Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]
Emerald Princess of Vernea
Part Eleven: The Hunt for the Huge Materia
Chapter Seven
The Highwind wasted no time flying across the ocean to the western continent. The airship's crew, empowered by Cid's rather… colourful… motivation speeches, gave all they had to power the airship through the reddening skies. It took the Highwind just over an hour to cross the ocean and the western shores became visible on the horizon. The Gold Saucer was the first thing they saw, its bright lights visible even in daylight miles away from the shore.
There had been many disputes during the trip over how they should enter the mountains and penetrate the mako reactor. Barret, on edge, said they should land outside North Corel and cross the train tracks. Red XIII suggested that they fly over the mountains and land in the Costa Plains west of Costa del Sol, entering the mountains as they had done before.
The decision eventually fell to Cid, after the former AVALANCHE leader and the hound argued vehemently over which was the best route. Barret's suggestion saved them a little time, though the old rail tracks were rickety and beyond repair. Red XIII's meant they had to fly around the mountains, but meant they were closer to the reactor at the end. Cid, enveloped in his new role as leader, made a big show of listing the pros and cons of each suggestion (much to Barret's annoyance) before finally coming to a decision. The Highwind landed in the deep valley of the Corel Plains just outside of North Corel.
There was a big commotion going on in North Corel as the party entered. Everyone living in the village had left their homes and shops and had gathered in the northern end of the village, looking down the rail tracks leading out of the village and into the vast mountains of Corel. The people murmured in hushed voices, their faces troubled and nervous. They did not pay any attention to Cid and his crew, so focused were they on the rail road.
After a nod from Cid, Vincent slipped up beside one of the villagers. "What is going on?" he asked quietly.
The man did not take his eyes off the railroad. "Shinra soldiers came around sayin' they were gathering up all the Huge Materia. I think they're gonna bring it here by coal train, from the Corel Reactor."
Vincent left him and relayed the information to the others. Cid crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "Well, we know they're here, then," he said. "Guess we have no choice but to go up to the reactor and stop them from excavating this Huge Materia."
"Grrgh! Then let's get movin' already!" said Barret, his eyes wild. "We're wastin' time!"
Before anyone could stop him, Barret began to push his way roughly through the crowd. The villagers of Corel shouted in protest as they were shoved rudely aside, many uttering curses as they recognised him. Barret did not listen, nor did he stop or wait for the others when he reached the train tracks, but simply carried on, following the tracks into the mountains.
Knowing that they could do nothing else, the others followed.
It took them a while to catch up with Barret, who didn't stop or slow his pace even when crossing the rail tracks. The old wooden rails, which rose at times about fifty feet above the mountain floor, creaked as the big man thudded his way across them, but did not bend or break beneath his weight. The expression on Barret's face as he ran was firm and lethal. Even the monsters, the birds and Bombs alike, stayed well out of his way.
Barret finally stopped on a stretch of track leading up to the reactor. He peered around a wall of rock that lined the railroad and assessed the situation. Only two Shinra soldiers stood guard outside the entrance, both with standard Shinra-issue machine guns. Clearly Shinra did not expect any trouble getting the Huge Materia out of Corel. Hmph, thought Barret. They should have learned by now.
Pulling back behind the wall, Barret checked his equipment. His gun-arm was loaded and ready, and the gun-arm's accessory, the chainsaw, still worked perfectly. His materia was secure. The summon materia, Ifrit, glowed faintly, reacting to Barret's anger and rage. Barret looked down at it, contemplating. No, he would not use the summon here, but by god if they did anything to harm the people of Corel—
The others caught up to him at this point. Yuffie, Cid, and Red XIII were all panting with exertion. Cait Sith sat astride Red XIII's back, his furry face grinning cheerfully. The robotic cat had chosen to leave his Mog body back at the airship, saying it would be too clunky and heavy for this mission. Typically, Vincent showed no signs of fatigue, a fact that would have irked Barret had he been of a mind to think about it. But there were more important matters at hand, like those Shinra soldiers…
"Are we ready?" he asked the others—once it looked like they had caught their breath—mostly.
One by one the others nodded, and drew their weapons. Yuffie's Razor Ring shuriken's sharpened blades caught the sunlight as she twirled it in the air, before securing the weapon in her gloved fist. The butt of Cid's spear rang with a metallic echo as he slammed it against the rocky floor, and he placed his cigarette firmly behind his ear. Red XIII bared his fangs, and on his back Cait Sith adjusted his crown and smoothed his whiskers. Vincent calmly drew his short-barrelled gun and began to place bullets in the chamber.
Looking at his comrades, a peculiar feeling came over Barret. They seemed… incomplete. There were but six of them, not the party of nine they had been barely a month ago. Aeris was no longer with them, after being killed by Sephiroth and now resting in peace in the lake of the Forgotten City. Tifa had remained in Mideel to take care of Cloud.
Cloud… Now there was someone Barret had never expected to miss. Barret could not explain how, but the group seemed somewhat empty without him around. Every time Barret turned he expected to see the spiky-headed young man standing there, with a smirk and that cocky stance of his.
Even now, when Barret turned to face the reactor, he expected to see Cloud standing ahead of them all, Buster Sword in hand, and saying something really, really silly, like 'Let's mosey!'
A smile crossed Barret's face. He turned to the others once more. "All right, then!" he said, grinning widely. "Let's get 'em!"
That was all the others needed to hear. Together they emerged from their hiding place and made a dash for the reactor. The two soldiers at the entrance, startled by the sight of six well-armed fighters heading their way, almost dropped their guns in their surprise. One took a step forward, his eyes widening behind his visor.
"You guys are…!"
That was all the soldier managed to say before the Razor Ring struck his helmet, delivering a sounding blow that knocked the soldier off his feet and sent his gun skittering across the ground.
The second soldier, seeing his comrade slump to the ground, raised his gun. He did not even manage to raise it past his waist before a bullet pierced his shoulder, causing him to cry out and release the gun. He barely had time to look up before he saw the dark, glowering shadow of Barret fall over him. A fist connected with his helmet, and the soldier joined his comrade on the ground.
Quickly Red XIII and Vincent set about removing the unconscious forms of the Shinra soldiers from view. They each took one of the slumbering men (Red XIII grabbing the man's collar with his teeth) and dragged them around the side of the reactor.
When that was done, Cid placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the situation. That small conflict did not seem to have attracted any extra attention from Shinra. No more soldiers appeared from inside the reactor. It really did seem like they had placed only two soldiers on guard. He exhaled deeply.
"Guess we're safe for now…!"
Even as he spoke the silence was shattered by the sudden, deafening blare of a horn. Cid and the others froze on the spot, their eyes darting warily.
Red XIII raised his head and sniffed the air. Through the foul-smelling, metallic haze that always surrounded mako reactors, came a stronger, more intense scent that Red XIII could not identify. He took a few steps toward the large open doors of the reactor and sniffed again. The scent was coming from inside the reactor, along with a chug-chug sound. The ground began to tremble beneath his feet, as though something large and heavy was moving across the ground. He peered into the darkness. Suddenly his ears flattened against his head and he backed up a few steps.
"Ohh!"
Puzzled by the hound's sudden display of fright, Barret went over to look. He also backed up a pace, and if he had been physically able to do it, his ears would have flattened as well. "Da---mn!" he exclaimed.
The horn they had heard had come from a coal train, and it was this train that was now speeding toward them from inside the reactor. Even as they realised this the train was already reaching the exit, and it was all they could do to scramble out of the way and avoid being run over. It was such a close call they could feel the air rushing past them, throwing dirt into their eyes and making them cough. The train continued on past them, speeding across the tracks and into the mountains.
Once the train had passed, they climbed back onto their feet and looked down the tracks where it had gone.
"Looks like they're takin' off with the Huge Materia in that train!" said Cid.
"No!" Barret roared, running forward, his fists trembling. "You damn boneheads!"
"Did the Shinra beat us?" asked Red XIII, his head low.
Hearing the downbeat tone in Red XIII's voice, Cid walked to the front of the group and turned to face them all. His eyes were fierce. "Hey, do you know who I am?" he demanded tersely. "I'm Cid—that's who the hell I am! Now just let me handle it."
Shifting his spear to his other hand, Cid had a quick look around him. They needed to catch up to that train before it reached North Corel and Shinra escaped with the Huge Materia. The only way they could catch up to that train now was with something equally fast, like the airship, a car, or…
…Or another train.
Cid ran toward the reactor. The giant metal doors had remained open after the train passed through, and the interior was dark and empty. There were no Shinra soldiers around—the reactor was completely deserted. At Cid's feet were two sets of rail tracks, both of them leading into the reactor. Two tracks meant two trains. A sly smile spread on Cid's face, and he ran into the reactor.
Barret and the others looked at one another, puzzled as to what Cid had in mind. A moment later Cid called out to them, and they ran into the reactor after him.
Around the side of the reactor, one of the two Shinra soldiers stirred and slowly sat up. His head was thudding painfully, and he carefully unclipped the helmet and tugged it off his head. He moaned—he was going to have a terrible headache for a good while, he knew.
After checking his comrade, who remained unconscious on the ground, the Shinra soldier stood up. He almost fainted, his knees just about held their ground. With the back of his hand he wiped away a trickle of blood from his forehead and staggered around to the front of the reactor.
There was no sign of the wanted criminals. He had recognised them instantly—their faces had been burned into the minds of every Shinra soldier. Had they been caught?
The soldier stopped suddenly as the ground beneath his feet began to rumble. He looked down. Pebbles were beginning to dance along the ground, and a distant rumble like the roll of thunder could be heard inside the reactor. The Shinra soldier took a step closer toward the large doors as the rumbling grew louder.
He barely pulled back in time when the train burst out of the doors and knocked him to the ground. The soldier shielded his face with his hands as dust and dirt flew around him, blown up by the whirring wheels of the train. Blinded by the dust, he could see nothing. But he could hear perfectly well, and over the chug-chug-chug of the train he could hear a distinct, accented, smug-sounding voice.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey----!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Yeah, I know I keep saying this, but I will try and update a little more often. My passion for writing has died down a lot, but I DID promise I would finish this fic, and by the gods I WILL finish it. I've come this far, I'm not about to let my readers down by abandoning it.
Do feel free to e-mail me and pester me to write more often, you know. Sometimes I forget I even have this fic to do, so a reminder wouldn't go amiss. Plus it reminds me that people want me to write and finish it.