Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Eight

"Hey, hey, hey, hey----!"

It had been an immense stroke of luck that there was another coal train inside the Corel Reactor. It was unmanned and unguarded, and still in good working order despite not being used for a number of years (when Corel abandoned its coal production and took up excavating mako instead). Cid had now claimed ownership of the train, and now that train sped down the tracks in chase of the Shinra.

Cid Highwind stood at the controls, his face radiating the kind of righteous smugness that only those who knew they had a good idea can radiate. Gathered in the control car around him were Barret and the others. Red XIII, with Cait Sith still on his back, acted as lookout on top of the car, his keen eyes peeled for any sign of the Shinra train. His face still smug, Cid turned to face the others, awaiting their praise.

"I'm impressed," said Vincent, much to Cid's delight. "You can drive this, too…?"

The smile never left Cid's face. "Don't ask me… I don't know!" he admitted.

Vincent's red eyes widened in alarm. "Wha… what…!?"

"What!? You serious!?" demanded Yuffie. The others shared her sense of alarm—Cait Sith could be heard muttering and whimpering from overhead. Cid, on the other hand, did not seem in the least bit concerned. He dismissed their agitated faces with a casual wave and turned to face the controls, studying them meticulously.

"Don't worry!" he assured them, still smiling. "I can handle this kinda stuff! Two levers; one on the right and one on the left…"

He took hold of the two levers, grasping them firmly in his hands. The train was mostly self-powered, running on coal that burned hotly in the furnace at the back of the car. There appeared to be no other controls apart from these levers, which Cid assumed to be used for changing the speed of the train. He pulled the left lever back and pushed the right lever forward. He then reversed the process, pulling the right lever back while the left went forward. At this movement, the train gave a small shudder, and Cid got the impression that it had sped up a notch.

"I see," he muttered, mostly to himself, "just alternate the two levers up and down, right? Judging from the enemy's speed, I'd say it'll take about ten minutes." He glanced back at the others and grinned. "We're gonna fly!! Hold on tight!!"

Cid's estimations were a little short of the mark. It did not take them ten minutes to catch up to the Shinra train—in fact, it barely took them five minutes. This was nothing to do with Cid, who powered the levers back and forth with all the might he could muster. No, it was because the Shinra train had slowed down. While the tracks on the ground were still fairly secure, those tracks that crossed the fifty-foot chasm in the middle of the mountains were, in many places, in disrepair. With their valuable cargo on board, they could not risk their train dropping off into the chasm, and so they were forced to slow down.

Cid, however, was not so concerned about the state of the tracks. He was a knowledgeable pilot and knew a great deal about how things were built and structured. He estimated that the rail tracks could hold a speeding train, and to prove his point, (and ignoring the desperate pleas of Barret and the others for him to slow down) he charged the train across the tracks.

Out of everything the companions had faced over the weeks and months they had travelled together—facing Sephiroth, the emergence of Weapon, the appearance of Meteor in the sky—this single event probably ranked as the most frightening thing any of them had ever faced. Each one of them, in those terrifying moments where the coal train rumbled and trembled and wobbled over the rickety tracks, made a solemn, soul-binding pledge.

Never would they appoint Cid as leader again.

Whatever luck was on their side continued to hold, for after what seemed like an eternity (but was actually less than a minute) the train reached the other side of the chasm and was back on the solid ground. Had Cid glanced around at this point, he would have found four pairs of eyes glaring at him (it would have been five pairs, but Yuffie was indisposed at the side of the train, bringing up the contents of her lunch).

There was no time for arguments and threats at this point, for now the Shinra train was just ahead of them, and they were gaining fast. Cait Sith slid off Red XIII's back and jumped down into the car.

"We're right behind them," the cat informed them. "It'd be best if we jumped from this train onto theirs from the back, and make our way up to the front."

"Why not just ride up to the cabin and jump straight in and stop the train?" asked Cid, grunting with the effort of shifting the levers back and forth.

Cait Sith shook his head. "There are Shinra soldiers on this train," he said. "If we try to come up alongside them, they will shoot at us as we pass, and we'll all be dead before we can even reach the cabin. If we come up behind and jump onto their train from there, we can work our way along. The soldiers can't risk shooting at us without causing damage to the train or the Huge Materia."

"You'd better make up your minds!" called Red XIII from above. The hound was shifting restlessly. "We've almost caught up to them!"

Cait ran to the side of the car and hopped up onto a crate of coal by the window. The wind from outside ruffled his fur. "Trust me on this," he insisted.

Cid glanced at the window, where the back end of the Shinra train was coming into view. His arms were burning. He doubted he could keep powering the train long enough to reach the cabin anyway. No doubt the Shinra knew they were being chased and would speed up any second now. Sweat trickled down his face. Finally, he nodded.

"Go!" he ordered.

Everyone climbed up to join Red XIII on the top of the car, all except for Cid, who remained in the control room. He thrust the levers with all his strength, urging the train along, until their car was directly alongside the rear car of the Shinra train.

Red XIII made the jump first, leaping across the gap between the two trains. The rear car of the Shinra train was filled with coal, and as he landed the black lumps skittered and slid. Red XIII staggered, his black claws digging through the coal, trying to find a foothold. The fact that the car was moving made this difficult, so he scurried along with his belly scraping the floor to the edge of the car to give the others room to jump.

Yuffie came next, overcoming her motion sickness just long enough to make the jump. Her agile body made the jump seem effortless, and she landed without toppling, joining Red XIII. Cait Sith clung to Barret's large frame as he jumped the gap. His heavy boots sank an inch into the coal, covering them with black soot.

Vincent remained perched on the edge of the car. He raised his head and looked down the Shinra car. Their approach had been noticed—there were soldiers massing near the front of the train. He turned to Cid. "Cid, hurry!" he urged him.

The pilot needed no prompting. After a few more arm-breaking thrusts on the levers, he let them go and began to scramble up onto the roof of the car. Vincent aided him by grabbing his arm and pulling the pilot up onto the roof. Now that the levers were unmanned, the train was steadily beginning to slow down. Quickly the two men leaped from the car, landing on the opposite train as theirs slipped behind them.

"Quickly!" Barret shouted over the roar of the train. "We can't be far from Corel. Make your way to the front of the train!"

No one needed prompting. They were already moving, drawing their weapons and climbing over the edge of the car. The next car, and the ones that followed it, were all covered in heavy, opaque netting. There was something under this netting—the surface was bumpy and there were sharp bits poking up from underneath. There was little time to wonder what was beneath the netting, however, for their troubles lay ahead of them, not underneath.

A small number of Shinra soldiers, only four in total, had assembled in the car behind the control car. Three of the soldiers took up positions on top of the car and raised their rifles, aiming at the advancing intruders. The fourth stood just behind them, apparently fumbling with some sort of control panel.

Red XIII and Yuffie had just climbed into the next car when the three soldiers opened fire. A hail of bullets whizzed through the air and thudded against the car. Yuffie and Red XIII threw themselves to the floor, hugging the net and feeling the whoosh of bullets zipping over their heads.

Barret and the others, still in the rear car, also dropped to the ground. While the bullets rained overhead, Vincent calmly unscrewed the short-barrel of his gun and replaced it with a longer barrel, designed to shoot targets from further away. After snapping it into place, he rolled onto his front and peered over the edge of the car.

"Yuffie! Red XIII! Stay down!" he called, and then opened fire.

Vincent was an excellent marksman, and even shooting while on a fast-moving train could not alter his aim. He took down the first two soldiers with ease, shooting them in the legs so that they buckled and, consequently, slipped off the side of the train. The third shot missed as the train rounded a bend, but the next shot hit its mark, and the soldier fell off the train with a cry.

The fourth soldier finally completed what he was doing. He gave a triumphant yell as he raised the control panel up and slammed his fist down hard on a large green button. His triumph ended there as a fourth and final bullet struck him in the chest. The soldier slumped silently out of sight. The group rose to their feet, believing the path to the cabin was now clear.

They were badly mistaken. It was not just the Huge Materia the Shinra were escorting from the Corel Reactor. Also on the train, hidden by the heavy netting, were some of the Weapons Development Department's new weapons. It was one of these new weapons that the soldier had activated just before Vincent shot him down. It was one of these weapons that was now straining against its trappings in order to break free. The pegs holding the net in place broke away with a loud ping, and the net was blown away by the rushing wind.

The weapon emerged from its holdings and into the light. It was known by Shinra as the Eagle Gun, a name that was quite fitting considering its design. It was built in the shape of a giant eagle, made out of the strongest metals that Shinra could find. Its body was totally covered in this metal casing, leaving it almost impregnable. In flight it was more than two metres from wingtip to wingtip, perhaps even three.

The wingtips were designed to spread out and forward, ending in powerful gun barrels. The Eagle Gun could fire bullets from either one or both of its giant wings, and the barrels could shift positions at will, aiming at more than one target at once. The bullets were made from a condensed form of mako energy, though they were not anywhere near condensed enough to be considered materia bullets. The weapon's 'heart' was a concentrated source of mako energy, located in the middle of its back where the wings joined onto the body.

Standing in the gushing wind, the group stared.

"Ah… so that's what Scarlet's been working on…" muttered Cait under his breath.

The Eagle Gun stretched its giant wings and hopped up onto the edge of the car. The entire train shuddered at its movement. Raising its head, it screeched. The sound was piercing and hurt their ears; they had to clamp their hands over them to blot out the awful sound. The Eagle Gun then flapped its wings and rose from the train and up into the air. It rose high and circled the train.

Cid cursed. "We don't have time for this!" he shouted, looking up at the giant metal bird circling above them. "This train could reach Corel any minute! Get moving, people!"

On his orders, the group began to move forward down the train. Their eyes continued to stray constantly up toward the sky, where the Eagle Gun was circling high above them.

"Cait," said the pilot as he scrabbled over the netting in the next car, "what is that thing?"

Cait shook his head. "I don't know," the cat answered truthfully. "This is a new design. I haven't seen—"

"Heads up!" roared Barret, rising to his feet.

The Eagle Gun had finished circling and was now descending in a swift dive. It screeched again and twisted its wingtip gun barrels forward. Its metallic eyes glowed red, and then it let loose a stream of mako bullets.

Bullets zipped and pinged off the cars of the train, sparking with electric light. The group on the cars shielded themselves as best they could from the fire, but it was only mere luck that none of them were hit directly. A moving train was a hard target to hit, but more than one of those mako bullets landed uncomfortably close. Seconds after the shadow of the bird fell over them as it passed by overhead.

Barret rose to his feet and fired back at the bird. The bullets struck the bird on its metal frame, but did nothing other than bounce off the surface. Barret stopped and stared, then his face twisted in rage and he let off another stream of bullets, as though sheer willpower alone would make them hit.

Cait Sith shook his head again. "It's no use. That metal is reinforced with mako. It's almost impregnable."

"Almost…" said Vincent softly.

"That's right." Cait turned and looked up at him. "The major flaw with the recent designs of the Weapons Development department is that they all use a vast supply of mako—as well as money. Scarlet spends huge amounts creating this impenetrable armour, so much in fact that she has little left to defend the other, more vital parts of the weapon. That is the key to defeating her weapons, if you get my meaning."

"I see…" said Vincent.

"Well, I don't," Yuffie grumbled inside the next car. "What are you two on about?"

"Lass, you have no imagination!" Cait admonished, smirking as Yuffie popped her head up from over the edge of the car and scowled at him menacingly. He waved a finger at her. "It's simple biology, Yuffie. Think about it. What is the most vital part of the human body?"

The ninja screwed her face up in thought, and then she grinned. "The brain!" she said triumphantly.

"Well, yes, the brain," admitted Cait. "But also… the heart. Scarlet places her power source in the heart of the weapon, much like a regular monster. This is where all the power comes from, and is also the place where the armour is at its weakest. Aim for the heart, and you defeat the monster. Or weapon."

"…I see…"

Vincent turned to look down the train. Time was ticking by. It would no doubt be a matter of minutes before the train reached the outer limits of Corel. Turning the other way, he looked up at the Eagle Gun. It was beginning to swerve in the sky, preparing for another dive.

The problem with this weapon was the armour. The armour would deflect regular bullets, and Vincent had no doubt that the armour was also resistant to most magics, making their Ice and Fire materia practically useless. It was also a moving target, so getting a direct hit to the heart of the machine would be a difficult one. If only they could make it slow down or stop for a brief moment, then he could…

"Cid," said Vincent, shifting across the coals to join the pilot, who was watching the bird fly through the skies. The pilot nodded his acknowledgement. "Tell me," Vincent asked him softly, "do you still have the Gravity materia?"

The pilot looked at him, baffled. Then he checked his equipment. There was but one materia slot on his spear, located just beneath the head. In it was, as Vincent had hoped, the Gravity materia. "It's here," Cid replied. "Why?"

Vincent quickly relayed his plan.

"Hmph, it might just work," Cid conceded as he handed over his spear. "I'll leave Red XIII with you, too, just in case." Hearing his name, Red XIII hopped back into the car and joined Vincent. Vincent nodded in agreement. Cid gave him a pat on the shoulder, then stood up and faced his friends.

"All right, people!" he shouted over the roar of the wind. "I want you sissies to come with me! We're gonna make a run for the front of the train. Get a move on, people!"

Once again, on his command, Yuffie, Barret, and Cait Sith jumped up and began to dash to the front of the train. Yuffie, tired of scrabbling like a thief over the bumpy netting, leapt up onto the metal rim of the car and ran along that, her nimble body moving swiftly and with practised ease. Barret eyed her jealously, knowing that if he tried that he would tumble and fall over the edge of the train.

A single loud screech was all that heralded the Eagle Gun's attack. The screech was immediately followed by the loud ping-ping of bullets as they hit the rocky ground behind the train, gaining in volume as they drew nearer. Yuffie shrieked and covered her head, expecting at any moment to be shredded to pieces by gunfire.

Thankfully this fate was not to pass, for Red XIII and Vincent were already in position and ready to attack. Wielding Cid's spear in his metal-gloved hand, Vincent activated the Gravity materia and hurled the weapon into the air just as the Eagle Gun flew within range. He held his breath. If the spear did not hit its mark, then he and Red XIII would be cut to ribbons before they could even turn to run.

The spear soared through the air, its tip shrouded in purple light emanating from the glowing materia. The spear struck its target, lodging as hoped in one of the ridges between the metal plates of the Eagle Gun's left wing. Upon contact the Gravity materia glowed brighter, and the purple light began to spread until the Eagle Gun's left side became enclosed in it. The air surrounding the Eagle Gun wavered. It slowed down, a little, matching the train's speed, and even dropped a few metres out of the air, pulled by the gravitational force that was holding it. Even the bullets stopped, the machine's reaction time slowed by the force.

With the machine momentarily incapacitated, Vincent raised his gun and fired at what he hoped was the source of its power. The bullets pummelled the front of the machine's chest, denting the metal but not piercing it. Vincent fired again and again, and Red XIII helped by unleashing a powerful stream of flame from his own Fire materia.

The metal glowed white-hot, then snapped with a loud ping. The metal casing fell away, revealing the machine's inner core. A single glass sphere, about the size of a tennis ball, glowed brightly. Mako pulsed through it like a heartbeat. Vincent took aim and fired.

One shot was all it took. The glass shattered, and mako poured out of the open wound, falling like luminescent green blood out of the weapon's body. The Eagle Gun gave an outraged, almost pained shriek. Red XIII finished the job by letting loose another quick blast of fire, and the machine exploded in a cloud of flame. Hot metal and drops of warm mako fell through the air, showering them like rain.

Cid's spear, thrown clear by the explosion, spun in the air toward them. Red XIII leapt into the air and caught the spear in his mouth, his teeth clamped around it. The Gravity materia glowed brightly, and then faded back to its normal glow.

The remains of the Eagle Gun dropped to the ground. A thick cloud of smoke billowed into the air. Vincent sheathed his gun and turned away from the wreckage, which was already beginning to shrink as the train continued on its way.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, here's another chapter for you. I hope you like it.

I know I only chose the Eagle Gun for the monster to fight on the train. I figured that by this point the train would be close to Corel so there would be no time for an epic all-out three-monster battle. That and the Wolfmeister is too big to really be of any use on a train and I couldn't even begin to describe the Gas Ducter. What IS that thing? So I opted for just the one, the Eagle Gun.

I also couldn't make the battle as interesting as I would have liked—I had these visions of Yuffie and Vincent charging down the sides of the cars while bullets rained around them, Yuffie throwing her shuriken into the creature while Vincent shot it to pieces (because we all know from Advent Children that they can be dramatic like that!). Ended up not working quite like that, but when you're short of time to fight you have to work with what you have, so I chose a quick, simple ending for the Eagle Gun. I hope it worked.

I also realised that the Fort Condor section is coming up. *sag* I hate that section… I only ever play this part to get the Phoenix materia. Oh well. Expect to see a lot of improvisation in this bit, because I might just play around with the battle a bit. Like the mercenaries you hire… I might alter these to actual people that have been hired, rather than whatever the hell half of those things are you actually fight with.