on the far end of Junon, the whole group, minus Reeve, Cloud, as Tifa. And all of them were gazing up at six shiny black helicopters, sleek and agile, the Shinra logo brightly painted to both sides of them. A few technicians were meandering about, making last minute checks on them. Rude stood as still as stone, while Reno was all but frolicking around them, like a child dances around a Christmas tree loaded with presents.
"Huh? Huh? Come on, you aren't going to stand there and tell me that these things aren't great? Just look at them!" The group was indeed looking them over.
"Impressive," Cid whistled, finding any sort of flying machine fascinating, and he slipped closer so that he could start taking its inner workings apart with his eyes. "Funny though, that yall have the money ta build somethin' like these, but don't have enough ta fix up some other places yall haven't been too kind with. The people under this city comes to mind." Rude pulled on his tie, glancing away from behind his sunglasses.
"Hey, these are important," Reno argued defensively, "We need to get around, and man, you should have seen our old ones! They were nearly falling apart on us!" Cid humphed at that.
"Whatever. So tell me, what sort of propulsion do these things get? Lower exhaust output or lower friction on the manifolds?" Neither Reno nor Rude really had an answer, not understanding what he had just said, in addition to not being privy to the inner workings of their new rides, so the two glanced between on another, shrugging. Before they could try and produce an excuse, Yuffie interjected.
"Can't you guys talk about all that boring technical stuff later? There are more important things to worry about. Such as…just how many of us know how to fly these things? I know I don't."
"Well, that's the easy part," Reno reassured her, "Me and Rude know how to fly. And I'll bet Cid over there could figure it out too. And if that's not enough, we can always call Elena to pilot. And Tseng if we have to. See, no problem."
"Still," Cloud added, having just arrived on the platform with Tifa, observing their transportation, "I think it might be a good idea for all of us to learn how to fly these, just in case of an emergency. We can't be relying on you guys to take us from place to place all the time."
"Alright, if you want. It's really a piece of cake, so I'm sure you'll all get it down real quick. Except maybe the big guy…"
"Hey now, hold up a minute," Barret growled, "I may not like all that technical stuff like Cid, but that don't mean I don't got a brain. I'll figure it out as quick as anyone, so don't you be worried 'bout that."
"You have a brain huh?" Reno echoed, looking amused, "Sure doesn't sound like it. And I'm not worried about you not getting it, I'm more concerned that you might get frustrated and start shooting the damn thing. We've seen how…ahem…upset you can get." Barret's nostrils flared, and he looked ready to either wring Reno's neck, start blasting his gun, or both simultaneously, but he never got the chance to do follow through.
"Will you the two of you stop that," Tifa interrupted, looking sternly between the both, hands parked on her hips. "This isn't the time to arguing over nonsense. Or did you forget that there is a meteor that is going to crash into us in thirteen days?" The two quarrelling men stopped, looking at her, hanging their heads. Tifa looked quite a bit like a mother scolding her children.
"Nah," Barret apologized, scratching his short hair, "I didn't forget. Just this scrawny chicken's gettin' on my nerves an' all. But yer right…we got ta get thinkin' on a plan ta save all our butts. There'll be plenty of time to get even an' stuff after this is over."
"Assuming of course," Rude spoke up, the first words he had uttered in quite some time, "We find a way to destroy the meteorite and survive this."
"Damn straight we'll figure somethin' out! We haven't come this far just ta get squashed by a rock! Shit, if it comes down to it, I'll try blastin' it!"
"Isn't that your solution to everything," Reno asked him, grinning.
"No way," Yuffie answered first with a grin, before Barret could show him if he was right or not, "Barret has two methods. One is shooting things; the other is beating people up!"
"Hey, are yall done over there?" Cid was squatting by an open compartment on one of the choppers, casting dirty scowls back at the posse. "If ya are, then maybe yall could get yer asses over here, so we can divvy up the work load! If ya think I'm gonna be doin' everythin' round here, then your crazier than a engine rat! Now move it!" Everyone almost seemed to snap to attention, and several present felt the rising need to salute, and shout out "Sir yes sir!"
"Alright then, that's more like it. Now Cloud, seein' as how you're probably gonna be the ringleader tha this crazy circus, why don't you lay things out the way they are gonna be? Like I've said before, I ain't the leader type. Too much of a pain in my ass."
"Sure. Okay, here's what we've got so far. Rude, I want you to take Red XIII, gather up the astronomers from their observatory, and take them to Cosmos Canyon, so they can make the proper assessments." The ever silent Rude made a single grunt, as well as nod, and sauntered over to one of the helicopters. Red XIII followed.
"We will return before long," he called back. "Hopefully, we will have uplifting news when we do." Yuffie went after them. "Hey, wait for me! I'm coming too, remember?"
"Cid, you take your ship back to your factory, and gather your staff. Chances are we're going to need a crack team to build us something, whatever it is we come up with to destroy the meteor. I only hope they're up for the job. If that is the way things pan out, they won't be left with much time."
"Hell, what you sayin'? Don't you know I got the best engineers in the world workin' with me? There ain't a job in the world that they can't do. I already told you earlier, you get the brainiacs to come up with tha plan, and we'll build it for 'em."
"I hope you're right. Seeing as how Junon's going to be our base, just bring them back here. Barret, you need to get back to Edge to get Marlene. Tifa, you should probably go with him, and gather up anyone we might need in this situation. Reno, I'll need you to fly them there and back. Okay?"
"Man, why do I have to fly with him," Reno almost whined, glancing behind at Rude prepping his chopper for takeoff. "Why can't I take the dog and the chick to Cosmos Canyon? And Rude will go to Edge with them. He and Mr. Sunshine here will get along much better than us."
"No chance," Yuffie yelled, sticking her head out of the helicopter cockpit, waving her fists, "I'm not flying in the same anything with him again! He'll spend the whole time trying to hit on me! And while I'm airsick, that just makes it worse!" Cloud didn't really care one way or the other. He sighed. "It doesn't really matter to me. You all decide. Just do it quickly."
"I've already decided! I'm not flying with him!"
"Aw come on, that ain't fair! I'm not that bad, once you get to know me."
"Nice try, but no chance!" Reno looked ready to continue pressing, but suddenly he felt something big and cold clomp over his shoulders. A largish metallic arm draping over him, staggering him.
"Ya heard the lady," Barret informed him with a devious grin, "Just you an' me now. And Tifa too! So mind ya manners! Come on little man, we gotta fly!" He then began to escort Reno to another chopper, more or less dragging him. Tifa started to follow, but paused.
"What about you Cloud? What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to stay here for now. I want to have another talk with Rufus. See if we can't start putting something together." This seemed to satisfy Tifa, who continued after Reno and Barret.
"Hurry back," Cloud called as an after thought, almost making a hint of red rise to his face. Tifa glanced behind again, giving him that sweet, knowing smile, as if she could read his thoughts, and see his inner most feelings. "I will."
In a whirlwind of warm air, the two separate helicopters took off, and went off in their own direction. A few minutes later, the Shera lifted off the landing pad higher up, and roared off. Cloud was standing on the platform.
Vincent was hanging back, not observing the spectacle. In fact, he didn't seem to be looking at anything. It looked as if he was seeing past the world around him, perhaps into some deep nether region to observe the hidden activity that progressed under the fabric of reality. Or something equally profound and mystifying. After a time, his gaze lifted ever so slightly.
"I'll be leaving too," he said slowly, not sounding sure of his own course of action, "There is something that I need to…do. I will return before long." Without a word, or waiting around for a questionnaire that probably would have followed this odd turn of events, he walked back inside, only to vanish into the dim shadows.
Cloud wouldn't have asked what was up, even if he was curious. He didn't really need to. Vincent was enigmatic sure, but he just like anyone had his own secrets, things he didn't want to reveal to anyone…even his friends. Most likely regarding the sin he kept close to his heart. Strange though it was, Cloud knew that he would be back. Vincent was indeed weird in many ways, but an honorable man, who was true to his word. He would be back.
"Guess I'll find Rufus," Cloud commented aloud. Before he stepped inside, he tilted his head back, and stared at the dark sky. It was still late, after midnight. The stars were out, though with all the lights around, it was difficult to see them.
Its outs there, he told himself, somewhere up there, its coming for us. We can't let that happen. He went inside.
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Elsewhere…
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"So," Reeve was summarizing, scanning over a digital world map on the big screen "I'll deploy my people over on the western continent, taking care of any costal towns along there, and evacuate the populous to safe ground. Speaking of which, exactly how far inland do we need to take them to reach safe ground? What are we looking at in terms of water overflowing onto land? No doubt the tidal wave created will be monstrous, but is there anyway to know how far it will go inland? I'd hate to take everyone out of harms way, only to have them end up in a situation that's just as bad."
"Readouts indicated somewhere in the range of a mile of costal land will be submerged," Tseng informed him, going over more of the current data, "at least temporarily. But on the safe side, it would most likely be wise to push them back even further. Two to three should be enough I think."
"Maybe," Rufus mused, "But then again, we have no idea how big this thing really is. We only have theories and inconclusive reports, as we haven't been able to get a clear picture. We've might only been seeing the small side of it. It could be a whole lot bigger than we predicted. That being the case, it could change everything, including where it might land. The southern continent is only a hundred miles from the current splashdown. Its size could very easily change its trajectory for either good or bad."
"I don't see how things could be any worse," Elena mutters from across the room.
'Hey now," Reeve called optimistically, "Cheer up! We're not out of this just yet. We haven't even gotten are hands dirty trying. It's only over when it's over."
"That's right," Rufus concerned, "With some luck, we'll avert this disaster and all continue on with our lives. But if we are going to try and come up with something, we'll need every person at our disposal. Tseng, Elena, I want the two of you to got out and collect as many scientists as you can, that are still in the Shinra employment. Give them the basic facts, and ship them over here. Surely someone will come up with a plan."
Tseng nodded, before waving at Elena to follow. They nearly slammed into Cloud as he was leaving. He stepped to the side, and let the Turks pass first. Tseng gave a smile, and Elena once more gave a somewhat sour expression.
"You'll have to forgive her manner," Rufus apologized on her behalf, "She still bears you and your friends a grudge, and what with working along side one another, past enemies has made her a bit temperamental."
"Forget about it. What have you two been up to?"
"Well," Reeve answered, giving the President a sideways grin, "In addition to catching up on old times, we've formulated the best possible evacuation procedure, should the worse case scenario occur. However, with the limited amount of data at our disposal at this time, we're more into the business of guesswork than actual solid facts. What about you? Where is everyone?"
"I've sent them out. Rude took Red and Yuffie to Cosmos Canyon, Cid went back to his factory to gather his engineers, Reno is flying Tifa and Barret back to Edge, and Vincent…well, Vincent has things he wants to sort out. Or that's what I gathered anyway, knowing him." Rufus pushed himself out of his chair, and strolled over to the window.
"Alright, that sounds good. I'm not too sure what we can do in the meantime, while we wait, but now might be the time to address another issue that I've been somewhat worried about." Reeve and Cloud watched Rufus, waiting for him to continue.
"Tell me, do you…my apologies, I know this may sound a bit strange, but have you gotten the feeling that something isn't…well, quite right? Sure, I know, there is a meteorite hurtling through space towards us, but…do you think that this…" he sighed, leaning on the glass. "This is a bit more difficult to put into words than I thought but…" Cloud cut him off. He knew what he was talking about.
"I know what you mean. And yes, I do feel it. So does Vincent. We don't know why, it's a sort of uneasiness that we sense. As if the meteor isn't the real trouble. I don't see how that could be possible, but I've learned to trust my instincts. And right now, they are saying that we're in for something worse than any meteorite. What though, I can't say."
"Hmm, well it makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the only one. I thought I was maybe losing my composer under this pressure. Well, we can't do anything really if we don't even know what it is that's making us nervous, but we should at least keep our heads up. Now, if you will excuse me for a moment, I need to send messages to my personal worldwide to prepare for a trip here. I certainly hope that gathering everyone in one place will present us with a solution to this predicament. I suppose we will find out soon enough." Rufus departed, leaving Reeve and Cloud, glancing at one another.
"Were you serious just now," Reeve asked, his eyebrow rising, "About that this might only be the beginning? Or were you just humoring him? As I could certainly understand if he might be feeling a bit stressed, what with this approaching disaster. It would be enough to give any man a sense of overwhelming danger."
"I was serious. Don't ask me how, because I don't know. But I'm still worried nonetheless..." He paused, reflecting his own thoughts. For some reason, his mind kept flickering back to those fated last words, the same ones that haunted him, even with his waking mind.
"Come on, we have work to do. No sense in worrying about something that may not even happen. That won't get us anywhere." So, with no further business to speak of, both Cloud and Reeve left the briefing room, to see what they could do to help elsewhere, and await the return of their friends.
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Later…
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The sun was beginning to rise, peeking of the mountainous terrain to the east, over Fort Condor, and the rock faces that held the Mythril Mines. Things had indeed progressed at a rapid pace at Junon, having been dubbed the main base of operations for the "Save The World" endeavor. As the sun rose, several groups arrived.
Tifa and Barret returned from Edge, Barret having retrieved Marlene, while Tifa brought several of the orphan children, many of whom had been victim to Kadaj and his group six months prior. In addition to them, Tifa also brought a familiar metal case. Inside was a large assortment of Materia, what was left over after it had been plundered previously by the aforementioned group. No doubt it would prove a critical asset in this situation.
Just as the children were situated, and the Materia was being inventoried, there was the arrival of the Shera and a dozen or so other airships, Cid having flown all though the night with no sleep.
"Hell," he commented rather nonchalantly about such a feat, "It wasn't nothin' special. Now, quit talkin' my ear off and tell me where the coffee's at!" Arriving with him was his wife Shera, now his head technical advisor and foremost authority on personal safety, as well as over seventy mechanics and engineers. Most looked as if they had just crawled out from under a car after doing some oil changing, and were covered with black smudges.
Surprisingly enough though, they seemed pretty calm and cheery, despite the grim state of affairs. They were chatting and talking with another as if they didn't care that their planet and possibly their lives were in danger.
Tseng and Elena also returned, but heralded down by dockside, rather than the heliports. They had flown over to the western continents, and made some calls. Riding with them in the boat, very near filled to maximum capacity were many many people. Most of which having a rather intellectual quality about them, composed and passive. Others were engineers, technical students, all of them wearing the Shinra logo, being stalwart employees. However, all these people weren't too agitated about the possible impending doom. It did indeed seem that no one was taking this threat seriously.
A shipload of former Shinra scientists arrived as well. These men and women were well educated and agile minded. Though, not quite as brilliant as Dr. Gast, or as mentally unstable as Professor Hojo, these people still could do amazing things when they pooled their thoughts together. Tseng and Elena had to usher these individuals inside, while keeping things stable.
Also arriving by helicopter was yet another new group. But these were not thinkers. They were fighters. Or rather…soldiers, the men and women of the W.R.O., Reeve's world restoration unit. Reeve himself was on the scene, giving orders, and directing his personnel to deploy efficiently. Junon, by around eight o'clock had turned into a buzzing scientific fortress.
Finally, after many tense hours of waiting, one last helicopter was inbound, touching down as nicely as can be. Stepping out was Rude, whilst Yuffie and Red more or less vaulted from the cockpit. Unfortunately, their expressions were far from upbeat. This included the six people with them, the Shinra astronomers. Rufus was out there in person, as was Cloud and his whole group, minus Vincent, waiting to hear the news.
"Well," Rufus demanded at once, "Do you have something new?" There was a lapse of silence, until one mans sighed and stepped up, casting looks at his cohorts, no doubt somewhat irritated that he was the one picked to answer the President.
"Yes…sir, we do have an update. And it's…well, rather unpleasant. Perhaps we should discuss it inside?"