Chapter 11: Out of the Frying Pan
I took a large gulp of air, before examining my surroundings. I was sprawled out in a large puddle of some green liquid of some kind. I sat myself up and looked behind me, finding a strange pod, only the glass from the front of it was shattered. Dripping from the pod, was some of the same stuff that I was currently lying in. I really should get up, but I felt really numb. I grunted, trying to pick myself up anyway. It didn't work out too well, and I fell back into the puddle with a small splash.
"Stasis pod." Red spoke up. "Where Hojo stores his 'specimens' when he isn't using them. The numbness will wear off in a couple of seconds."
"Thanks." I choked out, my voice really sore, but that's to be expected, I did just swallow a high voltage of electricity.
That experience brings to mind a question about my mortality here. Am I guaranteed my continued survival while here? Or is there a chance that I could wind up dead? Something to interrogate Jade about sometime.
True to Red's word, the numbness did wear off after a couple of seconds. With my body now feeling awake, I stood up, feeling my joints clicks. It should have occurred to me that it was very rude of the others to just stand there while I was sprawled out on the floor, in a large puddle of something that didn't exactly look very healthy. It looks like radioactive goo now that I can see it without being in it. Some friends they are... Wait... why are they all looking anywhere but at me?
'Look down.'
Raising an eyebrow ridge, I did as instructed and looked down. Ok, I see the floor, covered in a large puddle of the green liquid. What am I supposed to be seeing here? Wait... I look up at the others, glaring.
"Ok... Where the hell are my clothes?"
Indeed. I'd spent the better part of a minute standing there in the buff.
Several minutes later, I was muttering under my breath, making all sorts of threats and curses and promises of what I'll do if I ever see Hojo again. I pulled on my t-shirt, and reached for the coat, every so often directing a glare at my companions. Honestly, why the hell did they just stand there? They could have at least found my clothes first, and then freed me from the stasis pod. But no, they freed me, and then decided that they should just stand there like a bunch of idiots.
I shrugged my coat on, still glaring at my companions. While I was getting dressed, Cloud explained to me what was going on. Seems I've been out of it for the better part of a day. Barret and Tifa were still caught, despite my attempt to hold off the Turk. Seems that Reno pulled of some fancy stunt, that caught them between himself and a squad of SOLDIERs. Cloud, Aeris and Red were cornered in the glass elevator by Rude and Tseng. Seems that the good President had told them I was dead, before going all clichéd on them and gave away all his plans. He's looking for the Promised Land. Same old, same old. But sometime during the night, the Shinra Tower became a slaughter house. Everywhere you look, dead bodies lay skewered. Or worse. My glaring was halted at the sight of one of the bodies. Or rather... half of one...
Red hadn't stayed long, he'd gone ahead to investigate, something about the smell in the air. Oh... I almost forgot to mention. A certain headless creature with an eye on its tit, is missing. Seems someone or something smashed it out of its chamber. Once I was fully dressed, Cloud took off with the girls in tow, leaving me with Barret. Both me and the big burly Mr T wannabe followed after them, lagging behind somewhat. The whole tower could be compared to a blood bath, dead bodies lay everywhere. I might not be an expert, but t was obvious that they were cut down by a bladed weapon. Well, not too difficult to guess who it was then, is it?
There weren't many enemies about, just a couple of monsters. Most likely escaped experiments, seeing as Hojo's lab looks like a tornado passed by... and then came back to try and apologize, only to make it worse, because its a freaking tornado. Neither Barret or me said a word; something didn't feel right, and the dead bodies everywhere only made that feeling more blatantly obvious.
Hey, you've been quiet since I woke up. I noted mentally at Spike. Any reason?
'You were dead.'
Ya... switching to a healthy diet of electricity generally does that to a person. I'm assuming I was given a phoenix down?
'No... You were dead. When the Turks gave us just enough phoenix down to keep us alive, it only revived me, your mind was dead. Gone.'
Hmm... I couldn't have been. I remember having this dream...
'You didn't dream. I can sense when you're having a dream... I usually see them myself, at the back of my mind, like I'm imagining it myself. You gave off no mental activity. Dead... and I don't understand how you came back.'
Maybe there's a reason that we'll never know... something like the Stasis Pod pumped phoenix down into our system. Try not to think about it. I won't.
Truthfully, I won't think about it. Mysteries ain't my thing. If we find the answer sometime, then good; if not, I'll just go with the answer I gave Spike, maybe they pumped phoenix down into my body while I was in the Stasis Pod.
Me and Barret moved up to the top floor, following the trial of blood. Only one more set of stairs to reach the President's office. Inside the office, we found the others standing around, gaping at something. Barret barged past them and aimed his arm at where the President usually sat. After a couple of seconds, he started to gape as well. I looked over his shoulder and decided to break the trend by not gaping. Though I did stare at the sword the impaled the President. The seven foot long sword nailing him to the desk. Dear god... how does anyone use a sword as long as that? I'd probably just fall forwards in a comical way if I even tried.
"He's dead." Barret whispered, sounding like he couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. "The leader of Shinra is dead..."
Must resist urge to say something sarcastic...
"No... he's more alive then ever before, that sword sticking out of his spine is making him immortal."
I never was very good at suppressing urges like that. Barret shot me a look, but otherwise ignored me in favour of his new hobby. Cloud's eyes were glaring at the sword sticking out the President's back, fists tightly clenched. Tifa shuddered at the sight of the katana.
"Then this sword must be..." She began, but Cloud cut her off.
"Sephiroth's!" The swordsman grunted, emotion void from his voice.
"Sephiroth is alive?" Tifa asked, taking a step back.
Cloud paused a moment, thinking.
"Looks like it." He shrugged. "Only Sephiroth can use that sword."
"Who cares who did it? This is the end of Shinra now!" Barret boomed out.
"I doubt it's that easy." I said. "There's still that big council meeting we watched. That Heidegger bloke looked like he'd take advantage of something like this if he could get away with it."
Ain't I just the pessimist? But it's likely true. Barret's grin at the thought of victory slid off his face, and he scowled at the corpse, most likely blaming it for the lack of world peace. Sighing, I shook my head at Barret's sudden naivety, when a brief flicker of movement caught my attention. It must have caught Cloud's eye as well, since he jerked his head in the direction that it came from. Both of us stared at the pillar that obviously hid whatever had moved, when Palmer came charging out from behind that very pillar, barreling into me. I grunted as I was knocked flat on my ass, jeez, he's like a juggernaut with all that body-mass backing him up.
Barret and Cloud proved to be a sufficient road-block for the chubby would-be juggernaut. Both of them took an arm each and held him in place, for we all know that a juggernaut is only unstoppable once it actually gets some momentum. Now powerless, Palmer started to plead for his life.
"P, p, p, please, don't kill me!" He stuttered.
"What happened?" Cloud demanded.
"Se …Sephiroth. Sephiroth came." Palmer said Sephiroth's name like he was afraid he'd be punished for it.
"Did you see him? Did you see Sephiroth?" Cloud's voice became even more demanding.
"Yeah, I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!"
"You really saw him?" Cloud asked, again.
"Uh!" Palmer deadpanned, looking at Cloud like the blond he was. "Would I lie to you at a time like this? And I heard his voice too! Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land."
"Then what?" Tifa queried. "Does that mean that the Promised Land really exist and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?"
"So he's a good guy then?" Barret's grin returned.
"Life isn't made up of black and white morals. Those are just the extremities."
I smirked mentally at the grin turning upside down, becoming a frown.
"Save the Promised Land?" Cloud scoffed, obviously agreeing with me. "A good guy? No way! It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"
"So in the scale of black, white and the many various shades of grey... where does Sephiroth stand?" I asked.
Cloud opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the sound of a helicopter landing outside. Palmer somehow managed to break free and ran out a door to the outside. Barret examined the landing chopper through the window.
"Rufus!" He exclaimed. "Fuck... I forgot about him!"
"Who's that?" Tifa asked.
"Vice President Rufus. The President's son."
"And soon to be President." I murmured, leaning closer to Barret. "Told you it wasn't the end of Shinra."
Cloud moved through the door, following Palmer, and the rest of us followed. Outside, Palmer was talking to a tall, blond kid, clad in a white business suit. I say kid, because he didn't look to be that much older then me. Early twenties at the most.
"So... Sephiroth was actually here." Rufus mused aloud, once Palmer had finished speaking. He looked up and noticed us standing there watching. "...by the way. Who are you guys?"
Cloud struck a (supposedly) heroic pose, one that, to quote Edmund Blackadder, just cried: 'here are my genitals, please kick them', before giving his answer.
"I'm Cloud Strife, former SOLDIER First Class."
Barret shook his fist. "I'm from AVALANCHE!"
"Same here!" Tifa spoke up.
Aeris hesitated a moment. "...a flower girl from the slums."
Nanaki also paused. "...a research specimen."
"Gunblade wielding maniac with a sarcastic sense of humour." I concluded.
Rufus looked amused at our introduction, grinning at us.
"What a crew." He laughed. "Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc."
"You only President, 'cause yer old man died!" Barret snarled.
"That's right." Rufus' grin turned from one of humour, into one of maliciousness. "I'll let you hear my new appointment speech… Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them."
"He likes to make speeches, just like his father." Tifa noted, wryly.
Cloud frowned briefly, before turning to Barret.
"Get outta this building with Aeris!" He ordered the leader of AVALANCHE.
Barret stared at Cloud like he'd grown a new head.
"What?"
"I'll explain later! Barret!" Cloud's voice was laced with annoyance and slight desperation. "This is the real crisis for the Planet!"
"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Barret demanded.
"I'll tell you later! Just take my word for it now! I'll go after I take care of him!"
Barret hesitated, before sighing.
"Awright, Cloud!" Barret agreed. He motioned for everyone to follow him, but when I tried to follow, he turned to me. "Spike, I wanna thank you for earlier. It may 'ave been useless in the end, but it told me all I need to know about you. Stay here an' help Cloud. Make sure he comes back an' explains everythin'."
Erm... I get to fight Rufus? Ok. I nodded once at Barret, before pivoting around and taking up a position beside Cloud. Cloud didn't openly acknowledge my presence, though I did see him give the barest of nods.
The rest of the group ran back the way we had come from. I rested my hand on the handle of my gunblade, staring at the President. He coldly stared back.
"Why do you want to fight me?" He asked, shifting his gaze to Cloud.
"You seek the Promised Land and Sephiroth."
"Hm, exactly." Rufus nodded. "Mm? Did you know that Sephiroth is an Ancient?"
"Nope... just that he was supposedly 'brilliant, maybe to much so'." I muttered.
"…A lot has happened. Anyway, I can't let either you or Sephiroth have the Promised Land!"
"I see. I guess this means we won't become friends." The new President sighed.
"No... you don't say? Here I thought we were establishing a best of friends bond." I hissed, like the sarcastic git that I am.
Rufus rolled his eyes, and made a gesture at the helicopter, which promptly took off, but not before a large black feline creature jumped out. The cat hissed at me and Cloud, taking a place besides its master. Rufus grinned, stroking the cat's head before pulling out that sawn-off shotgun he used in the game. Cloud pulled the Buster Sword from his back, and I followed suit, unsheathing Talon. Rufus eyed us both,perhaps wondering who the weaker link in the chain was. I decided I wasn't about to let him find out and charged at him, gunblade poised for a overhead chop. Cloud followed my lead, and also charged at the President. Both of our blades neared him, and I wondered why he wasn't reacting in any way. A second before my blade reached his head; I remembered that his pet Dark Nation had an annoying habit of casting barrier... Oh, crap.
My blade hit a transparent barrier that hadn't been there before, and went back in the direction it had come from, sending me flat on my ass. It wasn't all bad though, as I did get to witness Cloud spinning on one foot, like he'd taken up ballet. I shot Rufus an indignant look, jumping back to my feet. I managed to lift my blade up, only to have Rufus start shooting at me. I leapt back in shock as the bullet flew past me. I levelled a glare at Rufus. How dare he have the cheek to fire at me? Well, two can play at that game. I enjoyed watching his expression turn to shock when I fired several rounds at him. Yes, they bounced harmlessly off the barrier, but at least I taught him not to shoot at me. Or not, since he took my act as an invitation to fire at me some more. I dived sidewards, intent on avoiding the barrage of bullets flying at me. Rufus stopped, briefly, and that pause was enough for me to cast blizzard at him. Rufus dropped his gun in favour off nursing the hand I'd just encased in a block of ice. Cloud took advantage of Rufus' dilemma to execute a cross-slash at the President. The barrier shattered, leaving Rufus vulnerable.
Attempting to take advantage, I moved in to finish him off, but found myself thrown to the ground. I looked at the heavy weight that had formed on my chest and met the eyes of the Dark Nation.
"Get off." I grunted at the cat, trying to reach for my gunblade.
The Dark Nation ignored my words in favour of hissing at me. It's times like this I wish I could belch on command, just so that I could belch in the cat's face, hopefully getting it off of me. My fingers managed to brush the handle of my gunblade, but I couldn't get a grip on it. I had to do this the old fashioned way. I swung my fist at the cat's head, and was satisfied with the yelp I was rewarded with. But, contradicting my wish for it to get off of me, the feline instead attempted to claw my eyes out. I did what any rational human being would do (despite not exactly being a human now), and brought my arm up to protect my eyes. Several scratches later (which were painful, might I add, definitely worth -200HP of damage, each), I was looking for another way to get this flee-bag off me, preferably without provoking it into scratching me again.
"Spike! Stop playing with that cat and help me here!" That was Cloud.
"Sure, let me just politely ask it to kindly SOD OFF!" I snapped.
Hmm... we're fairly close to the edge from here. It's just, what, a few of feet above my head? Close. I hope my plan works... if it could be called a plan. I slammed my palms into the cat's chest, shoving it off me, but, as was predicted, it tried to jump back onto me before I could even take a quick breath. I had started to roll backwards, and planted my feet against the Nation's stomach, using the momentum of both my roll and its leap to throw it towards the edge.
"Nooo! Dark Nation!" Rufus cried out, seeing his pet fly over the edge.
I stood up and gave him a funny look.
"You're fighting against a pair of anti-Shinra terrorists, and you're crying over the pet cat, that you let fight, dying?"
Rufus didn't answer me. Not with words anyway, instead he opted to go trigger happy with that shotgun of his. Though in his anger, he missed nearly every shot. Note that I said nearly. One shot his me in the shoulder, sending me staggering back, clutching my shoulder. Regrettably, I stepped over the edge of the roof. I barely managed to grab onto the e end of the roof, saving myself, but with only one hand (my shoulder just got shot remember, I couldn't move that arm to save my life) I wasn't sure how long I could hold on. It didn't help that I hadn't managed to get a very good grip. Already, I could feel my fingers inching towards the end of the roof, and with it, the end of my life. Somehow, I doubt that a Phoenix Down can revive someone from the state of being splattered across a 50 meter radios. Goodbye cruel world, hopefully I'll wake up on my bed, heart beating a hundred miles an hour, and I'll forget all about this experience.
I was saved, however, by Cloud suddenly sliding up to the edge and grabbing my hand just as my grip was lost. The swordsman grit his teeth as he used his other hand to hold the Buster Sword and deflect a few shots from Rufus.
"Heh, that's all for today." Rufus claimed.
I couldn't see him from this wonderful position, dangling over the edge of the tallest building in Midgar, but I'm pretty certain that he's just got in the helicopter to run away. Coward. At least that meant that Cloud was now free to get me back onto solid ground. He managed to hoist me up, easily enough. Once I was in a state of not dangling over a great drop, I finally released the breath I'd been holding. I would say it was a breath that I hadn't realised I'd been hiding, but not only is that remarkably clichéd, but it would also be a lie.
"Let's go." Cloud ordered, already running towards the door.
I followed after him, my tail scooping up my fallen weapon and giving it to my hands. Weapon back in my possession, I quickly used the restore Materia that I had equipped it with, mending the bullet wound in my shoulder. It didn't do much for the bullet hole going through the shoulder of my coat and t-shirt though. Damn, now I'll have to replace them.
I followed Cloud towards the exec elevators, and almost slammed into him when he came to a rather sudden stop. Snarling, I sidestepped around him and promptly slammed into Tifa. She fell to the ground; I just stepped back in bemusement. The martial artist climbed to her feet, dusting herself off.
"Where's Rufus?" She asked.
"We couldn't finish him." Cloud answered. "Looks like this is gonna get complicated."
The three of us ran towards the elevators, but we found that they weren't working. No matter how much we hit the elevator call button, the panel remained unlit.
"Looks like we'll have to use the stairs and the use the regular elevators." I commented.
"Right. Let's mosey." Cloud urged us.
I resisted the urge to groan at the lamest line ever. Instead I moved the the staircase and started down it, closely followed by the other two. Luckily, their were no Turk ambushes this time. Down, down, down we went, as fast as we could go, until we hit the same floor that we had fought Kain and Cecil on. We moved over to the regular elevator, which, to our relief, opened as we approached. Deciding to forgo subtlety, I grabbed the occupant by the neck and tossed him out of the way. We entered the small metal room and Cloud hit the button for one of the lobby level floors. And thus, we stood there, frowning in annoyance at the really annoying elevator music. It wasn't soon enough that the doors opened, allowing us to leave the horrible, Satan spawned music. Cloud stopped and started admiring a pair of motorcycles.
"Tifa, go on ahead." Cloud commanded, still admiring the bikes. "Get everyone that odd truck we saw, sneaking in."
"Right." Tifa nodded, before running ahead.
"How's your motorcycle driving skills, kid?"
"Never tried to drive one before. Its just the same as riding a bicycle isn't it? Only automated." I replied, grinning at the prospect of driving a motorcycle.
"Close enough. Always wanted to ride one of these things." Cloud commented, hopping onto the bike closest to him.
I followed suit, climbing onto the second one. I hesitated for a brief moment, wondering about the key, but found it in the ignition.
"Not very burglar-proof, are they?" I asked, sarcastically.
"I don't think anyone's ever been foolish enough to rob from the Shinra Tower before."
With those words, Cloud revved the bike before accelerating, leaving me coughing in his dust trail.
I tell you, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would actually be driving down a highway, on a motorcycle, at breakneck speeds, while being pursued by other motorbikes. Oh well, life has hardly been normal for the last couple of days, lets not have the full shock of the realization come now of all times.
I swung my gunblade to my left, slashing through the tire of yet another Shinra motorcycle, and yet again creating a pileup. Oh, hey, look, that Shinra biker just did a flip. Too bad he didn't take the hint and turn back, instead accelerating towards Cloud. His loss. Cloud's sword tore through the bike, turning it to scrap metal. The blond twirled his sword around, in the same style as his victory gesture, before stabbing it into the side of another bike, destroying it. I fired several rounds at another biker who tried to overtake me, killing him. The now rider-less bike swerved to the side and crashed into yet another biker, sending him flying. Jeez, talk about road-rage. My first time on the road as the driver, and I get caught up in the biggest case of road-rage ever.
I shot Cloud a thumbs up, before Spike shouted in my mind to duck. Not one to ignore a lizard that had been very quiet lately, I did so and immediately thanked him as the blade flew where my neck had previously been. I sat upright and deflected the next blow, getting a good look at my assailant. Oh yes, thank you jade. If there was anybody I had wished to not fight against, it just happened to be that very person riding the bike next to me. Why SQUALL LEONHART of all people? I swerved my bike to avoid his next swing, at the same time slamming into another biker, sending him flying. Squall frowned at me, his steel, grey eyes boring into me. You know, it'd be so easy to just shoot out his tire, but seeing as he didn't do such to me, I'll try to make this as honourable as I could, and leave shooting out his tires as a Plan C. Plan B is Cloud waltzing in and joining us.
I moved closer to Squall and swung Talon at him. The revolver blocked the blow, and Squall retaliated by swinging his leg out, kicking the side of my bike. I wobbled erratically, trying to regain my balance. Squall moved in for the kill, but I managed to balance myself in time to block the attack. Our gunblades locked, we tried to overpower one another, putting all the strength we had for our fighting arms into the effort to beat the foe. Our clash came to an end, however, when I realized that we were headed right for the pick-up truck that my comrades were riding in. I grunted, forfeiting to engagement for the moment to swerve around the truck. Squall did the same, only his path led him right into Cloud, who swung the Buster Sword and Squall's bike, taking off the front tire. I watched absently as Squall leapt off the bike, before it crashed through the barrier. I have a feeling I'll meet him again at some point, hopefully under circumstances where we won't try to kill each other.
After Squall, nothing unusual (if what we were doing called be considered usual) occurred. At least, not till we neared the end of the highway. Behind us, a large machine came speeding up. It almost knocked Cloud off his bike, and then tried to run me over. I didn't stand by, twiddling my thumbs for the insult, and took up a position to one side, while Cloud moved to the other side. Both of us took a few turns at hacking at this large piece of junk, decelerating whenever it tried to smear us against the highway barrier. Barret and Red helped out as well, Red using his fire Materia, and Barret shooting at the thing. Eventually, the large motorised rust bucket started to cough smoke (not literary, of course) and ground to a halt. Not a moment too soon, since the end of the highway was just around the corner. Everybody ground to a stop.
I dismounted my bike and walked up to the edge of the highway. Not terribly far a drop, though if we went down, there'd be no coming back up. Barret hopped out of the truck and sighed.
"Well, what do we do now?" He asked, looking back the way we came.
Cloud narrowed his eyes, joining me at the edge of the highway.
"Sephiroth is alive. I…I have to settle the score." The mercenary declared.
"And that'll save the Planet?" Barret asked without hesitation.
Cloud paused.
"Seems like it." He finally relented.
"Awright, I'm going!" Barret announced.
"I'll go to." Aeris claimed. She hesitated as we all turned to look at her. "I have things I want to find out."
"About the Ancients?" Cloud questioned.
"...Many things." Aeris relented after a few seconds.
"I guess this is goodbye Midgar." Tifa spoke up, looking optimistic.
I turned towards the Shinra Tower, and gave it a mock salute.
"Farewell, foul Midgar. We hardly knew ye, and we hardly wanted to know ye."
The others chuckled softly, before walking towards a crane, which offered a way down without potentially hurting ourselves. It was a simple matter to shimmy down the rope, and land in front of a gate that offered entrance, and exit from the rotting hell hole's slums. As I landed on the ground, I saw something that I hadn't seen for days, not since coming here. In the distance, the sun was rising. I hadn't noticed that I hadn't seen the sun in all my time in Midgar, what with us mostly being under the plate.
"Right." Cloud got our attention. "Let's go."
Barret started shadow boxing, for some reason.
"We need a group leader for our journey. 'Course only me could be the leader." Barret announced.
I grinned at the display of ego. And guess what? He's about to get shot right down.
"You think so…?" Tifa asked, putting a hand on Cloud's shoulder.
"It would have to be Cloud." Aeris declared, resting a hand on Cloud's other shoulder.
Barret looked shocked briefly, before slouching over, looking decidedly depressed.
"Fuck." He muttered, before standing upright. "Awright. Go Northeast to a town called Kalm. If something happens, we'll meet up there. 'Sides, we can't have 5 people strolling down the fields. It's too dangerous. Split us into 2 parties…"
Cloud looked dazed for a moment before pointing at me.
"You, with me." He commanded.
I rolled my eyes and stood next to him, waiting for the third member of our trio to be chosen. I noticed Cloud's eyes flicking over everyone, in a peculiar pattern.
"Are you choosing with 'eanie meanie'?" I asked, eyebrow ridges raised.
Cloud looked at me, blushing slightly.
"Yes." He admitted.
I sighed and made the choice for him.
"Red, come with us."
Red plodded over to us, and stood by my side as we looked at the other three.
"Remember, meet at Kalm!" Barret reminded us. "Spike, make sure he drags his skinny ass there in one piece, awright?"
"Sure." I nodded, following Cloud and Red.
We've left Midgar, but our fights not over yet. This is just the beginning.