Chapter Five: The Battle of Edge
Black military helicopters swooped down upon the infant city of Edge with the roaring sound of spinning propeller blades and weapon discharge.
Men and women in neon blue striped combat suits kicked down door after door. Those who were 'pure' were shackled and forced into the street. The impure were exterminated. Children were executed before the eyes of parents. Parents were gunned down before the eyes of children. It seemed like the ghosts of Midgar had taken on a tangible shape and now spread their agony throughout Edge.
Blood flew from Cloud's swords, as he deftly cut a swathe through his enemies. He flew through windows and doors swinging, saved many just in the nick of time; some too late. He loaded petrified civilians into the back of trucks with one hand, and deflected a barrage of bullets with the other. Dressed in his black attire, enemies saw only the silver sheen of his swords as he leapt from shadow to shadow, unable to get a shot on him. Cloud easily cut down whole battalions of enemies, and all who saw him were reminded of the glory-days of SOLDIER.
All told, he probably saved about ten-dozen people from their homes, on his own. But the overriding method to his plan was simply, 'Make noise.'
As the fighting escalated, people awoke and ran for it. Cars and trucks and motorbikes blasted through the streets. Edge was a big city, and Cloud couldn't be everywhere at once. For every one person he saved, elsewhere three others were either captured or killed. Running himself ragged, trying to get to everyone, would only get himself killed. The best he could do for those not within arms reach was to make as loud a racket as possible. It seemed to be working, as people evacuated buildings yet untouched by the enemy. Soon enough, it seemed to only be Cloud and the masses of soldiers that occupied the city.
Suddenly, the soldiers halted, simply standing out of reach of Cloud's sword. Cloud was so startled that he froze as well. Between his clothing, made heavy by the rain, and the nonstop fighting, Cloud was more than welcome for a moment to catch his breath anyway.
Cloud crouched down, ready to spring back into the thick of it. But then, the ranks parted, and three enormous men in heavily armored versions of the standard soldier's uniform walked into the circle created by the masses. Mounted on each of their shoulders, Cloud could see a rocket launcher and a broadsword worthy of SOLDIER. As one, they drew their swords, shouted, "Hail Weiss," and charged at him.
Cloud ducked under the first one's swing, and spun around the second as he attempted to run him through. The brute's momentum carried him into the crowd, nearly impaling his fellow soldiers. Cloud deflected the third brute's sword and swung at him with his off-hand blade, only for it to bounce off his enemy's armor. Sensing one behind them, Cloud dived away as the first brute tried to slice him in half. The one Cloud had tried to hit had to jump back as well to avoid the swing. It seemed that these oafs were plenty dangerous on their own, but put too close together and they were a hazard to each other. This was going to be easier than he thought.
Cloud ran to the edge of the circle, the nearest soldier raised the butt of his rifle to smash it into Cloud's face, only to be irritably kicked away. Cloud turned to face the brutes. One of them had pursued him to this point. He swung down at Cloud overhead. Cloud easily sidestepped the attack, he hopped up on the back of the sword as it was lodged in the pavement, pinning it. Not wasting a movement, Cloud lopped off his enemy's head, and used the collapsing man's shoulder as a spring board to propel himself high into the air. Bringing his swords together, Cloud somersaulted once before driving it point-down into the ground, a seismic-like burst of energy, Cloud's inner power, blasted out in every direction. All of the lesser soldiers within ten yards were knocked off their feet, but the big one's withstood the force. Cloud landed next to the embedded sword.
The other two brutes charged at Cloud now, attempting to crush him before he could recover his weapon. Cloud ducked, allowing the swords to cross overhead and hit his sword. The sound made was like a massive bell, rattling the bones in their massive arms. Before they could recover, Cloud slid through the legs of one brute, and snatched up the dead one's sword. Cloud ran the nearest one through the back tossed the body over his shoulder. Cloud parried an attack from the last one, forcing the monster back. Cloud brought the stolen sword down towards his head, pulled his on sword out of the street and continued the barrage. Cloud then heard the cocking of riffles behind him. He forced pushed the last brute back, spun around to deflect a volley of bullets. Cloud used his Bolt spell again, stunning the other soldiers. Spinning once again, Cloud threw the blade he had stolen into the gut of the brute with enough force to threw him onto his back with the sword sticking straight up. Cloud ran forward and used it's pommel as another launch pad. Once again in the air, Cloud used a gravity spell to smash everyone on the street to the ground, which also propelled Cloud higher than ever. His feet touched the side of a building, four stories up, and rebounded off, going even higher and landed on the roof of the opposite building.
Before he could catch his breath though, a spot inches from his foot exploded in a shower of shattered tile. Snipers! Cloud took off running across the rooftops. Without knowing where they were, he couldn't stand up to them without getting torn apart. Bullets impacted all around him as he ran, kicking up water and concrete into his face.
Abruptly, he ran out of rooftop. Cloud was falling, he collected himself enough to land on the next nearest building. His knee buckled, he had taken a bullet through the thigh. Cloud got his bearings, he was in Memorial Square. Soldiers coming from all sides. He saw the half rebuilt monument looming ahead of him. He jumped with his good leg, and scrambled behind the scaffolding. His pursuers stopped firing, unable to see him. Cloud took advantage of this to pour a potion on his leg wound, the bullet had passed right through. Tearing his sleeve into strips, Cloud wrapped up the injury as best he could.
Suddenly it struck Cloud that it had gotten very quiet. Cloud used the blade of his sword as a mirror to look around the scaffold, he could see the legions that had pursued him thus far; but they were standing motionless once again. But then, Cloud heard footsteps in the distance. Walking at a very leisurely pace, came a single man. With fearful reverence, his subordinates stepped out of his way as he approached.
Even as Vincent confronted Azul in Kalm, and Yuffie was leading the counter-strike in Wutai; Cloud stepped into the open and found himself staring down at the Lord of Deepground.
He was a slender, muscled man with white hair so spiky it actually put Cloud's hair to shame. The man was dressed in the same uniform as the others, but it may as well been a royal robe for how the others behaved toward him. He held a long katana in each hand.
As one, the regular soldiers saluted, "HAIL WEISS!" Their God had arrived at the battlefield. . .
"At ease." said 'Weiss' carelessly. He addressed Cloud loftily, "Cloud Strife, I am Wiess, The Immaculate."
Stepping up to the edge of the monument, Cloud addressed his adversary; he kept his voice even, but forceful, trying to appear as more of threat than he felt.
"You're their leader then?"
"You are of no use to us, your body reeks of the Jenova corruption." Weiss said dismissively, like he was thinking out loud.
"Don't fuck with me! Why have you attacked us!?"
"There is no need to tell you, because soon you will be dead. Men-"
Before Wiess could utter another word, Cloud activated the 'Contain' materia and a Flare, as hot as if it came from the sun itself lit up the bleak city. Entire squads of enemy soldiers were reduced to charred corpses. The more hardy among them only severely burned. The heat of the flames turned all the water in the area into a scalding steam, even halting the rain for a few seconds. Cloud fell to one knee, drained by the effort.
Unaffected, Weiss strolled through the flames, looking up at Cloud, and reminding him very much of his oldest enemy. Suddenly, Weiss was in midair next to him!
With a swing of his katanas, Weiss sent Cloud flying through the air into a nearby building overlooking the square, breaking through the large window and crashing through furniture. Stunned, Cloud could only gasp for air. Blood oozed from gashes in his shoulders and back.
A man, blind with panic charged from a room holding a hunting rifle, "Don't move!"
Cloud rolled over onto all fours and stared at him, "You idiot! RUN!"
A second later, Weiss's katana pierced the man's throat. Blood splattered the carpet. With a roar, Cloud swung his sword at Weiss. He parried the blades and kicked Cloud through a wall. Sheetrock rained down on his head.
"Harry!" A shrill voice screamed from the hallway. A woman came running out to the dead man's body. She collapsed on top of it, crying.
"Useless, tainted wretches!" cackled Weiss, slashing at the widow. Her head rolled off, and landed with a sick 'splat' next to her husband.
"Damn you!" shouted Cloud, launching himself out of the wall, he leaped at Weiss. Cloud swatted the katana's away tackled him back through the broken window.
They both fell, upside down and exchanging blows the whole way, back down to the Memorial Square. They landed together, and leaped in opposite directions, still facing each other. Cloud drew the serrated blade from his harness. They rushed each other and clashed again. Blades locked, neither giving an inch. Their blades crossed in front of them, Cloud head-butted Weiss through the gap and his swords gave. Cloud pressed him further. He swung at Weiss's side. Wiess blocked, but could not counter before Cloud swung with his other sword. Weiss ducked away, losing a few strands of hair in the process. Cloud hammered at Weiss's defense. Forced onto his back foot, Weiss retreated a couple steps. Then thrust one sword at Cloud's face. Cloud twisted his body, avoiding the blade, then dodging the other, he deflected the first as it sliced towards his neck, and used his main blade to force both up. With a clang, their blades locked together once more.
"You're not like the others," growled Cloud, "You were in SOLDIER!"
"So you would believe," Weiss hissed.
"Shinra is gone."
"I don't care about SHINRA!" roared Weiss.
Weiss forced their blades upward, breaking the blade-lock, a quick swipe knocked Cloud off balance long enough for Wiess to back-flip away, landing ten feet away. He pointed his katanas at Cloud. Suddenly, Cloud felt intense burning pain in his left shoulder. Then the sound of the gunfire reached his ears. He fell to one knee, his upper body wracked with pain. Looking down, he saw blood dripping out of a hole in his shirt. Looking up, he saw smoke rising from the katana blades, which he now recognized as-
"Gunblades!?"
Weiss shot at him again, and again, and again. Cloud managed to deflect a few, but was struck again in his chest and abdomen. Cloud collapsed to one knee, panting.
Weiss dropped his fighting stance and began to laugh again. He walked towards Cloud, scraping the tips of his swords along the pavement. "You are finished Cloud Strife. I am but one man, and you cannot even kill ME. How can you hope to stop an army?"
Sheathing one sword, Weiss dragged Cloud back into a standing position by his hair. "If you really want to know; My goal is simple: POWER."
With that, Weiss punted Cloud so hard in the stomach that he was sent flying high into the air. Spitting up blood, Cloud could only see his own two feet in his field of vision.
Landing heavily on his side, Cloud found himself back on top of the Meteor Monument. Weiss landed on the other side of the platform, knocking the scaffold away with a swing of his sword.
"At this very moment, my forces are attacking cities all over the world; Junon, Kalm, Wutai, Nibelheim, Corel . . . and there is nothing you can do about it."
His anger growing, Cloud forced himself back to his feet and merged the serrated blade with the main one.
"We'll stop you." Cloud said defiantly, "If not me, then the others-"
"Oh I'm sure!" sneered Weiss, "Yes, I'm sure your allies will certainly try to avenge you. Who will try first? That hick with the airship? The muscle-headed oaf with the gun-hand? How about your little ninja sidekick? Or the failed science experiment? Maybe they'll send that idiotic toy cat of Reeve's? Well I'd certainly die of laughter!"
His anger flared, Cloud swung his sword with all the strength he had left. But Weiss easily avoided the attack by leaping over it; Cloud's sword lodged itself in the metal frame of the memorial as Weiss landed onto of the blade. With Cloud's sword pinned, he was at Weiss's mercy. Weiss held the tip of his katana to Cloud's throat.
"This seems familiar," Weiss taunted, "A mighty SOLDIER, alone on the battlefield, and full of bullet holes."
Cloud glared at his enemy. "Bastard."Weiss smirked.
"I'll take your head and deliver it to your girlfriend, then I'll eat her heart!"
Weiss picked up Cloud by his throat and held him up for all to see. Weiss called Deepground to attention. The square was filled once more with soldiers. They all called back with rounds of 'Hail Wiess'.
"Deepground!" shouted Wiess, "Show me your loyalty!"
The men and women of Deepground let out a mighty cheer.
"Ready your weapons, Fir-"
Suddenly an electric shock, a bolt spell, surged through him. He dropped Cloud, more out of surprise than pain. The soldiers did not shoot, as Weiss had yet to give the order. Cloud swung his sword up at Wiess from the ground with such speed that Wiess could only back-flip off the crowded memorial to avoid it.
"Well look who still has some fight left." Weiss sneered, as he landed back on the ground a few yards away from the monument. He raised a hand, and Deepground lowered their weapons. "Care to start the next round?"
Weiss's mocking only fed the furnace of Cloud's anger. Energy was building up inside his body until a shimmer appeared around his body. Cloud rose to his feet once more, raised his sword and spun it over his head, the blade engulfed in power once more. Cloud found yet more power boiling up from unknown places, soon going beyond the limit of his body to contain it. Power overflowed from Cloud's being and took shape in the form of a fiery blue mass of pure energy, illuminating the square. Eyes glowing, Cloud Strife swung the sword in a full circle. A roaring whirlwind followed the blade. The weaker soldiers were sent flying.
Cloud Strife swung his sword, winds swirling about the blade, again, and the intensity of the winds increased five-fold. Only the hardiest of soldiers withstood it. For the finishing touch, Cloud swung his sword in one last arc, guiding the maelstrom towards Weiss. A roaring twister, with the monument at the epicenter blasted all the remaining enemies away, Weiss himself took the full force of the attack. Before he knew it, Weiss was flying high above the city and out of control.
With an impact that echoed for miles, Weiss crashed into the side of a bus a mile across the city from where he had started. The bus was split in half, the street behind it getting torn up by Weiss's landing.
By the time any could return to the square, Cloud was long gone.