Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.10 Promotion
The virtual Behemoth snarled and used Gyro Tail, spinning around and trying to hit me again. I jumped backwards to avoid the attack, casting Thunder and hitting it with a bolt of lightning again. The beast bared its fangs and tried to bite me, but I cast Fire and sent a ball of flames down its gullet. It roared and backed away, coughing as smoke came from its mouth. I smirked and ran up to the beast, grabbing one of its horns and using it to haul myself into the air. The Behemoth looked up and I smirked, throwing Potentia. It landed point-first into the beast's back and I focused, channeling a Blizzara spell through the blade. The Behemoth howled in pain as the intense chill blackened its skin, giving it frostbite. I smirked and landed back down on the ground, blasting another Thunder spell at it.
The beast roared and swung its tail at me, also trying to reach back and pull my sword out of its back. But it couldn't move it arms all the way, and I smiled before focusing my energy again. Potentia burst into flames and the fake Behemoth roared in pain, the flames burning through unaffected muscle and frostbitten skin. I kept the spell going as I knew the great bastard Hojo would want, testing to see just how far my magic-casting abilities could go. I could feel the cost of casting magic without materia take its toll on my body, draining me of strength. But I kept going, and the Behemoth's eyes had rolled back into its head from the pain. It charged blindly at me and I rolled to the side, having to let go of the spell to avoid being trampled. I drew my guns and aimed, firing a pair of shots into its side.
But not even that stopped the Behemoth, and it swung at me twice. I ducked underneath the first strike but not the second, and was sent back. I crashed against the side of a virtual building and hit my head, stars appearing before me. I shook my head and cast Cure on myself, before charging. The Behemoth tried to use Gyro Tail, but in doing so it twisted its body and also moved the sword in its back. It stopped and growled, and I took the chance to cast Blizzard and freeze both of its front paws in place. The beast roared and tried to break free, but I jumped onto its back and grabbed Potentia, pulling it out with a grunt. I aimed one of my pistols at the wound and fired, just missing the Behemoth's spine. It shook from side to side to try and knock me off, and I jumped off.
The Behemoth swung its tail and me and hit me in the center of the chest, knocking me over. I tried to stand but the Behemoth roared and finally freed its paws from the ice, turning around and planting one of them on top of me. I struggled and tried to break free, but the Behemoth only pushed harder, until I began to have trouble breathing. I gasped and looked up into the monster's eyes. Even though it was only a simulation it still had a gaze full of bloodlust. It wouldn't stop until I was dead. I struggled harder and managed to free one arm, pointing up and shooting the Behemoth's right eye. The monster roared and fell back, wiping its eye to try and regain sight in it. But it was no use, and I stood. I ran up and put away my guns, holding up Potentia.
"This is the end!" I called, and I stabbed the virtual Behemoth through the heart. It stopped and I twisted the blade, maximizing damage and ripping my sword back out. The monster teetered for a second before falling on its side, moaning in pain. I waited for a second to make sure that it was dead before looking to my right. "The experiment's over. Now let me out of here, Hojo," I said. After a moment of silence the entire simulation turned green and began breaking down, until it was shut down completely. Now I saw the training room again, and walked out of the door of the simulation area. Hojo was on the other side of the glass, and smiled once I walked back in. "Marvelous, young Jace. Your abilities seem to have shown significant progress, and I'm pleased to see that you defeated the simulation," he said.
Skipping the pleasantries, I said "Can it, Four-Eyes. Are you doing using me as a guinea pig?" He took the insult with no reaction other than nodding. "Yes, you have done all that is needed of you for now. You may leave," he said. I didn't wait for that last bit, walking out the door. Once it slid shut behind me I sighed. It was a miracle I hadn't even laid a finger on Hojo, considering my hatred for him. I could still remember all the tortures I was out through, just so he could analyze my magic-casting ability. At least all those tests had given him no clue how I had gotten this ability. I had no idea either, but that fact Shinra wouldn't be able to get ahold of it helped my suffering. Speaking of Shinra, I had just entered the main rec room for SOLDIER members when I got a phone call.
Immediately I answered it, the voice on the other end said "It's been a while, Jace." I blinked. "Sephiroth?" I asked. "Yes. Come to Lazard's room," the silver-hair said. "Understood," I said, hanging up. I walked towards the elevator and got in, going up. Once I reached the desired floor the doors opened with a ding, and walked into the Director's office. Zack was already there, as was Sephiroth. "Ah, good. You're both here. Now we can get to business. First off, congratulations, Zack. As of this moment, you've been promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class," Lazard said, smiling. My eyes widened, but for some reason I couldn't smile. And apparently neither could Zack, to my surprise. "Huh. I thought I'd be happier," Zack commented. Lazard's smile faded as well, and he sat back.
"Understandable. Too much happened too fast. Zack, Jace, I'm afraid I need your assistance again," he said. Getting a familiar sense of deja vu, I looked over at Sephiroth. "You're putting another assignment on us, aren't you?" I asked. Sephiroth had the decency to hang his head, saying "My apologies." "Whatever," Zack replied. "I'll fill you in on the assignment, but first go to the briefing room and change into a SOLDIER 1st class uniform," Lazard said. Zack nodded and left, while I stood there and waited. After a while he came back in the uniform, and only one thought came to mind. "You actually make that look good," I said aloud, half-smiling. Sephiroth and Lazard chuckled, and Zack half-smiled as well. "Thanks," he said.
"The company has decided to eliminate Genesis and his cohorts. This includes Angeal as well," Lazard said. Zack frowned angrily, saying "And you want us to do it?" I hoped the Director would say no- this might have been one of the few times I would try and disobey orders. To my relief he did shake his head, saying "No, the Shinra Army will handle it." "What about us?" I asked. "They don't trust you," Lazard said bluntly. I blinked again, and Sephiroth added "They believe your emotions will hamper your judgment." "Well, they're right!" Zack said. Although I was silent, I knew the same thing. Assigned to kill the man I looked up to- there was going to be an emotional issue there. "That's why I'm going too," Sephiroth said. "To kill them?" Zack asked.
There was a moment of silence, but before Sephiroth could reply a set of alarms suddenly went off. Immediately we all straightened, and Sephiroth said "An intruder!" "Where?" Lazard asked, standing. "Close," he replied. "Sephiroth, the president. Zack, Jace, entrance," the director ordered. "You got it!" Zack said, while Sephiroth and I nodded. Zack and I ran into the elevator and punched the button for the ground floor. The doors quickly shut and we began moving, even if as not as quick as I hoped. We reached the 49th floor when it suddenly stopped, opening. "What the-? We didn't press for this floor!" Zack said. But once I looked beyond I saw that while we hadn't pressed the inside button, someone had pressed the button on this floor. And that someone was lying on the ground in front of us.
"Hey! Are you okay?" I asked, running up to the man and kneeling next to him. He was a 3rd Class operative, and looked like he had been electrocuted. But by what? As if in answer a trio of Red Saucers appeared from around a corner, sliding across the ground towards us. "Zack, I'll take care of these! You keeping going to the entrance!" I said, drawing Potentia. Zack nodded and got back in the elevator, leaving. The Saucers came at me and I cast Thundara, firing a bolt of lightning at them. I hit one and it stopped, jerking and beeping as it was overloaded before finally exploding. The other two crashed into the sides of my legs and I stumbled, before stabbing one with my sword and picking it up. I smashed it into the third saucer and destroyed them both.
With the robots destroyed I returned to the 3rd Class operative, shaking his shoulder. Slowly he awoke and stood, looking at the dead bots. "Whew. Thank a ton, you really saved me. Here, take this," he said, handing me an Ether. I nodded my thanks and pocketed, asking "Is there anyone else on this floor?" "Well, I heard a pair of screams coming from the training room. You might want to look there," he said. I nodded, and said "You should find a place to hide. Go." The 3rd Class nodded and left, while I ran for the training room. Inside the simulation area was a man and woman, both in lab-coats, who were surrounded by six Red Saucers. Seeing me, the man said "Hey! Help us out here! Please!" I nodded and ran inside, saying "When I say jump, do it!"
They nodded and I stabbed Potentia into the ground. I channeled a Thundara spell through the blade, calling "Jump!" Both the man and the woman jumped as high as they could while the current of the spell went through the metal floor, hitting all the Saucers at once and zapping them. While none of them exploded they did all freeze, and I canceled the spell before the man and woman landed back down. I cast Fira and sent out a pair of fireballs, hitting two of the Saucers while I stabbed a third. The remaining three came for me and I cast Barrier, protecting myself from their strikes. Then I cast Fira again and melted two more, killing the last Saucer with Blizzara.
With them gone I dispelled the Barrier and walked over to the man and woman. "T-Thank you. We don't what we would have done without you," the man said. "It's alright. But what were you doing in here anyway?" I asked. The man's face turned red, and he said "Well, we... um..." I raised an eyebrow, and the woman said "Please don't tell anyone we were in here! We're willing to pay!" I chuckled and said "I would have kept quiet even without the money." The man visibly relaxed and pulled out a wad of gil, handing it to me. "Thank you, and take this for your troubles. It's only a token compared what we're actually paid," he said. I took the money and they both ran out of the room, probably to find a place to resume their activities.
With no one else to help on this floor I walked back into the elevator, heading down to the entrance floor. Along the way I counted the gil the man had given me, counting a total of 5000 gil. I smiled; so some people in Shinra weren't complete asses. I knew that already, but seeing it helped to solidify the believe. With a ding the elevator reached the ground floor and opened. I was immediately treated to the sight of a massive battle, bullets flying in every direction. There were more Saucers than I could care to count, over half a dozen Sweepers, and even a couple Genesis Avengers. Zack was currently surrounded by a trio of Sweepers, moving as quicker than even a SOLDIER had a right to avoid being shot. "Zack!" I called, running forward.
I was stopped by one of the Avengers, who both swung at me and cast Blizzard at the same time. I blocked it and pulled out one of my guns, shooting the copy through its mask. It feel to the ground and I watched as Zack activated Octaslash, swinging eight time and taking down two of the Sweepers. The last one aimed at Zack and opened fire, and he dropped to the ground to avoid the barrage. I ran up and was about to destroy the Sweeper when I was tackled from behind by another Saucer, causing me to fall to the floor. Hearing me the Sweeper turned and aimed at its new target, but that gave Zack the chance to stand and use Thunder Blade, hitting the machine with a electricity-charged sword attack. The Sweeper stopped from the jolt and Zack cast Fira, hitting the mech from both sides with fire.
I kicked the Saucer away when it tried to tackle me again, and stood, destroying it with a pair of Blizzard spells. The Sweeper fired at me and I cast Barrier just in time, deflecting the bullets and responding with a round of my own gunfire. I cast Drain and sapped strength away from the Sweeper, replenishing my own in the process. It's metal became somewhat rusted as a result, and that made it easier for Zack to swing his sword with both hands, cutting off one of its arms. The Sweeper turned back to him and I did the same with its other arm, leaving it weaponless. The mech quickly saw that there was nothing it could do, but before it could try anything else Zack stabbed it in the front, casting a Fira spell through his sword.
He kept the spell from detonating until it was inside the Sweeper, and it collapsed the ground as it was melted from the inside out. I looked around and saw that there were many more machines remaining, none of them friendly. "Well, let's take care of these annoyances, shall we?" I said. Zack nodded and raised sword, charging even before I did. I paused, surprised, and then quickly followed.
Genesis has launched his attack, but can Zack and Jace stop them? The next chapter tells!
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