40 Minutes Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
The soldier before Red XIII smacked his gun repeatedly, trying to get the ammunition clip he loaded to fire. However, he didn't give him a chance. Giving out a roar, the beast lunged at him. The man looked up and cried out in panic before the lion/wolf took him down forever. Yet he had barely finished dispatching that man before he shot back up, darted forward, and ran his metal feather through the leg of an approaching Black Widow. The thing immediately fell on one side, and struggled to compensate for the unexpected damage. Before it could, Red XIII ran his feather through the machine's "brain", finishing it off.
Nearby, Yuffie flung out her shuriken, taking off an arm of another Black Widow. She shrieked and dove for cover a moment later as it discharged its missile launcher at her. However, it was so busy trying to hit her that it didn't see Cait Sith running up behind it, and a moment later it was crushed flat as his giant moogle swung both of its fists down on it together. A few fighting divisions to the east of this was Tifa. A SOLDIER was approaching her with sword drawn, yet she simply dove at him with both fists ready. She smacked away the sword and gave him a nose-crushing blow to the face in the blink of an eye. To her right, Barret yelled out and peppered the second trench with gunfire, keeping the enemy there pinned down as special forces from the PPA tried to flood the sides.
Seems like old times now…
Red XIII had decided to join the battle at last. The PPA now needed all the help it could get. It wasn't causing enough damage to the enemy. Leading a new charge, Red XIII had taken a group of soldiers right into the heart, piercing the lines and flooding into the first trench. The rest of the PPA tried to pour in after them. It was taking heavy fighting, and the other trenches were making them pay for their recklessness…but the enemy was going down in it. The barricades were broken and the enemy artillery overrun. Although they were still in the process of clearing it, it looked like the first trench would soon be theirs.
But it wasn't enough. There were two other trenches which were receiving reinforcements from the Dome all the time. Though the enemy was now out of artillery and running low on Black Widows and sweepers, manpower was still flooding out. The PPA was slowly taking the field, but it wasn't fast enough. They only had forty minutes now to force a surrender. Some enemy divisions were surrendering, but many more were standing their ground or joining the battle. Cannon fire just wasn't piercing through to attack the units still in the Dome. They were trying to target the entrances now to keep any more reinforcements from arriving…but even if they did that, what then? Then there would be no way for the PPA to take the Dome. They'd be sealed out again.
If they don't break soon, this strike will have been for nothing. Red XIII thought.
Aerith didn't have the time or energy to block these next strikes. She had to move her head out of the way as fast as she could. Even so, she felt hairs being severed from her head as Aleron's scythe slashed down at her skull from either side. She tried to back away as she dodged them, to put more distance between herself and the attacking woman.
However, Aleron had barely finished slashing when she kicked out with one leg, catching her in the middle. The wind rushed out of Aerith's lungs from the blow…and she thought she could feel something breaking within her. At any rate, she was flung back onto the central platform, and her body slid away from Aleron on the smooth surface. Her face strained in agony, but she gagged rather than cried out. She had no air to breathe.
Dizzy, and quivering from how much power she was putting out, Aerith strained to look up and see what was happening. Aleron was merciless. She was already running in to attack her again. This time, the Cetra was too dazzled to recover or crawl away. She was sore and tired. She had to try and delay her. Though this too was a strain on her reserves, it didn't hurt her lungs or body…which were aching enough as it was. She aimed her hand at the approaching woman and let ancient whispers slip over her tongue. Breathless as she was, she managed to make enough noise for them to have an effect.
Blue light and mist suddenly condensed around Aleron's arms. The dark woman hesitated, and looked to see what this new attack was. Suddenly, huge crystals of ice condensed and formed around her appendages. Her hands were encased and annealed to her weapon. The added weight immediately threw her off and dragged her arms down, stunning her.
The Cetra grit her teeth after this and forced herself to roll forward and spring back to her feet. She quickly brought the Sun Ray back once she was up and made for Aleron. She hated to hit her like this…but she couldn't win this fight even with regular shots. She had to try something "cheap". As it was, she doubted she could even leave a bump on her head. However, Aerith never had the chance to do this. The dark woman saw her coming, and when she neared…swung out her frozen hands. She proceeded to smash both against Aerith's face, shattering the ice on impact. The Cetra's vision filled with stars as she spilled backward again. Hot pain mixed with freezing ice on the side of her head. She didn't fall this time, but she did stagger back.
Though her head was swimming, Aerith managed to crack her eyes open. Mostly due to the Planet alerting her…she saw Aleron approaching, getting ready to swing at her again. Somehow she managed to bring up the Sun Ray, but blocking the blow made her absorb the impact of it. It was so strong, and she was so unsteady, that she was nearly flung away by the attack as her arms were wrenched painfully. Aleron didn't let up, but immediately drew her spear tip out and closed after her.
The Planet screamed to Aerith to keep acting, dazzled and disorientated as she was. Not knowing what else to do, and barely able to think enough to form an active strategy, she threw her hand up in Aleron's face as she approached and brought the first spell to mind that she could think of. A white mist immediately erupted from her fingertips and washed over the woman's head as she came in, prepared to thrust the Cetra through.
Much to Aerith's surprise…Aleron actually staggered. Suddenly, her face looked far less vicious and cruel…even softening somewhat. Her eyelids sagged slightly, and her blow became meaningless. Her thrust missed Aerith easy, and soon the woman was the one wavering on her own feet. She actually stepped back and shook her head fiercely, as if trying to clear something up.
The Cetra realized what she had done a moment later. She had called up the sleep spell she had used on Ragnar months ago. That it actually affected Aleron could only mean that the woman hadn't been expecting it at all. With her mental fortitude, it was a miracle that it was stalling her this much. This sort of attack would never work again. This was Aerith's only opening.
The woman swallowed back…realizing she couldn't afford pity until Aleron couldn't fight anymore. She might have hesitated longer, and lost her advantage all together.
However…on seeing her opponent momentarily at her mercy…the dark side within her blazed up in delight. A brief humor came over Aerith…one that laughed at the thought that her enemy was now unguarded. This impulse immediately called on the power of the Planet again…drawing it into herself to empower her more than before. And once she had it…she immediately channeled it down into the Sun Ray. The staff responded by blazing like a flame from the sun.
With all of her might, Aerith cried out and swept the Sun Ray around, smashing it into the side of Aleron's head as much as she could. Combined with the power she gathered from the Planet and from the Sun Ray…the blow made a rather loud crack. Aleron actually cried out in pain as her head was snapped in one direction. A bruise began to well up from under her skin. But that wasn't enough. The Cetra cried out again and brought the other end of her staff around…smashing into the other side of Aleron's head even harder. This time…a gash went along with the bruise. A few drops of blood actually marred her perfect pale skin. Still full of anger and passion, Aerith drew her staff back, and then drove the end of it as deep and hard as she could into Aleron's middle. The blow struck hard and true in her solar plexus…actually knocking some wind out of the woman in the process. Gagging, Aleron doubled over and grasped her middle.
Slowly…a grin began to form across Aerith's face. This woman thought she was so mighty…and now the "weakling Cetra" was beating her. She tightened her grip on her staff…and swung it up and over her head. In another moment, she'd bring it down on the back of this wretch's skull and blind her if not kill her… She could see the blood flowing already…
…No!
What am I doing?
Then…the grin vanished. Surprise and horror replaced it. Aerith hesitated, frozen in her position. Aleron, still doubled over, continued to gag and reel in front of her. The Cetra gaped at her…seeing her disabled like this. A moment ago…she had been ready to kill her. To strike her down with a hit she couldn't come back from. But that wasn't what she had come for… She had come to try and save Krystea. Yet here she was…thinking only of killing the monster in front of her. She had forgotten about all that Krystea had done for her…about what she had been before she had been taken over by this thing. She only wanted blood…
Something's happening to me…
This power…it's taking control of me…
Aerith, at that moment, didn't want to be here. She didn't want to fight anymore. She wanted to be a hundred miles away in the City or Baptismal Garden or anywhere she could collect her thoughts and control herself. She was feeling true terror now. Not from Aleron or Sephiroth…but from herself. Whatever was inside her was growing…and she was having a harder and harder time holding it back. If this fight went on, she might be able to pull back the next time it came out. She wished Ragnar was here…
However, she forced herself to shake these thoughts away. She wasn't a child. She couldn't run away and hide now, and she couldn't let others take care of her. People were counting on her. The world was counting on her. And Aleron still wasn't down. She was still on her feet. Whether out of rage or out of necessity…she had to strike her. She had to knock her out while she still could. If she struck too hard…then that was a chance she had to take.
"…I'm sorry, Krystea." Aerith whispered aloud. She began to bring the staff down.
Yet Aerith's pity did not serve her well this time. She had hesitated only a second…but a second was all Aleron needed. Hissing like a rabid beast, Aleron struck out with her scythe at Aerith's ankles. Moments later, her flesh was torn across both of them down a half inch. Blood flowed forth and over her feet. The Cetra faltered, and cried out in agony.
Aleron quickly rose to her feet, eyes blazing in rage. Sweeping her scythe up and around, she smashed the bar of her own weapon into the side of Aerith's head. The Cetra was ripped off of her feet and sent flying away. This had been the hardest blow yet…and it was only because Aerith was still brimming with power that she didn't immediately go unconscious. As it was, her crying out was cut off by the sheer pain she was feeling, and her body went limp as it smashed into the ground and slid away across the floor. She would have slid off the edge of the platform and to the abyss below…had not the wire mesh been set around it. Its rough surface caught her before she could go any farther.
The Cetra felt the world spinning around her…yet a force inside her willed her to keep going. One of her eyes was swollen and puffy now, so she could only open one. Her body was starting to throb with pain, making the world even more unreal and unstable to her. But she vaguely managed to see Krystea rise. The lights around her were flickering and dimming. The air seemed to grow much colder…and Aerith exhaled a puff of misty breath as a foul scent entered her nostrils.
"You'll scream more than that before I'm done with you, Cetra bitch."
Cloud swiped his blade at Sephiroth again. This time, however, a cloud of green energy was discharged from it…immediately forming a beam of power that traveled toward him. It was far stronger than when he had attacked Ragnar with it…actually tearing into the metal along the floor as it traveled toward the man. Jenova's appendages withdrew in its wake to avoid being severed as well.
However, Sephiroth waited until it was moments from impact. Then, he simply leapt into the air and let the attack sail harmlessly under him. An instant later, it struck one of the pipes on the back wall…immediately puncturing a large hole through it, pounding into some unknown area.
Ragnar had been waiting for this though. Ragnarok flared up again, and he swung his own blade down at Sephiroth. In response, an after image of a flaming sword was generated and sloughed off from the main blade. It immediately turned into a sword of fire itself, and sailed for the man mere instants after he finished leaping into the air to dodge the first blow. He had nothing to brace himself against to avoid this hit…
Unfortunately, both Ragnar and Bahamut failed to remember that the rules of physics didn't seem to apply to Sephiroth. The dark man calmly arched back in midair until his body was parallel to the ground, letting the sword sail harmlessly overhead into the wreckage of the pipe from Cloud's attack. On striking, it immediately ignited into a fireball itself. Cloud's own blade beam was still going off, scattering shockwaves around it. However, Sephiroth simply twisted his body again, and used his power of flight to sail backward and in through the explosions. He shot into the opening that had been made by Cloud's attack, twisted around, and landed behind the range of the shockwave.
Neither man let up. They quickly leapt forward as well, lunging at him once again. They darted through the flames and new opening with swords drawn, and went right for the man himself. Sephiroth continued to fall back, once again seemingly relying on his ability to fly. However, he stayed close to the ground, and so they were able to pursue.
The two men began to unleash their newest assault on the man, but it was no good. Though both of them tried to attack him from the hardest places to move in to block against, he was still fast enough to hold them off. He also continued to back up, going deeper into this new area. Ragnar didn't have time to take in his surroundings. He had to focus everything he had on fighting.
Cloud leapt on Sephiroth with another cross slash, but it was blocked. Ragnar dove in with his own a moment later, but unlike most of his blows this one was easy to shift over to intercept. Yet that was his intention. Both men were now close, and both were able to act simultaneously to bring their swords down on the man. Sephiroth stopped flying and planted his feet on the ground as he crossed Masamune overhead. Both blades connected…and once again were unable to go any farther against Sephiroth's steel.
Moments later, Sephiroth suddenly flew again, this time charging into both of them. He flung his sword out as he did so, and either through the force of the blade slashing or some unseen force, both men were cast back. However, Cloud was flung back far further, seeming to have taken a new cut as he did so. Ragnar only went back a few feet before he managed to catch himself. It was a good thing too…for Sephiroth soon veered around and began to fly at him.
Ragnar was forced to not walk back, but actually leap back to avoid the coming attacks. He parried a slash made for his middle, and then blocked off hits at his shoulder and his opposite hip. Sephiroth clashed with him a moment later, and drove his shoulders into agony before he was able to twist around and fling him off. Yet the dark man kept coming. He deflected three more strikes, still backing up and unable to stop it. Each hit forced him into more pain, and he couldn't get out of the assault. The youth began to slip slightly, starting to give in to panic…
Luckily, Bahamut was still cool. As Sephiroth reared back to drive his sword forward, his personality told Ragnar to dodge and spin. It took a split second, but he carried it out. He dodged to one side, and Masamune sailed harmlessly past. Well…it did catch a bit of his shirt, but other than that harmlessly. Sephiroth was now open. With that in mind, the youth spun around with Ragnarok extended and attempted to slash him…
Failure again. Not only was Sephiroth able to recover quickly and fly out of that…but as he brought Masamune back he sliced up the skin on one of Ragnar's shoulder blades. All Ragnar got for the move was more pain.
As the youth arched his back and grit his teeth, he saw Cloud come at Sephiroth again. He was trying something different. He dove for the man with his sword out in front of him, like a lance almost. He knew that was a setup for a different kind of attack…one that Cloud called Climhazard. As initially expected, Sephiroth, on landing from Ragnar's attack, simply sidestepped the initial thrust. But once there, in the blink of an eye, Cloud's feet were on the ground, and he began to bring his blade up in a powerful upward slice.
Despite the fact that it had to be at least three times as strong as Cloud's normal blows…Sephiroth simply extended Masamune and stopped it.
Ragnar sneered in frustration as he struggled to recover to fight before Sephiroth overwhelmed Cloud again. This wasn't getting any easier. Both he and Cloud were burning through what tricks they had left in their bags in a hurry. Soon they'd only be left with their final trump cards. If Sephiroth could best that…then this whole fight may have been for nothing.
Well…I'll actually have that one final move…
Aerith's body smashed against one of the cylinders. Just like Hoeng's, they didn't crack. They had to be made of strong plexiglass. As a result, it was rather painful, and wrenched her body terribly. Moments later, the woman groaned as she collapsed again to the ground, her body appearing to peel off of it as she fell.
Aerith had never really experienced a "beating". The Shinra types had smacked her around a few times, but it hadn't been anything severe. When she had been in combat with the others, she had held back and let materia do the job. In retrospect…it might have been a good idea to bring some materia…although it really didn't matter with her powers. It wouldn't have made a difference at this point. She was nearly out of energy as it was. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. She had worn herself out trying to withstand Aleron's assault. Once she wasn't able to keep up with her anymore, she suffered for it. She was soaked with sweat now. Her soft brown hair was matted against her forehead. Her clothing was soaked. It was also torn in several places from where Aleron had given her cuts. Most of it was on her arms and legs, however. One of her eyes was still swollen and puffy, and the other side of her face had a gash on it from Aleron's blow. Blood was running off of her brow and down her cheek.
The Cetra had to lie there for a moment, simply too tired to keep fighting. After striking Aleron, her ferocity had doubled. She vented her full fury on the woman. At one point, she literally knocked her into the air, and then hit her again before she could go to the ground. Each blow overrode her entire pain system, putting her whole body into a numbing jolt. Everything throbbed…and she felt as if she was at least sprained in multiple spots…if she didn't have broken bones.
The saddest part was that although she was beaten…she knew she wasn't in nearly as bad shape as Ragnar had been after his last battle with Sephiroth. His agony had to have been far worse…
Weakly…the woman began to raise the end of the Sun Ray, somehow still in her sweaty palm…
A stinging jolt through her arm interrupted her a moment later, as a powerful blow smacked the weapon out of her hand. Her good eye expanded a bit more, and saw that a black boot had kicked the staff away…and had sent it over the edge of the central platform and down the long vertical shaft into oblivion.
She didn't look at that long, however…because she felt a stabbing pain in her upper calf. Crying out again, she whirled back around…and saw that Aleron had pierced her against the floor through the leg, using the end of her scythe. Despite the pain, she looked up and into the woman's face.
The merciless woman seemed to turn the world dark around her as she looked down. It was like a shadow was accenting her body. Her eyes were filled with hate, although her face had relaxed somewhat. Either side of her face had only slight markings of where her staff had been. Apparently, just like Ragnarok, the Sun Ray burned whoever touched it who wasn't intended for it. The bruises and bumps themselves had long since healed, but the burn was still coming back.
"You've struck your last blow, Cetra." She sneered at her. "This is a much more pleasing appearance for you…helpless…defenseless…broken…weak. It seems the only thing your race is good for is dying for this world. I hope you realize in your final moments that everything you did will be undone. This world will be ours. Every human you care for will die horribly. In the end…this rock will simply be ash, and we will live forever."
Aerith swallowed once, panting from being so tired. Ironically…now was a time she needed her anger to flare up. However, it had burned itself out with her exhaustion. In addition, she was restraining it too much after last time.
"I could have killed you just now." Aleron continued, pointing to her scythe imbedded in her calf. "Your femoral artery is nearly the size of your aorta. It's not running you through the chest…but one swipe and you'll be a guaranteed corpse. I missed on purpose to give you time to despair."
The woman began to reach for the scythe after saying that.
"Krystea…don't do it." Aerith said aloud.
The woman merely smiled at this. "You can beg for mercy better than that."
"I'm not talking to you, Aleron." Aerith responded. "If you had any of Krystea in you, you'd realize that you're as much human and Cetra as you are Jenova. Even Kadaj could feel love after what he became. Krystea's still inside you. I know she can hear me. She can't let you use her for this."
Aleron stared back down at the Cetra. Her smile didn't increase or decrease. Aerith stared hard back, not coming away from her conviction. Aleron didn't launch into one of her tirades about Krystea being gone, and she didn't simply finish her off. They just stared at each other in the silence of the chamber.
In the end, the dark woman's smile faded, and she snorted and shook her head.
"…You inconsequential gnats. Why do you hang on when you know everything's lost? Your persistence is so sickening. I don't know if somehow you knew this whole time…or if it was your ridiculous notions of hope that made you cling to it…but I'll let you in on a little secret. I do still have her annoying little personality kicking around inside my brain. And much as I've tried to get her to shut up and submit to oblivion…she doesn't seem to want to comply."
Aerith's eyes expanded a bit here. Despite what Aleron said, and despite the situation she was in, she suddenly felt a surge of hope. Krystea wasn't gone. She couldn't sense her or reach her, it seemed…but she was still there. Aleron hadn't destroyed her when she took over. Yet even as she thought this, the dark woman snorted.
"But it doesn't matter. It never did matter. I've remade her body into mine. I'm in control here. Before I was the loose personality running around in her brain. Now she's the alien presence within my mind. It might take months or years…but eventually she'll tire and fade. Be absorbed into my psyche. And there's nothing that can change that. So you see…by simply saying she was gone I spared you a bit more despair. Now that I've said the truth, you have one more thing to fill you with anguish before you die."
With that, the dark woman seized the staff of her scythe. Aerith's teeth clenched. There had been hope after all…but now it didn't matter. Whether there was a way to bring Krystea back out from within Aleron or not made no difference. In an instant, she would be dead again. She couldn't bring to mind any spells…and she couldn't stand or move without cutting into herself…
Marlene…I'm sorry I couldn't save Azure…
Krystea…I'm sorry I couldn't save you…
Aleron's eyes gazed down at her hungrily, seeming like she would drink the blood as soon as it was spilled…
Until her eyes suddenly slammed shut and tightened as her face turned into agony.
Aerith's teeth relaxed as she saw the woman suddenly arch her back. At the same time…Aerith heard a sizzling sound and a small eruption. To her surprise, a combination of electricity and fire flashed out from over her shoulders. Some attack had hit her from behind.
Sneering in rage, Aleron ripped out the end of the spear from Aerith's leg. Blood immediately flowed forth, but Aerith couldn't immediately tell if she had managed to cut the artery or if it was from her flesh. She didn't wait to find out. She quickly drew herself back and slammed her hands down on the wound, putting pressure on it in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She tried to get enough focus to use a healing spell…but at the same time she looked up to see what had happened.
The dark woman snapped around…only to immediately have her head snapped back. A form had dove at her with fist outstretched, and hit her with enough power to puncture thin steel. Aerith caught a glimpse of the fist that had done this…and saw that brasss knuckles were across it to give it even more power. Even so, the blow only managed to do what a regular punch would have done to a normal woman. Aleron hissed, but before she could return, the form who had hit her landed and quickly punched her again across the face. Then he began to beat her in the stomach, not giving her a chance to recover.
As he did…Aerith saw who it was.
"Rude…" She breathed aloud.
It was indeed Rude. He was mercilessly beating away at Aleron, not giving her a chance to breathe or think. Doing so would be fatal. Yet even as he pounded away at the woman, his blows seemed to do less and less to her. None of them had the power of his opening hit. Her face turned angry, and she began to recover again. After smashing her across the face once…Aleron raised her scythe in a lightning move, and made to cut Rude down with one slash.
To her surprise, the man ducked…just in time for Reno of the Turks to lunge forward driving his electropole right for her nose. As he smashed it in with all of his power, he let loose with a fully charged jolt. The woman was stunned again, and actually gave a bit of a cry as her head snapped back slightly. She flailed her arm out, letting her scythe slip to the side.
Reno didn't stand his ground and fight. Rather, once he stopped his lunge by bouncing off of Aleron's face, he rolled to the side. This allowed a clear path between Aleron and the upper catwalk…where Aerith saw that the third member was standing with a new piece of fire materia. Elena proceeded to discharge another powerful blast. The fireball shot across the catwalk and impacted on Aleron's face. She was so disorientated that as it blew up against her brow, she actually staggered back.
As the flames died down and cleared, Aleron began to stagger back to her feet again. Yet she had barely gotten her legs underneath her before Reno leapt up and smashed his pole against her head, giving her another powered jolt as she did so.
"Ain't so tough when you don't have time to think, are you?" He chided.
Aleron's face filled with rage. She snapped around to the man, and began to bring her scythe up to attack him again. Yet doing so left her open to Rude…who kicked out and got her behind her knee. She stumbled in response, missing her chance to attack, and Rude followed up by digging his fist into her side. Reno leapt in at the same time and smashed his pole across her face again and again. Her head bent slightly with each hit.
Nearly hissing, the woman released her weapon and seized the end of the pole. The fact that she was getting electrocuted by it as she held it didn't seem to matter. She jerked Reno down by the arm to get close enough to hit him. However, in answer, he tilted his head simply to one side…letting Aleron take another fireball to the head. The woman had been expecting it this time, however, and after only snapping her head back a little she brought it back through the flames to attack again. Yet that was when Elena lunged herself…smashing the heel of her foot into the same tender spot on the nose she had before. Combined with the pain it had already received, blood actually flew from it. Her grip loosened on Reno's pole a moment later.
Elena quickly moved out of the way along with Reno…just as Rude finished leaping back and then charging forward. He delivered a powerful uppercut to Aleron's head, squatting and lunging at the last moment to give more power. The effect actually knocked her head into the air exposing her neck. Elena gave it an iron palm before Reno lashed his pole around it and held her from behind, trying to choke her. Elena grabbed her arm and twisted it with all her strength in a move that would have dislocated a normal person's arm, if not broken the radius and ulna as well. Yet the twist was enough to make the dazzled Aleron actually drop her scythe. Rude rushed in and began to pound away into her solar plexus, driving each blow hard and deep within her stomach. While he did this, Elena flipped and did a chain of roundhouse kicks, smashing away at Aleron's face again and again. Reno continued to throttle her, wrapping his legs around her middle to choke more air out of her and pumping her full of more electricity with his prod.
Bruises actually began to form on the side of Aleron's head. Blood continued to ooze from her nose. Her face was tight with genuine agony. Aerith gaped at this. They were actually doing it. They were hurting her…beating her…
That thought lasted about all of five seconds.
That was when Aleron's eyes opened up, serpentlike, and she spat out hatefully so loudly that spittle came from her mouth one word…
"ENOUGH!"
The woman brought her fist back and swung it forward with more power than she had ever used before into Rude's face. The man's neck snapped back as the power to his head flung him backward so hard that he smashed against the console in the room. His body warped around that before blood began to run from his own nose and mouth, and his form went completely limp. That done, Aleron swung her body up and brought both legs forward and under Elena's jaw. The woman was literally knocked forty feet into the air from the impact before sailing to the ground. She was already as limp as a fish before she landed on her back. Burning with anger, Aleron next reached behind her and dug her fingers into Reno's hair and scalp…drawing blood from her grip. Reno cried in pain, releasing his pole. That was all Aleron needed before she flung him over her shoulders by the hair and smashed him so hard into the ground that the metal beneath him dented in a human shape. He too went instantly lifeless.
Aerith couldn't believe it. None of her friends could have survived the Turks' onslaught, but Aleron had beaten them all in two seconds. She was panting now…but it was from anger and not strain. She wasn't even sweating. The bruises turned into fair skin again, and the blood was drawn back up into her nose. The Cetra realized in terror that Ragnar had been right…she did have unlimited energy. She was healing from all of her injuries already, and soon it would be like nothing had happened… The only thing that was giving her trouble was that Aleron was so angry that she was boiling off her rage for a few moments before she acted again. Aerith had forgotten about her leg now. Whatever power she had left, she had to put into a spell against her. But if she had taken all that punishment…what could a minor spell do?
Her answer was moot after a moment. Abruptly, Aleron snapped violently to the side. Some force appeared to have struck her in the shoulder. Still furious, she looked to the source, and grasped at something. Her black-gloved hand came back with it a moment later, something that Aerith could see from her spot.
A tranquilizer dart.
Sneering…but also wavering slightly, Aleron looked back to the source. Aerith did as well…and saw the last person she expected to be there.
Maritza, grinning and holding her tranquilizer gun at Aleron, gave a kiddie wave at the top of the catwalk.
"I think you're overdue on your shots, missie."
Aleron's hand balled into a fist. She angrily began to move toward the woman…but not as fast this time.
Maritza quickly squeezed the trigger five more times. Aleron dodged the first one…for she was still rather fast. But Maritza was a good gunner herself, and Aleron was already losing speed. The next one struck her in her other shoulder. The pain was enough stop her momentarily, allowing the other three to imbed in her chest. Aleron's eyes blazed even more hatefully than before as she glared at Maritza. She began to walk toward her again, ripping out the second dart as she did. However…her footsteps were very unsteady at that point. The anger she showed began to simmer down. Her eyelids started to droop, and her stare became glassy. She stopped rushing, and began to walk instead. By the time she pulled out the third dart, she was barely able to do that. She was halfway up the catwalk by now, but having a hard time moving forward any more than that. She stumbled on her feet a bit longer…but then was unable to walk anymore. Her limbs fell to the sides, missing the fourth dart entirely, and her mouth loosened as her eyes dropped.
At last, Aleron's body collapsed on the catwalk. It slid down part of the way because the metal was smooth, but stopped before hitting bottom. She shifted slightly a few more times, but then went still. She was out.
Aerith was stunned. She turned back to Maritza, who proceeded to calmly blow on the end of her gun and begin to replace it in her coat. "Very impressive. One of those darts would have turned a behemoth into a carcass. No wonder the Turks couldn't put you down." With that, she turned to the Turks in their various positions. She clapped her hands a few times. "Alright boys and girls…time to wake up and smell the coffee."
The Cetra looked around her. The Turks were breathing, but they definitely weren't getting up anytime soon.
Maritza frowned in disapproval. "Lazy oafs. Honestly, I have to do everything myself…"
With that, the woman turned back to the open doorway to the room. She reached out and grabbed something that was there. Soon after, she gave a mighty grunt, and seemed to be stretching herself as much as she could. A sound of metal grinding against metal from something very heavy being dragged resulted. Aerith watched as Maritza slowly brought what looked like a huge metal cylinder over the threshold, with some sort of massive device on top built into it.
The Cetra blinked and watched for a moment. Maritza didn't seem to be aware of that fact that she was there, although she was fairly out in the open. She paused a bit longer, but then turned back down to her leg. It was still bleeding, but not nearly as much as before. It wasn't severe. With that in mind, and now that she had relaxed a bit, Aerith held her hand out over it and chanted. A green light came forth, and soon her flesh began to join back together. She was only able to stop the bleeding for now, but that was all she wanted to do. She looked around herself afterward. The Sun Ray, unfortunately, was gone. All that was left was Aleron's own scythe…and she wasn't using that. With no tool available to her, the Cetra simply pushed against the ground and brought her feet underneath her. This was rather painful, and soon she was wincing. But she forced herself up. She could deal with pain now. Somehow, she got onto both feet. Putting any weight on her bad leg hurt, so she limped a bit as she hobbled over to the nearest place she could brace herself: the computer console.
Maritza was still grunting and straining, struggling to yank the cylinder down the catwalk. She was moving downhill, so she was going a bit faster. She came up to Aleron's own motionless body as she went. Seeing her blocking her way, she frowned and kicked her in the head, pushing her back slightly as she did.
Seeing this, Aerith held out her hand. "Don't…"
On hearing this, the scientist immediately snapped around and looked to who had spoken, seeming surprised. Her gaze and Aerith's met. Despite the fact that they were both in the same army, neither of them had ever seen the other face to face before. Aerith had the idea that Maritza was rather…unstable…from what Ragnar had told her. Maritza herself showed nothing at first.
But then, she grinned a bit wider.
"Looks like I'll have some help after all." She stated. After that, she motioned down to the body of Aleron. "Don't worry about her. She can't even be hurt by something like that. Even if she could, it would heal. She's still healing right now, as we speak. Her body is probably getting rid of that sedative as quickly as I put it in her. Well…I don't have anymore than what I've already pumped her full of, so I'm kind of pressed for time. Would you be a dear, come over here, and drag her out of my way?"
Aerith looked back in puzzlement. However, for reasons she didn't quite understand herself, she found her body slowly and reluctantly complying with what the woman said. She slowly limped her way over to the catwalk. There was still most of a railing there, so she was able to use her arms here. She pulled herself up until she reached Aleron, and then grabbed her by the arm. Slowly, she began to drag her back down the catwalk. As soon as she made enough room, Martiza began to drag the cylinder as well.
After a few moments, the Cetra had managed to get Aleron to the platform. She kept dragging her after that, making room for Maritza as she brought the cylinder down. She was sweating and panting by now, but she looked rather happy. Aerith said nothing and showed nothing, until the woman suddenly snapped around and gave her a beaming smile as she finished dragging the cylinder onto the platform.
"You're Gast's kid, aren't you?"
Out of all the things she could have heard from Maritza…nothing was as unexpected or surprising. The Cetra actually pulled back a bit, both at the question and wonder of how Maritza had known that.
This only made the woman smile wider. "I can piece a lot together with this beautiful brain of mine…Aerith, was it? That's what Gast named you in the video. Though I didn't get a good look at your face as a baby, you have his facial features."
Aerith blinked again, a bit at a loss of what to say.
"You saw…the video? You knew my father?"
"I saw it about two years ago, when I was fishing through his lab in Icicle Inn." Maritza answered. "Yes to your second question. But no more of that. We haven't much time. Start stripping her clothes off." She gestured to Aleron.
The Cetra was surprised again at this. She turned her head down to the woman, and then back up to the scientist. "…Excuse me?"
Maritza turned back to her cylinder, inhaled, and began to drag it again, this time toward one of the tubes in the center of the platform. "Take her clothes off. We're going to do a bit of an experiment."
The woman blinked again. "Experiment?"
"Perhaps it was fate or that Planet of yours directing you here, but I consider it good luck for me in either case." Maritza went on, not seeming to note Aerith's comment as she dragged the cylinder to the device. "She's right here. That saved me a lot of trouble. It'll make things go a lot more swimmingly."
The woman looked again at Maritza…saw that eager look in her eye again. She began to slowly realize what she was eager about. She turned back down to Aleron, and then back up to the cylinder that Maritza drug. Things started to click that she already knew. Maritza was one of the NSA's best scientists. She didn't even look shocked when she stepped into this room and saw the device. Aleron said that the Turks had given the New Shinra the data…back when Maritza was still working for them. And now she was talking about an experiment.
Little as Aerith interacted with the main army…it finally became clear to her.
"…This is why you came back."
Maritza halted in dragging her cylinder, and looked back up to the Cetra.
"This is why you came with us." She went on. "It was you. You were the one who wanted the Turks to get the data to rebuild the machine. You wanted to use it on her. You had to run because the officers were after you…and you needed us to get you back. This was why you were helping us out…so that you could get back to this machine. So you could do something else to her."
The woman did not joke. She didn't look cocky or sly or wily. She didn't say anything. She just stared back at Aerith. The Cetra stared back at her. She said nothing more, and didn't make any other moves. She waited for the woman to explain herself. However…one thing was clear to her. She wasn't going to let her near Krystea. Aleron or not…she wasn't going to let her take what was left of Krystea away to conduct some horrible experiment. Yet Martiza continued to stare at her with that blank normal look…almost looking like a regular person. The room was silent.
In the end…the woman slowly set the edge of the cylinder down. She turned slowly over to Aerith. She drew herself up, and swallowed. Slowly, she drew in a deep breath and exhaled. When Aerith saw this…something puzzled her. Before, Maritza had seemed energetic and wild and carefree. Yet now…that side vanished. She suddenly seemed under far more control. Not only that…she seemed to start growing…grim…sad…
"…You've got me all wrong, Aerith." She finally said, her voice much quieter and less enthused than before. She was much softer and serious. "Just like the Turks had me all wrong. It's true that I don't really care about the Planet Protector Army. I don't care about the New Shinra Army either. I don't care about experiments or projects or specimens. I never cared about any of that."
Maritza inhaled deeply again, and swallowed as she turned her eyes to the ground.
"…All I care about now is saving my daughter."
Aerith's own apprehension and fear turned to surprise as she realized what she had just heard.
"…Your…daughter?"
Maritza kept her eyes to the ground.
"…They wanted a clone of you made. They wanted a tool…a Cetra who would go along with all of their experiments and orders. When you escaped from the Shinra HQ Building, they already had your DNA. They had ways for rapid growth. They had ways to implant memories. The clone was supposed to be a lifeless doll…was supposed to be another tool of Hojo. I took the project against my better judgment…because I didn't want him to control what was created."
The woman looked up to Aerith again. Passion blazed in her eyes.
"You see…it was my egg they used this time. I was old…infertile from age and menopause if not from genetic defects. It wouldn't have been traumatic if they reactivated my follicles…or so they thought. But I knew. I knew whose child she was. I knew who her true mother was. I watched her day and night…watched her growing there…sleeping throughout her entire few weeks of childhood…
"Then they ordered me north. They ordered me to leave her…to leave my own child. I knew what he'd do with her. I knew he would make her like him…" The woman's face suddenly went tight, and grew angry. She shot out a finger and pointed it at Aleron. "And so he did." She hissed. "I should have killed him the day I learned he did it. I knew he murdered Gast…it was only fair that I should have returned the favor. I knew deep down in my heart of hearts…he'd pervert her one day just like he perverted him. And was I wrong? There she lies…living proof."
Maritza drew her finger back…and lowered her gaze again. She backed off slightly, and spoke more quietly again.
"I changed the programming. I made it so that she would be independent when she awoke…that she'd want nothing to do with him. But while I was gone…WEAPON attacked. I wept for days…thinking she was dead. I wanted to die too. I was old and sick anyway…why not perish now? Childless…alone…my last joy crushed…
"Then we hired the Turks. Then I saw they had a new member. I saw…and I understood. Of course. We had used Vincent Valentine's memories. It was only logical that she would want to become a Turk like him. Her face was unmistakable. A bit older, yes…but it was her. Fate had been kind to me indeed. She had found friends that had not challenged the flaws in her past. She had found peace. And there she was…every day for me to look on and watch grow and blossom…"
Here, Maritza's face tightened again. "But no…I couldn't. I was old…aged… And the doctors told me I had cancer. I was dying… I'd never live to see her but a year…two at most. I was desperate. I had to cure myself. I had to reverse the cancer. And when I stumbled across Hojo's old experimental material on Jenova cells…saw how they had managed to reverse cell division…lengthen DNA…make a person young and healthy again…I did it.
"It was a miracle. I wasn't just healed. I had gained ten years of life. It felt good. It felt great to feel so strong and limber again. I had to feel more. I took off another ten years. Then twenty. Each time it felt better. I felt so loose and free. Youth is wasted on the young, that's what they say… Youth wasn't going to be wasted on me. I gave myself the full treatment."
Maritza's face suddenly turned to anger.
"I didn't realize that I wasn't feeling so good because I was younger…but that because my brain was becoming younger at a far faster rate. I was losing inhibitions…controls…even sanity. My self control was slipping. My body became thirty…but my mind was ten. I lost control of my emotions. I felt giddy and wild all the time. It only grew worse and worse. I paid for ever indulging myself in that demon's work. I cut if off…but it was too late. I'm still growing younger. It's slowing…but I'm still getting younger every day. I'm sixteen now… By this time next year I'll be eight. The year after that…two. I don't know if it will stop before I cease to exist…"
Aerith stared on at the woman intently, saw her as her anger suddenly broke down into sadness. Her eyes were wide now…full of fear. She was quivering…nearly crying. Aerith realized she was terrified about what was happening to her. Some horrible fate was afflicting her as well, and she couldn't stop it. The Cetra actually felt pity aroused in her heart again. She wanted to say something…do something at that moment… But before she could, Maritza's tears suddenly dried up. Her face turned angry, and she looked to the sky.
"I got to see her again…but soon I found out it didn't matter. Something worse than this began to take place. I found out about Hojo's last experiment. I found out about the fusion chambers he had made. I heard the story about how they were cut off…but after I grilled them with questions they admitted that the final transfer was happening during the time she was cut off. There was a chance part of her fused. Testing her systems confirmed it. Not only did she have cells like Sephiroth in her…they were slowly taking her body over. Soon they would be dominate, and she would vanish.
"I kept it a secret from everyone else. I made it my pet project. If they knew…they'd make her into another super SOLDIER. I tried everything I could think of to arrest the progress in vitro. Nothing worked. By the time I started to discover mild successes, it was too late. The cells had progressed too far. Killing them would kill her."
Maritza's eyes narrowed. "I could see his cackling face in my nightmares…coddling my daughter with a smug smile, knowing he had stolen her from me like he stole Professor Gast. I hated him so severely. I swore I'd find a way to make it work. I'd find a way to undo what he had done. I went back to the DNA…analyzed it furiously…tried to find a solution. The alien DNA was in the same place throughout the genome in all cells. If I could only switch it out somehow… But DNA therapy wouldn't work. It would be a gamble even on a small case…"
The woman cracked a smile here, which quickly grew into a grin of delight. "Then I saw a way. That machine that he built… It could replace DNA in an entire body within milliseconds. It was the answer. It was my only hope.
"I got to work. There was plenty to do… I couldn't let anyone know of this. If Ashiah found out, she'd destroy it just to spite me. If anyone else did…they'd make Krystea their test subject. I had to build the device here. I had to hide it from every blueprint…reroute every job in the area elsewhere…erase this corner of the Dome from existence and prayed no one found out. I worked for days and nights on end writing the program…telling it to seek out, find, and reliably excise and replace the target DNA. I had to use the machines and my knowledge to find all foreign proteins and remove them as well, and I had to find a way to replace them with the right ones.
"It was then that I realized it was hopeless. The New Shinra Army was breaking down. The General was getting ready to discharge me…personally. I was devoting all my time to Krystea…I didn't have any time to make my other devices foolproof. Ashiah wanted me dead. It was only a matter of time before she killed me. I needed facilities and manpower to keep her restrained, and the whole Dome would know it when I did the transfer. I planned to destroy the machine the second it had served its purpose…but if they found out they'd never let me. They'd kill me and her…or run her back through…try to turn her back into a monster. My only hope was in my enemy's hands.
"I had three hundred personnel under my command who I could trust. I organized a defection…moved us over into Midgar territory. I gained General Ragnar's trust…let him put me to work. Here, there was less structure, rules, and regulations. I had people sympathetic to my cause. I was able to finish uninterrupted, while the most critical piece, the fusion machine, rested here behind locked doors and awaited its use. It was a cinch to make devices that would help the PPA. I knew the Achilles' Heel of every fortification I had put up. Those didn't take any time at all. I knew they'd get me in with plenty of time to spare.
"Krystea had become a monster by then…had fled the area. But I had taken care of that too. The Planet Protector Army had Cetra within it…enemies of what Krystea had become. They'd be the perfect bait. They'd lure her back into the Dome…where I could conduct the experiment and undo what had happened to her. And so it was."
The woman stopped here, and suddenly appeared to realize who she was talking to. She turned to Aerith, and then gave a sheepish grin followed by an innocent shrug.
"No offense. You are still alive, so no harm done, right?"
Aerith didn't respond to this. She would have come here regardless of what Maritza wanted. However, her look hadn't turned fully accepting yet.
"…If that's what you really intend…why didn't you tell us this when you first arrived? We would have helped you."
Maritza merely snorted at that, nearly giggling. "I'm sure." She answered sarcastically. "I've had a hell of a time convincing you guys up until this very minute that I was on your side."
"You weren't on our side."
"We had a common interest. That was plenty. The basic point is you don't trust me. I'm sure you don't trust me even now."
Aerith pointed to the cylinder. "What's in there?"
Maritza looked down to it, as if remembering she had some interesting conversation piece on her. "This?" She asked, as she leaned her head back up, pointing down at it. She smiled in response. "Why…this is nothing more than 70 kilograms of pure, ungenetically modified or tampered, nonhydrogenated Krystea."
The Cetra's eyebrow furrowed. "What?"
The woman reached into her pocket next and pulled out a memory stick. "Contained on this is my program. It took me forever to get the machine to work right, but I've finally perfected it. I can swap out the Jenova DNA and proteins and replace them with her original set. I had her DNA in old blood samples, but I needed it in large enough amounts to actually use. So I spent months growing large quantities of totipotent cells cloned from Krystea's pure DNA. I've stimulated them to produce the proper proteins as well.
"For now…it just looks like fleshy soup. That will change once I run my program. Aleron goes into one cylinder. The cells, or the 'source material', as I like to call it, goes into the other cylinder. Once I fire up the machine, she becomes demolecularized and put back together in the central cylinder, just like before. But when the computer puts her back together, it swaps out the alien proteins and DNA with the proper ones from the source material center. The alien junk gets put in the soup, and Krystea gets the right stuff. Once she comes back together in the center, it's like nothing ever happened."
Aerith paused after hearing this. That sounded rather fantastic…and a bit hard to swallow as well.
"…Have you tested this before?"
Maritza frowned. "Oh yeah. There's loads of lab rats that have been turned into Sephiroth-like creatures lying around. And I was able to break in here and carry it out several times."
"If you haven't tested this, how do you know it will work? What if she comes out as something worse? What if it damages her mind?"
The scientist shook her head. "I don't think it will."
"You don't think it will."
Here, Maritza changed again. Suddenly she lost her childishness once more, and once again became grim and serious. Now, however, she wasn't despondant…but firm. Her commanding personality was coming out, just as it had been when she was in the military. The woman crossed her arms and glared at Aerith.
"Consider this… I have no idea how long the tranquilizer I gave Aleron is going to last. When she wakes up, we're both going to die. My models have predicted that she'll just be stronger if we ever run into her again, and will likely be immune to any sedative. Hence, we have to act now.
"You can think I'm full of crap. You can think that either my cockamammy idea isn't worth beans, or you can think I'm lying and I want to turn Krystea into something a thousand times worse. If that is the case…then what? Your only option is to kill Aleron, and remove any chance of ever getting Krystea back. If you don't kill her now, you'll never get that chance again. And it's what Krystea would probably want. However…I will have to advise you that if you try to kill the one I consider my only child…you will have to do so over my dead body, and I do have a gun on me.
"Your other option is to trust me. Aleron is cold, heartless, and siphoning the life out of the very room we're standing in. She wants to destroy this whole world and you and I both know that. There's nothing I can do to make her worse than what she is now if I'm lying to you and I want to turn her into a monster. So you lose nothing by helping me.
"On the other hand…if I'm telling the truth…then this is your only chance to save her. Yes, I haven't tested this. But I swear to God that the last thing I would ever, ever do to Krystea is hurt her. I'd gladly put myself in the cylinder and let her take my healthy DNA and leave me some Jenova mutant if it would make a difference. But it won't and I can't. I'm 99.8 percent sure that this will work. At the worst, it will kill her. All of her cells will become unviable and she will die. But if it works…then isn't that a chance you're willing to take?"
Aerith couldn't answer that right away. As she thought about what Maritza said…she had to admit, it made sense. Some of it was assuming that this woman couldn't do worse to Krystea, however… Somehow, she thought that if her intentions were truly cruel, then she could indeed. And she had no idea what was in that container. There could be other alterior motives to what she was saying. Just because she might do as she said didn't mean she might not do a bit extra.
Yet she was right about one thing. Time was running out. They couldn't afford to delay for much longer before it was too late to do anything at all. And despite as crazy as she seemed…when she said things regarding Krystea, her face looked genuine. She seemed to take that seriously if she took nothing else that way. Though Krystea had been a motherless clone, Maritza honestly seemed to believe that she was really "her" child. She almost seemed to have an obsession with it, the way she talked. Her emotions seemed true and heartfelt enough…and Aerith wanted to believe them… And if she was telling the truth, then she wanted to believe that too...
She had to make a decision now.
And she had vowed to save Krystea.
"…Yes."
"Then help me before it's too late."
To be continued...