Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. I depend on my daughter, Angeal Valentine, and on Bjanik for all my information on the subject.
A/N—I'm back from our trip to the Midwest to visit my in-laws. There's no good news to report regarding my mother-in-law's condition, and, though she's feeling well, her prognosis is unchanged.
While the plot bunnies did not return, I did have a chance to review what I've written and make a few changes here and there, most notably in Chapter 25. I had forgotten that after her fights with Genesis and Argento, Kamui's clothes were badly ripped, and therefore Rufus should have particularly enjoyed himself in Chapter 30. If you get a chance, you might read the revised Chapter 25 where Rufus gets Reno to "back off." Anyway, the review also made me realize I needed another chapter at 4:00 am Mideel time—I had loose ends and characters I needed to move—before I could get back to Sephiroth and co. I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. Something about it didn't want me to write it—I don't understand that myself.
(6:00-6:30 pm, Wutai; 4:00-4:30 am, Mideel; 2:00-2:30 am, Midgar; 10:00-10:30 pm, Gongaga)
"Carlos! Did you just say what I think you said? Repeat!" Although it was after 6:00 in the evening in Wutai, Carlos Griegos winced at Gavin McIntyre's 2:00 am tone coming through the real-time communication system from Midgar. Only Soldier had planet-wide, real-time communications capability—only Soldier and those individuals the General permitted to have access to it, that is. McIntyre's second must have rousted him out of bed after hearing Griegos' initial report; something about McIntyre's mustache was uneven, and his eyes were a bit unfocused. McIntyre was a well known morning person; he always insisted he needed his "beauty sleep."
"Sorry, Gavin. Which part?" Griegos knew which part, but something in his nature just wanted to ruffle McIntyre's feathers.
"Grrr… 'which part'?! Are you a comedian now, Carlos?" Yes. That had certainly ruffled Gavin's feathers.
"Sorry. I know what you mean." Griegos paused then started over. "Bill and I have interrogated our Wutai prisoners. Gavin, the man we captured is not Emperor Godo but his body double… As far as the base goes, we're status quo. Are there any projections as to when…?"
"Carlos, that's enough!" McIntyre paused and stared at Griegos, his eyebrows knit in anger. "You know I have to patch you through to Malik in Mideel, don't you? We have to get word of this to Seph immediately! That is, if Mideel Base can even reach our people…"
Griegos sighed; he knew it, too. "I know you have to do it… Any word on what's happening on Mideel?"
"Nothing recent. All I know is that Seph took Zack, Niven, and several lower ranks with him to Mideel Island. He was planning on picking up some reinforcements from Malik on the way." McIntyre looked intently into the monitor as if emphasizing his next point. "Seph was expecting to confront Genesis Rhapsodos—probably sometime tonight—though we've had no word from Mideel. There is evidence that Genesis had Seph's wife kidnapped. The Turks are still following up on that here."
"What?!" Griegos and Bill Wallace chorused and exchanged looks of concern.
Wallace mouthed, 'Genesis?!' and both his eyebrows went up. "Can Genesis really be alive?! Seph could be in for a helluva fight! How about Marcus and Nathan? Where are they? Surely the General took them with him!"
McIntyre shook his head with a quick jerk. "No, Bill. They were sent out almost a week ago—before any of the rest of this happened—to deal with monsters at Reactor 20, and other than sending Britton and Alars to reinforce them and Bilson, there's been no word since."
"Sweet Shiva! That's got to be a helluva fight too if all those guys can't handle it!" Bill Wallace had been a classmate of Nathan Grainger's; he felt like he needed to rush to his friend's aid—his hands itched for his sword. For Griegos, however, it was almost good to hear about other people's problems for a change; it let Griegos' mind work in new, unfamiliar paths for a few minutes. He knew his brain was stuck running over his own problems; now that the whole attack on Tenshin Palace had turned out to have been a nearly worthless exercise, Griegos felt drained. Sleep. He definitely needed sleep—and lots of it.
Gavin McIntyre shook his head slowly. "I don't think you gentlemen quite comprehend how thin we are. At every reactor world-wide there have been monster attacks. We sent some of our best people to Reactor 20. Shortly thereafter monsters attacked every other reactor, and Wutai went up in flames. It's a coordinated action by our enemies. I'm betting Genesis is behind it all."
Both men in Wutai nodded their agreement. Wallace looked at his commander. "I wouldn't want to be Genesis with Seph after me though."
"Agreed, but Genesis has always been a tricky devil… When you fought him, he always kept you off balance. You just knew he would have something up his sleeve." Griegos rubbed his upper right arm. Even now an old wound, courtesy of Genesis Rhapsodos, ached on occasion—like now.
"Yes, he's tricky, and right now he's got us dancing to his tune." McIntyre looked back at the monitor. "By concentrating our forces at Rocket Town for the invasion of Wutai, we've been forced to send out teams lead by one or two Soldiers, sometimes not even second classes, to put down the monster attacks! We're beginning to turn the tide at some of the reactors, but we've lost a lot of good young people." McIntyre sighed and looked away from the monitor. His own beloved Thom was losing classmates right and left, and Thom's losses were weighing on Gavin. "Even here, I have just a handful of Soldiers, a few Turks and security people, and some regular army grunts to defend headquarters. We know Genesis and Hollander were here in Midgar as recently as a month ago. If we're attacked in force, I dread to think." He looked back at his counterparts eight time zones behind him. "Carlos, we need to get the Wutai situation straightened out ASAP. I don't see how that can happen any time soon if you really didn't capture the emperor."
Griegos and Wallace exchanged troubled looks. "I see what you mean…" Griegos sighed and indicated his reluctance. "Go ahead, Gavin, patch us on to Mideel Base. We'll see what Seph has to say."
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(4:00-4:30 am, Mideel – Banora; 2:00-2:30 am, Midgar; 10:00-10:30 pm, Gongaga; 6:00-6:30 pm, Wutai)
Zack Fair and Alex Niven had walked the battleground a half dozen times. Everywhere bodies were sparkling, and tiny bits of dancing lights were evaporating into the Lifestream. Zack always hated this period after a battle; there was an eerie beauty to the dancing green lights that belied the violence of the fighting. While the bodies would dissolve into green sparks, surreal, grotesque splashes of blood often lingered for days leaving the ground and plants dangerous footing for any future fighting. He shook his head. Apparently the Lifestream had a perverse sense of humor. It took back "real" people and "cloned" people the same. Maybe there really wasn't any difference.
Zack and Niven had spread their people out broadly across the battleground to keep watch on the surface exits. The clone grunts had proven to be no match for the sword-wielding Soldiers. There had been a few good fights with the blue-skinned and winged monsters, but none of them were left on the battlefield. Zack wondered briefly if perhaps any of them had gotten away. Monster hunting might be a possibility—that could be fun—after some sleep though!
It had been an incredibly weird night for Zack. For a few minutes Sephiroth had been dead. Dead! Somewhere deep inside Zack there was a wrenching pain that hadn't been assuaged by Seph's return to life. Seph had issued orders for Zack to remain behind while he took Tess to the hospital. To Zack it felt like he was losing the man he loved to that man's wife and child. Rats! Maybe he really was an intruder in their marriage! Damn it, Zack! I thought you were done being jealous. You know he loves you—both of them love you! It just felt like he was being left behind—again.
Zack paused in his rounds. Perhaps it had something to do with seeing Angeal again. Zack wanted to kick himself about that. He knew the clone hadn't been Angeal, but just seeing something that looked, and sounded, and moved like Angeal had thrown Zack for a loop. At least he hadn't had to kill the Angeal clone. Cloud had taken care of that.
"Zack. What's wrong?" Alex had taken a salute from a third class, but it was really Zack's job to do that. "You okay?"
"Hm?" Zack turned to Niven, but Alex could tell Zack wasn't seeing him. Zack swayed from side to side, and his lips quivered as if he were trying to speak. Niven didn't think Zack had taken a hit; he hadn't lost blood for shock to be setting in.
"Zack? You're weaving. Sit down." As if in response to Niven's words, Zack's eyes rolled up in his head, his knees gave out, and Zack collapsed, his skin a sick shade of green in the veiled moonlight. Niven caught Zack before he hit the ground, and, as he lowered his friend, Niven watched green sparks burst in the whites of Zack's eyes before Zack's eyelids closed. Reflection? No… "Damn it, Zack!"
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(4:00-4:30 am, Mideel – Apple Town; 2:00-2:30 am, Midgar; 10:00-10:30 pm, Gongaga; 6:00-6:30 pm, Wutai)
"Well, well, Mr. Sinclair… This time I'll make sure you're disposed of, personally…" A bookcase had rotated, and Lynette Hiland, again with pistol in hand, had the drop on Reno. "Good-bye, Mr. Sinclair." The sound of gunfire filled the room.
Reno, sitting at Hiland's desk, watched as the bullet spun through the air toward him. It glinted in the moonlight and sent out rippling shock waves. Wow. It was amazing that he could watch that deadly piece of lead coming toward his heart. He felt the bullet's point pierce his black Turk suit, then his skin, graze his collar bone, and divert back into his shoulder. How about that, yo? Her aim was a little off; she missed my heart! Bullet's going to make a mess of my shoulder for a while, though. Hope somebody's got materia on 'em. Really good materia!
Reno felt himself be thrown against the chair back, his neck snapped until his head hit the headrest, then he slowly fell forward, watched as the blotter grew toward his face, and felt his head hit the green felt. Ow! Face plant. Next the shoulder landed on the desk as well. More pain. Get her guys…
Bang!
Another shot? What?! That was quick, fellas…
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(4:00-4:30 am, Mideel – New Banora; 2:00-2:30 am, Midgar; 10:00-10:30 pm, Gongaga; 6:00-6:30 pm, Wutai)
"Some set-up." Rude turned to Vanessa-7. Together the couple had carried the box of disposal solution bottles from Hollander's rolling office chair in the hallway into a large room just off the mako pool room and near Lynette Hiland's monitor-filled office that Vanessa-7 had identified as the tube control room. The walls were covered with small instruments showing heart rates and body temperatures with condition settings for room after room of tubes throughout New Banora. At each instrument was an inlet pipe to give access for chemicals to the tubes in that particular room as well as a small clipboard hanging from a hook with records as to the room's experimental conditions. A small wheeled table topped with bits of paper and a few pens was the only free-roaming object in the room, though a round metallic lidded trash can stood in a corner. A dispensing box occupied a lower shelf on the table.
"Hm, yes. Dr. Hollander didn't like to have to go to all the rooms and put chemicals into each tube, so he set up this place. That way he could do whole rooms of tubes at once. I heard he used to run the older Vanessas ragged moving bottles from room to room." Vanessa-7 raised a hand and pointed to signs above several columns of monitors. "These stacks are Banorans: Johns, Williams, Cynthias,… We'll have to wake them up and get them out." She gasped. "There are even a few Vanessas!" She paused, suddenly seemed sad, and looked at the floor, almost crying.
"Seven? What is it?" Rude stood behind Vanessa-7 and put his hand and prosthetic on her upper arms. He wasn't sure if the metal of his left "arm" was in any way comforting, but he hoped it helped.
Vanessa-7 stifled a sob. "I didn't know Dr. Hollander was making more of us! He said he had too many Vanessas. I wonder which of us he was going to dispose of… And these're just babies!"
"Seven! Easy, honey. It's okay. Just remember—thanks to you, no Banoran will be disposed of." Rude paused. "Come on, which rooms have monsters?" He could feel the girl shaking under his hand.
Vanessa-7 took a shuddering breath and seemed to pull herself together. "Over here." To the right of the Banorans and above more identical monitors, were a few numbered signs reading "Angeal" and many reading "Genesis." Similar signs were above the monitors on the other walls as well. "All of these have fighters, or monsters…" Rude started; no wonder they'd brought so many bottles! Many of the monitors, however, had null readings—presumably these were rooms that had been emptied of their occupants. "We'll need to feed two bottles of disposal solution into each tube." She turned to Rude and looked at him squarely. "Be really careful. Don't let any of the solution drip or touch you and be sure to screw the caps on tight before you open another bottle… Here, watch." She pulled on a pair of heavy rubber gloves from the box on the rolling table, unscrewed a bottle cap, flipped open a lid on a pipe, and carefully tilted the bottle to pour the solution. She gradually lowered the bottle toward the pipe and then fitted it into the pipe's flared opening and released the bottle to continue to pour its contents into the pipe on its own. When the bottle was nearly emptied, she tilted it upward to drain the last of the solution. Vanessa-7 lifted the bottle up out of the pipe, watched the last few drops of solution fall, then carefully raised the cap up to the bottle neck and refitted it without rotating the bottle upright. "There." She looked at Rude. He suddenly found he could breathe again—he hadn't known he'd been holding his breath. "Got it?" He raised his eyebrows and nodded jerkily. "Two bottles for each room with heartbeats. Okay? There's flowing mako in the pipes that will wash the solution to the tubes."
"Ri-ight."
"We'll have to wake up the Banorans too. I want to find the other Vanessas first though. I'll need them to help me talk to the Johns and Williams and Cynthias, and everybody. We all have new lives to start…"
"Can you 'wake them up' from here?"
"Yeah, but it'll take a while. Remember how your friend, Dr. Romera, woke up? About the same process…"
"Hm. Then we need to hurry. I imagine Tseng wants us out of here soon."
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(4:00-4:30 am, Mideel – Apple Town; 2:00-2:30 am, Midgar; 10:00-10:30 pm, Gongaga; 6:00-6:30 pm, Wutai)
Lynette Hiland crumbled to her knees, a look of shock on her face. The automatic dropped from her hand to the carpet. Half turning, the white-haired woman looked over her shoulder before continuing her fall to the floor. In the bookcase entrance, stood her secretary, the strawberry-blond Vanessa-1. "I should have been the one, Zero!" Smoke from a pistol rose about Vanessa-1's hand, dark spirals in the moonlight. "He should have chosen me! I loved him more than you ever could!"
As Vanessa-1 turned back to the passageway to run, Landers and Gonzales entered the room in a rush. Landers spotted the escaping woman and ran after her. Gonzales narrowly missed stepping on the body on the floor before sprinting around the desk and pulling a materia orb from a pocket. "Reno!"
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(4:00-4:30 am, Mideel – New Banora; 2:00-2:30 am, Midgar; 10:00-10:30 pm, Gongaga; 6:00-6:30 pm, Wutai)
"Yes, exactly. I want everyone out ASAP." Tseng came up behind Rude who hadn't heard him enter the room from the doorway behind him. Tseng had listened to most of Rude and Vanessa-7's discussion. "Go ahead and start the 'wake-up' process, then find your 'Vanessas.' If it's going to take time to get the Banorans out of here, then get going. I want everyone out of here quickly, then I want the exits sealed—permanently."
Vanessa-7 started. "Yes sir!" She dashed across the room, paused to dispose of the bottle in the trash can, ripped off the gloves turning them inside out, and started turning control knobs for the Banoran rooms.
"Commander, I'd better go with her." Rude approached Tseng. "Did you happen to see how to empty those solution bottles?"
"Yes. I can handle it. I'll pull a couple of people in to help, too." Tseng paused and smiled slightly. "It'll be more useful than waiting for reports to come in, and I can do it while I contact our people to start the evacuation process. I think we've got what we came for, after all." Tseng stopped and looked over to the madly knob-turning clone. "Vanessa-7, is there a loud-speaker system that can reach through this facility?"
Rude saw Seven jump and look a bit scared over her shoulder at the Turk commander. "Yes." She squeaked.
"Good. I want to make a general announcement to all remaining clones to give them a chance to surrender." Tseng paused, and his eyebrows knit. "In fact, I want you to make the announcement. There might be a better chance of surrender if the clones hear a Banoran voice. Agreed?"
Vanessa-7 slowly nodded her head. "It could help. Okay!" While her response had not been her normal bright, "OK!" Rude found he was proud of her. It seemed Seven would do whatever it took to save as many of the clones as she could. She couldn't save all the clones, though, and he hoped she wouldn't regret that later. Rude chided himself for just a second. Time to start thinking of them as "people" rather than as "clones," he supposed. Seven had his respect, and so should her people. Yeah.
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Niven had slowly lowered Zack to the ground, adjusting his grip several times as Zack had become "dead weight." Nuts. Don't even consider that possibility! Niven placed Zack's body on the ground and knelt beside him, pulled off a battle glove, and felt Zack's forehead with the back of his hand. Zack's greenish skin was clammy.
Niven had never heard of a case where Antidote had not completely cured a Bio spell. He hoped this wasn't something new, but then Genesis had used a spell they'd never seen! Nuts—this could be something new! Niven pressed a finger to Zack's throat and checked his pulse; Zack's heart was racing! He pulled out a syringe of Antidote, ripped open the attached antiseptic swab and wiped Zack's bare upper arm, injected the Antidote, then wiped the injection site a second time and applied a bandage. Niven rather suspected that if one dose of Antidote hadn't saved Zack's life then a second dose wouldn't do much better, but he breathed deep and counted slowly to ten to give the Antidote a chance to get into Zack's bloodstream. Lifting an eyelid, Niven checked again for those green bursts he'd seen earlier. They were still there, but fewer and slower. "Damn it, Zack!" Checking Zack's pulse again, Niven found that Zack's heart rate had slowed, but was still faster than normal. The Antidote had helped, but Zack wasn't coming around! Lacking other alternatives, Niven pulled out a piece of materia. He focused his intent, then spread his hands wide roughly dividing Zack's body into thirds in order to generalize his spell for a full-body result, "Cure2."
"Major?" One of Malik's people had approached. "The trucks from the base are on their way in."
"About time!" Niven groused at the fellow. He knew it was anxiety, but they were all tired. Niven ran a hand through his short, spiky brown hair and sank back on his heels. "Find that Turk medic. Get him over here, and tell him I want a casualty report now!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the man's departure, Niven flipped open his PHS. "Commander Tseng? The trucks have arrived."
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"What are you doing?" Rufus Shinra and his bodyguard entered the control room as Vanessa-7 completed her efforts to awaken the Banoran clones. With a nod to Tseng, Rude and Vanessa-7 left the room in search of the other Vanessas.
"Sir, we need to talk… and if you don't mind, please give me a hand with this." At Rufus' nod of assent, Tseng pointed to the heavy rubber gloves on the rolling table. "We're disposing of the remaining fighting clones. I didn't want that 'girl' with Rude to have to do this. She's been a big help—too big to have to kill her fellow clones." Tseng found that he liked Vanessa-7's innocent quality, and Rude probably liked it too. Rude deserved a little 'innocence' after having to put up with Reno. "She was very specific about how to handle these chemicals, so watch how I do this, but put it only in pipes marked 'Angeal' and 'Genesis.'"
"Yeah. Okay." Rufus and Kamui watched carefully, then joined Tseng in dispensing the disposal solution.
"Sir. By agreeing to let the clones live, the company will have to be responsible for their welfare, at least temporarily. Is that agreeable with you?" Tseng needed this answer from Rufus. It would determine Tseng's priorities and orders for the next few hours.
"I know. I've already thought of that." Rufus raised an emptied bottle, capped it, then turned to dispose of it in the trash can. "After all, this whole place was my father's idea. In a way Shinra's been responsible for it—and them—from the beginning."
"Rude and Vanessa-7 have gone to find her fellow Vanessas then meet the Banorans. What do you want to do with them once they're awake? After all, if this place is sealed, they can't very well stay here."
Rufus sighed thoughtfully. "I suppose we'll need to transport them to Apple Town yet tonight. You'd better contact the Soldiers and let them know, so they don't all pile into the trucks when they get here." Rufus glanced at Kamui, his own Sephiroth clone; she was watching him intently—judging him by his treatment of the clones. "You know, my father left Apple Town five million gil in his will. I suppose that money could be used for housing the Banorans, get them started. I could authorize even more money if it became necessary. I suppose Shinra's just gone into the apple business. I will have to leave someone in charge of Apple Town. Could you spare Rude as liaison for a few weeks? Maybe let him work some things out with that clone that's running around with him."
Kamui paused in her solution pouring and raised a silver eyebrow at Rufus' plan. She hadn't expected him to accept responsibility for the situation. Maybe he wasn't quite the playboy she had thought him to be. He might be worth getting to know; after all he was a good kisser even if he was a little too "handsy" for her taste. She could always beat him to a bloody pulp, if she needed to, she supposed. She gave Rufus a slight smile. Startled, Rufus smiled back. Oops, almost missed a drop. He paused. Yeah. She had liked that decision. Good job.
Tseng carefully avoided noticing the pair's exchange and nodded. "I need Rude in Midgar, but it seems he may be needed even more here." Tseng paused. "I've already heard from Major Niven. The trucks are here. I'll contact Niven and have him make sure the Soldiers crowd into the RVs with us and leave the trucks for the Banorans. I'll also have to be sure to get all the records onto the RVs; wouldn't want to lose them after all we've been through to get them. There is a problem, however. It seems Lt. Col. Fair was probably poisoned earlier tonight in addition to being the victim of a Bio spell. Niven is extremely worried about him and wants to get him to Mideel Base ASAP.
"I see. Since that's the case, go ahead and contact all your people, Tseng, and let's get out of here."
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Verdot closed his PHS and turned to his friend, Vincent Valentine. They'd been heavily engaged in a running firefight through the New Banoran corridors leap-frogging with a pair of Turks they'd come across. "Tseng's just given the evacuation order. You ready?" Vincent nodded. "On three: one… two… three!"
Vincent fired off all three barrels of Cerberus in one blast then both men turned and ran back the corridor down which they'd been pushing the fighting clones. As they ran, they were covered by the second pair of Turks. Taking cover and letting the seconds fall back, Vincent and Verdot turned their attention again to shooting at the now advancing clones. Once again when Vincent was occupied with something else, Chaos kicked his brain.
Soon.
…What…?!
I said, 'soon.' You wanted to be warned. Remember?