Final Fantasy VII: The Story 3rd Instalment
Emerald Princess of Vernea
Part Ten: Weapon Strikes
Chapter One
The first thing Tifa noticed when she came around was the glare. The harsh glare of light that seemed to come from nowhere, yet everywhere. It burned through her eyelids and into her soul. Tifa moaned softly and turned her head away from the glare, wishing it would stop and let her sleep. It continued to burn through her, bringing her to consciousness. Opening her lips, she breathed softly. The air was warm. As she breathed, she came to realise that someone was beside her.
"…ding…"
"Huh?" came a voice.
The voice came from the person who sat beside her. Tifa flexed her fingers, and then curled them into her palms. She knew that voice. It was deep and baritone, speaking unusually softly and filled with concern and worry. She could not place his name, though. Sadness overwhelmed her. She had hoped it would be Cloud's voice that awakened her, but inside she knew that it would not be his voice. Tifa began to open her eyes—winced against the harshness of the light. "The glare…" she said quietly, aware that her voice sounded dull and unnatural in the unending light.
The person beside her spoke again. "You'll be better soon. You've been asleep for a long time."
Tifa turned her head to face the man who spoke. She had been asleep… for a long time? How long a time? Opening her eyes only a little, she could just make out the shadow of a large man sitting nearby. The bright light obscured most of his image from her, but she could see just enough to make out who he was and remember his name. Closing her eyes again, she let her head roll back to face the ceiling.
"I'm…… hungry…" she said, suddenly becoming aware of how hungry she was. She was becoming more aware about other things, too. Like how stiff and sore her body was, and how she was lying on a hard bed with nothing but a firm pillow beneath her head. Questions began to run in the mind, but she could not focus on them for long.
Beside her, she heard a faint, amused chuckle. The man quickly stopped himself from laughing further, and dropped his voice to a serious level. "Hey, why don't you ask?" Getting up off his chair, he looked at Tifa and added: "About him."
The glare faded. Tifa opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling fan and dim lights, unmoving. Then she pushed herself up by her elbows and propped herself by her hands. She shivered, feeling the air suddenly go cold. Finally she raised her head and looked at Barret. "…Because I'm scared," she said.
"Don't worry," Barret told her, his voice unusually quiet. "I don't know what happened to Cloud either." Seeing the fear in Tifa's eyes, the big man paused and scratched the back of his head. "Guess I shouldn't be telling you not to worry…" He shook his head. "None of them know if he's all right either."
Tifa looked down at her feet. "He's still… alive, right?" Barret nodded. Tifa took in a deep breath and sighed heavily. After taking a moment to swallow her fears for Cloud and push them aside, she looked up at Barret. "How long… was I asleep?"
"Lesse now……" said Barret, thinking for a moment. "Must've been about 7 days."
"What about Sephiroth?"
"You ain't over it yet," said the big man gravely. Tifa looked at him questioningly. Barret crossed his arms and explained. "Remember that huge light, in the Northern Cave? Since then, the crater's been surrounded by a huge barrier of light. Everyone knows Sephiroth sleeps in that big hole, protected by the barrier. We can't do a damn thing about it. We just gotta wait till he wakes up. An' on topa that, some huge monster called Weapon's been on a rampage."
While Barret was talking, Tifa swung her legs over the side of the bed and let her feet touch the cold floor. She still wore her diamond-studded battle gloves, she noticed, although one diamond was missing on the left glove, and others were chipped. They would need replacing, though it would be cheaper to simply buy a new set of gloves. Shame—she liked this particular pair. She'd almost forgotten Barret was speaking until she heard him mention Weapon. She looked up.
"…Weapon?" she asked.
"Remember that huge monster that was with Sephiroth, at the bottom of the crater," said Barret. "They say it's some legendary monster from the past."
Monster……? Yes, she did recall that a little. Her memories of the events at the Northern Cave were somewhat sketchy—flashes of images she could just about put into some sensible order. She remembered the giant monsters flying out of the crater… The collapse of the crater, when the crystal holding Sephiroth fell from its nest and into the shadowy depths below… Cloud looking down at her sadly before the rain of mako broke through the nest and swallowed him up…
Tifa bit her lip. She hadn't meant to think of Cloud. But his face… his voice… his eyes… They were always there, in her mind. Try as she might, she could not close the veil to block him out, even for a second. Not that she wanted to forget him. There were other things, things more important than him, which she had to focus on… Like Weapon and Sephiroth. Cloud… He would have to wait. For now…
Closing the veil just enough to shield him from her mind, but leaving enough of his image to make sure she did not forget about him, Tifa turned to Barret. "Weapon… is protecting Sephiroth?" she asked.
Barret shook his head. "Dunno," he admitted. "But he's up here goin' around tearin' shit up. Right now Rufus's fightin' it. I hate to say it, but he's got guts." Tifa slid off the bed and stood up, brushing herself off. While she brushed herself down Barret walked slowly across the room, close to the shuttered windows. He sighed. "We shoulda been the ones to destroy it, but we ain't got no time…"
"Time…" Tifa repeated, thinking. Suddenly, she looked up. "…Hey! How about Meteor?"
Barret stopped next to the last closed window. He looked at Tifa gravely—a silent warning for her to prepare herself. Tifa came to stand beside him. After a moment's pause, Barret pressed a small button at the base of the window. There was a resounding click and the three windows began to open. The metal shutters covering the windows slid up, letting a sea of orange-yellow light flood into the room. Tifa raised her arm to cover her eyes as the warm light fell upon her face. When her eyes adjusted she gazed through the open window and looked to the sky. She gasped.
The sky she looked upon was not the same sky she saw just days before. The normally blue sky had changed into a burning hue of orange-red, making it seem as though the very sky was on fire. The moon was visible in the daytime sky, brought to light by the burning clouds, though the moon itself was just a dark disk covered in shadow in a sea of orange.
But there, directly above them, was the most terrifying sight that Tifa had ever seen in all her twenty years of life. Meteor hung high in the sky, enveloped in a shroud of flames. It was five times larger than the moon and grew bigger with each passing day. It seemed so close and so large that it made Tifa's heart shudder in fright. There was no doubt in her mind that Meteor would fall onto the planet. This was the power of the Black Materia. Its power had drawn this blazing fireball from its path and had brought it on a direct course with their planet. This was what they had fought so hard to prevent.
Fought so hard… And failed.
Tifa lowered her gaze. She could not stand to look at Meteor any longer. Meteor would fall, that was certain. Was it too late to stop it? She clutched at her shirt and felt her quickening heartbeat. Almost choking in her fear at the sight of the descending fireball, she looked at Barret. "Do we have to give up?" she asked him.
Barret looked back at her. The same fear was in his eyes. That scared Tifa, perhaps more so than the sight of Meteor above them. Even Barret, once the leader of a prominent resistance group in Midgar and who was prepared to kill Shinra soldiers for the sake of revenge on his hometown, was afraid of this. Yet, even as he looked at her, she saw him fighting that fear.
"…Dunno," the man answered finally, turning his gaze away. Tifa watched him in silence. This fear was a battle that Barret would fight alone.
As she watched him the door behind them opened, and Rufus Shinra walked into the room. He entered alone, something that struck Tifa instantly as odd. The Shinra president rarely went anywhere without at least one of his loyal employees around.
There was an immediate rise in tension as the president entered the room. Barret stiffened, instantly on edge in the presence of the most important man in Shinra. He may have praised Rufus less than a minute ago, but that did not mean that the hatred between them was gone. In turn Rufus looked at Barret in disdain. No, Tifa thought, he was not likely to welcome them with open arms.
Rufus stopped next to the bed. After seeing that Tifa was now awake, he crossed his arms and looked at them. "I thought Cloud would show up to save you all…" he said. He sounded disappointed. "Professor Hojo wanted to check up on Cloud, too."
"What are you going to do to Cloud?" demanded Tifa.
"Sephiroth's alter ego…" muttered Rufus quietly. He shut his eyes and looked at the ground, lost in thought. "Meteor has been summoned… Essentially, it's all but over now. So, there's no need for you now." He opened his eyes. His cold blue gaze met Tifa's. "No," he added, almost sinisterly, "maybe there is an important task for you…"
As if on command, Heidegger walked into the room. He moved with a weighty swagger of self-importance, and had such a large, smug smile his beard had difficulty hiding it. He chuckled as he walked. Rufus seemed to be expecting him, for he did not react when the man entered. When Heidegger spoke it was with such a loud, booming voice that anyone on the corridors beyond would have heard him.
"President! Preparations for the public execution are complete."
Barret's jaw fell open. He snapped round to face Rufus, his face turning red in his growing rage. "Execution!?" he bellowed. "What're ya gonna get by executin' us!?
A wicked smile spread on Rufus's face. He seemed amused by Barret's anger. "You are to be executed for causing this situation," he said plainly. "People are ignorant. They'll feel better as long as someone is punished."
Barret's fists shook with anger. He was almost spitting in rage—saliva flecked his lips as he struggled to find words strong enough to use against the young president. The words escaped him—there were none strong enough to pierce Rufus's arrogant armour. So he stepped back, swallowed most of his anger, and looked at Tifa.
"I take back what little praise I had for this damn jackass!" was all he could say.
Again Rufus smiled. He seemed very amused indeed by this display of sudden aggression. He ran a hand through his blond hair, brushing back the longer lengths that fell in front of his eyes. "Well," he said smoothly, letting his hand fall, "enjoy your last moments together." With that, the Shinra president left, leaving a stunned Tifa and Barret alone in the room with Heidegger.
Once Rufus left the room, Heidegger turned to the two former resistance members. The same wicked smile was on his face. He got a distinct pleasure out of seeing them squirm over their inevitable fate. "I'll tie your arms now," he said as he approached.
It did not take long to restrain the two of them. Barret attempted to fight back, threatening to take down any soldier who came near him. It took three soldiers to hold him down while the handcuffs were put on, and powerful restraints were tied around his arms to keep them placed firmly behind his back. Tifa did not resist at all. She stood in silence as the soldier locked the cuffs around her wrists.
Heidegger took charge in leading the two out of the room where Tifa had been resting and down the stairs toward the execution room. Tifa and Barret followed in an almost subdued silence, though they held their heads high in supreme defiance. A single soldier followed close behind, his rifle ready in case there was any resistance.
After descending a few floors the troupe entered the main control room. This was where Heidegger left them, moving away from the group and rejoining Rufus, who had entered just ahead of them. The man followed the president as he went to the front of the room and stopped by a large window that made up the front wall.
As she walked silently around the back of the control room, Tifa turned and glanced out of the window. Beyond the large glass pane she could see an open plain of crystal blue waters. The ocean… Tifa thought quickly. If they were by the ocean, then they were most likely in Junon. Junon was the only sea-faring town she knew of that had a Shinra base. Why were they in Junon and not Midgar, she thought to herself. Surely Rufus would have returned to Midgar, not Junon…
While she was lost in her thoughts, the soldier behind nudged her back with the butt of his rifle. Tifa turned to him defiantly, but could see nothing behind his dark visor. Turning her back on him, she hurried to catch up with Barret.
The soldier led them on until they finally arrived at their destination. As they walked through the large double doors they were hit by the sound of chatter and high-pitched laughter, bright lights and the scent of expensive perfume. A number of chairs had been lined up in the centre of the room. A number of people holding microphones were scattered about, and there were others holding cameras. Tifa looked around in puzzlement. What was going on?
The laughter came again, cutting above the sound of the chatter. Tifa groaned. She recognised that laughter. Only one person could make piercing laughter that high-pitched and ear grating.
Scarlet.
The crowd of journalists parted as Tifa and Barret were led into the room. Sure enough, the Shinra executive was there, smiling and laughing heartily with a couple of the journalists. Scarlet turned. There was a smug smile on her thick, red lips, and her eyes peered at them in disgust through layers of black mascara and eye shadow. Her dress was neatly pressed, her nails delicately painted. She had certainly prepared for the occasion. This was a moment she was going to enjoy.
Scarlet's eyes stopped on Tifa. The smile widened, revealing such perfectly clean teeth that Tifa felt dirty and common. She scowled back at the executive. How much she wanted to wipe that smug, arrogant smile off that old witch's face!
Scarlet looked at Tifa a moment more, before she turned to the array of journalists gathered around her. "Is everyone here?" she said, her loud voice reaching every corner of the room. She gestured to the two handcuffed prisoners. "These are the ones who brought this madness into the world!"
A number of cameras turned and swivelled round to face them. Barret looked left and right, squinting in the bright lights that were cast over them. Staring at the journalists, he said, "The hell are these people?"
"We will be broadcasting your miserable deaths live on national television," Scarlet replied, without a hint of shame. Clearly she did not care for her 'audience' to hear her describe their deaths as miserable.
One of the journalists, dressed very oddly in a tight suit that clung to his bizarrely short and rotund body, stepped up to Scarlet. His unusually small, hunched head made him especially odd-looking. "Scarlet," he said in a slightly high, accented voice, "why a public execution in this day and age?"
Scarlet ran a hand through her slick blonde hair as the cameras revolved to face her. After pausing for a second to create a dramatic effect, she said in a smooth, almost charming voice: "With the chaos resulting from the Meteor reports, we desperately need to rally public support… it's better that we punish somebody, anybody."
"You make me sick…" Tifa spat harshly, glaring at Scarlet. It was almost unbelievable that this woman could be so cold!
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" laughed Scarlet, touching her lips delicately with her fingertips as she winked knowingly at the journalists. "They'll never admit it, but everyone loves this stuff!" Placing one hand on her hourglass hips, she spun on her high red heels and pointed at Tifa. "We'll start with this girl."
Barret raged. "If you've gotta do it---do me first!" he roared furiously. He strained his muscles against the cuffs and restraints on his arms and wrists. They did not budge. If only his gun-arm was free… Then he could shower bullets on this useless excuse for Shinra justice.
The AVALANCHE leader's outburst and furious attempt to break free of his shackles seemed to amuse Scarlet. Her red lips parted into a wide grin as she waved excitedly at the cameras, motioning them to turn and record what the man was doing. "Camera, this way!" she exclaimed as she waved. "Make sure you get this, the audience just eats up tearful goodbyes!"
There was nothing Barret could do as Scarlet led Tifa away. He watched helplessly as Scarlet and a soldier led his friend to a closed door at the far end of the room. At one point Tifa turned her head and looked back at him. Her eyes were ablaze—she hadn't given up yet. Barret was relieved to see her look so confident in the face of death, but it didn't stop him feeling that he was to blame for her being in this situation.
The soldier unlocked the door, and Scarlet ushered Tifa into the room. It was small, only a box room. It contained only a single chair, with strong metal locks on the arms. Hanging down from the ceiling were a number of pipes—a gas chamber.
Tifa stopped and looked up at the pipes. They stopped directly above the chamber, ensuring that the gas, when flowing, would fall directly over the victim locked in the chair. She swallowed nervously. Seeing her pause, Scarlet shoved her hard toward the chair. Tifa staggered, but kept her balance. She spun round, glaring defiantly.
"What are you doing!?" Tifa snapped.
"This is my special gas chamber," explained Scarlet, waving her hand leisurely toward the chair and pipes. She stepped forward until she was almost nose-to-nose with the younger woman. "Take your time," she said, her voice low and sinister, "and enjoy a slow, painful death."
The soldier, previously standing by the chair, came up behind Tifa and unlocked the handcuffs that bound her wrists. Tifa locked gazes with Scarlet. Suddenly Scarlet reached out and pushed her. Tifa staggered backward. Her heel caught the hard edge of the chair and she fell into the chair, her had banging on the metal back.
While she sat there, dazed, Scarlet and the soldier each took her wrists and placed them into the locks on both arms of the chair. They flipped the metal cuffs over and they clicked into place, preventing her from leaving the chair. Tifa looked up to find Scarlet standing over her, leering down at her with her usual haughty smile.
"Stuck up $#&!!" Scarlet hissed, before giving Tifa a harsh slap across her face.
Scarlet and the soldier left the gas chamber, leaving Tifa sitting in a stunned silence. As the soldier passed, something slipped from his pocket and fell to the floor. He did not notice and left the chamber behind Scarlet, pulling the door shut behind him. The automatic lock sealed the door the moment it clicked into place. As she heard the click that signalled the door's locking, Scarlet sighed in satisfaction.
Rubbing her hands together, Scarlet faced the journalists who stood eagerly in front of her. "Well now, the show's about to begin," she announced. She laughed heartily.
All of a sudden the siren sounded, cutting in over the sound of Scarlet's irksome laughter. The emergency lights began to flash, bathing the room in a cloak of red light. Barret, his arms still in chains, looked around wildly, while the journalists stared at Scarlet in bewilderment. Before she could speak, a computerised voice boomed over the siren's wild blaze.
"Emergency! Emergency! Weapon's approaching! Attention all military personnel: take your positions!"
One of the journalists jumped and dropped his microphone. "Oh no!" he wailed, quivering with fright. "It's Weapon! Run!" The man turned and darted toward the door, almost falling over his feet in his panic.
The remaining journalists followed suit, dropping their things and fleeing for the exit as fast as they could. The cameramen, taken over by terror, left their camera behind as they tore out of the doors after their cohorts. They did not even take the time to stop the cameras from filming. Only two soldiers and the bizarre-looking journalist remained, his small head turning left and right wildly.
Scarlet, stunned by the suddenness in which the events were occurring, could only stare as the journalists fled. "Hey, hey, all of you!" she shrieked, but her voice was drowned out by the siren. Furiously she stamped her heel on the ground. "Damn! Why now?" she cursed. When she looked up she saw that the bizarre journalist stood in front of her, his unusually large microphone ready in his hand.
"How does it feel now, Scarlet?" he asked her. He leaned forward, holding his microphone close to Scarlet's face.
Scarlet smiled an approval. "Hmm, so you didn't run?" she asked. "I'm impressed." She took a deep breath, and the man leaned in closer. "How do I feel? Right now……"
With the siren roaring overhead, Scarlet was unable to hear the betraying hiss of gas as it seeped out of the top of the man's microphone. As she spoke she swooned, dizziness and lethargy suddenly overcoming her. She tried to look at the man, but he was blurred and fading in her sight. Then her eyes closed, and she saw no more.
Barret stared as Scarlet suddenly collapsed to the press room floor. At first he thought she was dead. Then he saw her chest rise and fall—she was fast asleep. "Huh!? Sleeping gas?" he said, shaking his head. He looked at the journalist.
The journalist was looking back at him. Barret stared intently at his face. There was something familiar about him—what it was, he couldn't be sure. Suddenly the man spun around, grabbing the suit and pulling it away from him in a single movement. The suit fluttered to the floor. In the journalist's place was a large round Mog, with a mechanical cat sitting on top of its head, looking at Barret through slender slit eyes and a cheerful, happy smile. Cait Sith.
"Weirdo!!"
Cait turned. Until that moment, the two soldiers guarding the door had been watching the events unfold in disbelief. They had seen Scarlet fall but did not move, uncertain as to what they should do. But as they saw Cait reveal himself they jumped up and ran toward him, their rifles ready.
Instantly Cait sprung into action. Guiding the Mog forward, he charged at full speed at the advancing soldiers. The nearest soldier skidded to a stop. He hesitated, and that was his fatal mistake. Cait barrelled forward, using the Mog's speed and weight to carry him forward. He crashed into the soldier, who cried out in surprise and pain as the Mog trampled over him. Standing on the soldier's stomach, the Mog brought its huge fists down on his head. The Shinra soldier gave a stifled groan before his head fell back. The rifle slipped from his hands.
With the first soldier down, Cait turned his attention on the second one. The next soldier was a few metres behind the first, kneeling on the ground as he took aim at the cat. Cait waved his arms frantically before darting to one side, just as the soldier fired. His quick reflexes allowed Cait to dodge the bullet, leaving it to skim the top of the Mog's head. The Mog jumped up and down madly, seemingly in pain.
While the soldier reloaded his rifle, he scanned the room for the cat. There was his fallen companion, Scarlet, the hysterical Mog, and the stunned prisoner. There was no sign of the troublesome cat anywhere. Where had he gone? He walked cautiously forward, continuing to scan the room.
A dark shadow fell from above and landed on his helmet. The soldier began to look up when something hard and heavy smashed onto his helmet. The soldier stiffened and dropped his rifle. The heavy object was smashed again onto his helmet and he fell to his knees. One more whack and the soldier tumbled forward to the ground. Cait jumped off the soldier's shoulders as he fell, spinning his microphone—actually his megaphone in disguise—in his hand. The cat looked at Barret and smiled.
Barret could only stare in wonder. Words escaped him—which, for Barret, was quite a first. Of all the people to rescue him, he had never thought it would be this mechanical feline. He tried to speak, but all he could do was open and close his mouth voicelessly. As he stood there, Cait climbed back onto his Mog and calmed it down before bounding over to stand behind Barret
"I'm here to help!" said the cat. Leaning over, he used his sharp claws to unlock Barret's handcuffs and restraints. The chains fell to the floor.
Barret found his words at last. "Why you……? Ain't you part of Shinra?"
Cait scratched his head nervously. "Let's just say I'm against capital punishment. Besides…" he added, nodding his head toward the sleeping Scarlet, "I hate this broad. Come on, we gotta help Tifa. I'll keep watch at the entrance."
While Cait hopped over to the entrance, Barret ran quickly to the gas chamber doors, nearly running over Scarlet as she lay sprawled on the press room floor. Barret grabbed the door handle and pulled on it. To his surprise the door did not budge, nor did it even rattle. He pulled again, harder, but still nothing. He tugged hard and shook the handle. Nothing.
"It won't open!"
Emerald: I've just noticed recently that I'm including a lot of original actions when the characters are speaking, along with the actions that they do in the game. In fact, I'm adding a lot more original stuff in these days. Like Tifa looking out of the window as they pass the control room… do you all think this is okay? I mostly did it to fill space, but it's become natural to think what else the character would do, you know? Is this all right, do you think? Oh, and sorry for the wait for this chapter. I've been doing a lot of art for Dragonlance Nexus recently.