Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Twenty-One

Shinra were already hard at work preparing the Shinra No. 26 for launch by the time Cloud and his friends arrived in Rocket Town the following morning. Their mechanics could be seen crawling all over the old rocket, polishing the rusty metal, performing the necessary checks, and clearing the launch area of any useless debris.

Despite being unused for a number of years, the Shinra No. 26 space rocket was still in very good shape. Cid's careful maintenance, which he had done every single day since the failed launch all those years ago, had ensured that the rocket was still operable and ready to launch at a moment's notice. Although the space program had been abandoned long ago, Shinra had clearly never forgotten about its old rocket.

The townspeople had left their homes and gathered in the centre of town. They watched as Shinra prepared the rocket, their faces showing expressions of both awe and unease. The old folk stood together and shook their heads, muttering about the foolishness of youth. The men watched with disapproval as the Shinra soldiers patrolling the foot of the rocket began to move the scaffold and various other items that were gathered at the foot of the rocket and throw them into the bushes. The children, eager to see what was going on, strained against their parents' hands.

Cloud and his friends stopped at the back of the crowd and looked up at the rocket. It seemed that the Shinra were done with their preparations and were beginning to withdraw. The mechanics were now dismantling their equipment and climbing down the rocket, which meant that it was almost time to launch. Hurriedly they began to make their way through the throng of people, trying to reach the rocket.

"What's young President Rufus doing by gathering all those mechanics together?" they heard one man mutter as they squeezed past.

"The Shinra serious 'bout launching that piece of crap rocket?" another man voiced, not too quietly. "But why now…?"

Cid felt his face burn hotly, angered by the man's words. The Shinra No. 26 was his pride and joy (next to the Tiny Bronco). True, the rocket had never made it off the ground, but that wasn't the rocket's fault! It was Shera's fault. It was Shera who had shattered his dreams and left the rocket as a broken down wreck.

Still, the rocket was a symbol of his dreams, no matter how unattainable they were now. Nobody had the right to label it a 'piece of crap'!

The pilot was just about to turn around and say this to the man who had spoken out, but Vincent quickly grabbed him on the shoulder and dragged him forward. There would be a time and place to argue about the worth of the Shinra No. 26 in the eyes of its townspeople, but this was certainly not it.

They finally reached the front of the crowd. There were no guards or barriers to stop them from going through; presumably Shinra thought the townspeople wouldn't be any trouble. So Cloud and the others walked straight on through, ignoring the loud murmurs of the townspeople behind them.

There was a small group of soldiers gathered near the foot of the rocket aiding with the dismantling of the equipment. One of them looked over and dropped a pole as he spotted Cloud and his friends running towards them.

"Those terrorists are here!" he shouted.

The other soldiers dropped what they were doing and rushed for their machineguns. The first soldier suddenly dropped to his knees and clutched at his thigh as Vincent fired a shot before he could reach his weapon. The gunman tried to fire a second shot at the second soldier, but the soldier quickly ducked and rolled out of the way. Snatching up his machinegun, he turned and took aim.

Yuffie was on him in a flash, bolting past Vincent to meet the soldier head on. The ninja had lost her Razor Ring during the battle with the Carry Armour, but the resourceful members of the Highwind's crew had already managed to obtain a replacement for her: the Crystal Cross; bought from the weapon shop in Mideel before the town sank into the Lifestream.

The ninja gripped one of the Crystal Cross's blades and slashed across the helmet of the soldier. The crystalline blades flashed brightly in the morning sunlight, almost blinding her. The tip of one blade cut straight through the soldier's helmet as though it were nothing but plastic. The soldier cried out in pain but did not let go of his gun, and after a moment's fumbling he raised it to fire blindly. Yuffie grabbed the gun and wrenched it out of his fumbling hands. She then kicked him swiftly in the head and threw the gun into the bushes.

The third and final soldier raised his machinegun and fired at Tifa. Cloud dashed in front of her and blocked the bullets with his blade, which ricocheted harmlessly off. When the soldier paused to reload Red XIII pounced on him. The hound clamped his jaws around the soldier's shoulder and twisted. The soldier cried out and fell backward beneath the hound's weight. Red XIII continued to bite and snap until the soldier finally stopped moving.

The soldier with the wounded leg clambered to his feet. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a hand grenade. He was about to pull the pin when Cait Sith, charging forward on his Mog, leaped off and snatched the grenade out of the soldier's hands.

The soldier stared at his empty hand. A heavy weight suddenly struck him squarely in the jaw, and with a sickening crunch he tumbled backwards. He lay still on the grass, his jaw broken. Barret stood over the fallen soldier, flexing his good hand. Without waiting to clean up the mess they had made, they hurried on.

Five more soldiers were standing on top of a set of steps connected to the scaffold. Drawn by the sounds of battle, they had come down to see what was going on. They saw the rebels easily dispatch the other soldiers and saw them run their way. Four of the soldiers, including the commanding officer, moved into formation at the top of the steps to intercept the rebels. The last soldier, overcome by fright, seemed more intent on sneaking back up the ladder and escaping into the rocket.

The officer in charge stood amongst his comrades and pointed down at the rebels, who gathered at the bottom of the steps. "Don't let them get any further!" he ordered the soldiers. "Everyone, ATTACK---!"

The two soldiers in front unsheathed their machineguns and charged forward. Tifa ran up the steps to meet them. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of both soldiers by their heads and brought them together with a loud clank, the helmets being crushed beneath the force. Tifa released the two soldiers, who fell straight to the floor.

Cloud and the others watched in wide-eyed fascination as the young fighter picked up the two soldiers one at a time, lifted them high up over her head, and threw them over the side of the steps. They landed with a heavy thud on the muddy ground.

The Shinra commander stared—in wide-eyed horror—as Tifa wiped her hands and then turned her attention towards him and his two comrades. She stood ready, her fists raised and jaw set, silently daring the soldiers to come for her.

"Urrrgh, you're not going anywhere!" shouted the commander angrily, shaking his fist at her. "Uh, un, nowhere!" he corrected himself quickly. Half-turning, he gestured to the two soldiers behind to follow him. One of them nodded and drew his gun. The other reluctantly pulled himself away from the ladder and stood beside his comrade, also drawing his gun. Escaping wasn't in the cards, it seemed.

Tifa took a few quick steps forward and caught the Shinra commander before he could place one foot on the next stair. She slammed her diamond-studded fist deep into his gut, when he keeled over she grabbed his shoulders, stepped aside, and threw him bodily down the stairs. The soldier clattered and clanged as his armour bounced off the metal stairs, until he finally came to a stop at the bottom.

Catching sight of movement in the corner of her eye, Tifa quickly ducked down as one of the oncoming soldiers made a swipe at her. She ducked low and then rose, bringing up her fist in a powerful uppercut. The blow was so powerful that the soldier was lifted off the ground and thrown backwards, falling back against the rails and slumping to the ground.

Tifa spun around to face the last soldier. Before she could strike, Cid ran up the steps and thrust out his spear, impaling the soldier on its pointy blade. The soldier staggered backward, staring at the pole that was sticking out of his stomach. He fell back against the stairs, his head rolling to the side, until he became still.

Cid walked up the remaining steps. Stopping by the body of the dead soldier, Cid placed one boot against the soldier's chest and yanked the spear free. He then stepped over the soldier and went over to the ladder. He stopped beside it, looking up at the Shinra No. 26.

"Goddammit," he cursed, his brow creasing in anger, "what the hell do they think they're gonna do to my rocket!?" He stared up at the rocket, and his hand tightened its grip on the spear. Suddenly the pilot slammed the butt of the spear against the floor, and the others jumped. Cid turned, glaring at Cloud with blue eyes blazing. "I'm outta here, Cloud! I'm gonna kick those $^%$# Shinra right out of my rocket!"

Without waiting for Cloud's approval, the pilot hooked his spear behind him and began to climb the ladder in earnest. Tifa started to call out to him to slow down and wait for them, but Cloud caught her arm. She looked about to protest, but the swordsman simply shrugged his shoulders. Cid's attention was no longer on them. All he could think about now was his rocket. It would be pointless to try and stop him.

Sheathing his sword, Cloud took hold of the rungs and began to climb the ladder after Cid. Barret followed close behind him, along with Vincent. The rest followed (Red XIII had to leap from scaffold to scaffold in order to make his way up). Cait Sith was forced to leave his Mog behind, for it was much too big to climb the ladder and not agile enough to climb the scaffolding. The Mog hopped angrily as Cait climbed up the ladder without it, before it turned and hopped away, heading back to the airship.

Cid reached the top of the ladder and looked around. Two Shinra soldiers stood further down the platform, along with a tall man in a dark suit. Cid frowned angrily, recognising the uniform of the Turks. He ought to have known that Shinra would send its lackeys to do its dirty work.

Unhooking his spear, Cid climbed up onto the platform. The Turk and the soldiers were standing beside the open door that led into the rocket, talking. Cid gripped his spear tightly and walked forward. He whistled loudly to get their attention.

It worked. The two soldiers looked up, and the Turk turned around to face him. It was Rude. The Turk raised one eyebrow as Cloud then climbed up onto the platform, drawing his Buster Sword and moving to stand beside Cid. Though the Turk's face was stoic and unreadable, he seemed almost surprised to see them.

"…You again…?" said the Turk. He cracked his knuckles meaningfully. "…We will eliminate everyone who gets in Shinra's way."

The two soldiers came forward to stand on either side of the Turk and raised their guns. The weapons clicked as rounds were loaded into the barrels. Slowly and cautiously Cloud moved to stand in front of his friends, shielding them. He readied his sword and waited for them to attack.

Rude watched as Cloud moved to protect his friends. He raised one eyebrow, the only reaction his otherwise pokerfaced visage betrayed. Adjusting his shades, he stepped forward to meet Cloud's challenge.

Their attention was so fixed on those rebels that were standing in front of them that no one paid any attention to Red XIII. The hound had been using the various bits of scaffolding littered about the rocket to make his way to the platform where Cloud and the others were now facing off against Rude and his soldiers.

His path brought him up behind the two soldiers, who did not notice when he leaped from the scaffold to land silently behind them. Baring his fangs, he pounced on the soldiers, ripping and tearing any place that he could sink his teeth.

Rude turned at the sound of the scuffle, and as soon as his back was turned Cloud darted forward and swung his sword. Catching sight of the movement through the corner of his eye, Rude turned back and swung his fist.

His knuckles scraped across the side of the blade, making them bleed but also managing to knock the sword off-course and missing his shoulder by inches. While Cloud recovered Rude raised his other fist and gave Cloud a glancing blow to the side of his face. The swordsman accepted the hit and grabbed hold of Rude's wrist. He pulled the Turk towards and past him, throwing him into the path of Cid and the others while he carried on forward to help Red XIII.

Rude stumbled forward; startled by the way he had been so easily lured into Cloud's trap. Before he could think about recovering he was grabbed once more, this time by the shoulders, and received a swift punch to his own face, dazing him.

Cid tightened his fist and punched the Turk once again in the face. The pilot was so angered by this unwanted intrusion from Shinra that he forgot all about his spear and about the others, and instead proceeded to engage in a bare-knuckle fight with the Turk. Rude managed to break free of the pilot's grasp and raised his arms to defend himself from the blows, landing his own whenever he saw an opening.

The two struggled on the platform, each trying to overpower the other. In one blow Rude managed to knock Cid's goggles off his head. Rude's shade's followed a few seconds later, clattering to the floor.

At last Cid managed to subjugate the Turk and landed one final blow. The Turk teetered backwards, fighting to keep his balance. He coughed, and blood flecked his lips. His legs buckled and he dropped to his knees, groaning painfully.

"Ugh……gh……"

Rude tried to rise to his feet. He just about managed to stand before his strength gave out again and he fell back onto the floor. He lay there, staring up at the morning sky, his chest rising and falling with each laboured breath. "……They got us," he managed to say, before his head rolled to the side and he lost consciousness.

Leaving Rude and the two soldiers (who lay wounded or unconscious on the floor) Cloud and his friends hurried towards the rocket. The door leading into the old rocket had been left wide open, and so they barged straight in. Standing in the open doorway, they looked around warily for Shinra soldiers.

A single Shinra officer was standing in the corridor. As Cloud and his friends burst through the door the officer turned and stared at them in open-mouthed surprise.

"You… you! Why are you here?" the startled soldier managed to sputter. He had to shout to be heard. The clanging of the mechanics working in the cockpit, combined with the roar of the engines, had dimmed any other sounds. "Rude of the Turks should've been here!!"

"Too bad," said Cloud. Without looking back, he jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the door. "Those guys are over there."

The officer followed his gesture and looked out the door. He could just about see Rude and the two soldiers lying motionless on the platform, dead or unconscious, he could not tell. "Oh man… the Turks, being done in like that…" Turning back to the rebels, he reached for his gun. "But, I won't let you through!"

A single shot fired, and the officer crumpled to the floor with his gun still in its holster. Vincent placed his gun back into its own holster. That was the end of that.

With no more soldiers left to block his way, Cid leaped over the body of the fallen officer and rushed to the cockpit. He ignored Cloud's calls for him to slow down and wait for them. When he reached the cockpit he threw open the doors and stormed in. There were three mechanics inside, each with their backs to him, tinkering away.

"Hey!" the pilot shouted, startling the mechanics. "What the hell're you guys doin'!?"

The three mechanics stopped what they were doing—fixing up the rocket ship's main control panel—and turned towards him. Cid recognised them as mechanics from his own town. At the sight of him their faces lit up, and they smiled widely.

"Hey!" one of the mechanics greeted cheerfully, pocketing his wrench. He stepped forward to greet Cid. "Just when I thought somethin' was goin' on, you come back!"

"Listen to me, Captain," said another mechanic. "We're gonna launch this rocket!"

Cid stared at the mechanic like he was speaking an unknown language, like the old spirits from the City of the Ancients. "Huh? What are you talkin' about?"

The third mechanic grinned widely, tapping his screwdriver against his thigh. "We're gonna load a Materia bomb in this and blow up Meteor."

"Our heart's gonna save the planet!"

"Urrrrgh. Man this is so COOL!!"

Once more Cid blinked and stared at the mechanics. Inside him, his heart and his mind were racing wildly throughout his body, and his stomach churned. Were the mechanics telling the truth? Was Shinra really planning to launch this rocket—HIS ROCKET—into outer space and use it to blow up Meteor? This hunk of junk… which he had nurtured and tinkered with every since that day when his dreams of space travel were shattered… was actually going to go into SPACE?

Cloud stepped forward to reason with the mechanics. "Wait a minute!" he began.

Before he could continue, Cid turned sharply and shot him such a sharp glare that the swordsman closed his mouth. "Shut up!!" snapped Cid. "Just shut the hell up!"

Ignoring Cloud's shocked gaze, the pilot exhaled deeply and turned back to the mechanics. "How's the rocket?" he enquired, now much calmer. Cloud, not daring to speak up again, turned to Tifa and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's pretty much okay," said the first mechanic.

"But…" The third hesitated, and his eyes shifted to the floor.

The second mechanic finished for him. "We planned to run it into Meteor on Auto-Pilot, but the most important device is broken."

"Broken?" Cid scratched his chin thoughtfully. "How's the repair goin'?"

Here the three mechanics looked easily at one another. An uncomfortable silence fell. None of the mechanics spoke, as none of them wanted to be the one who broke the news to Cid. As Cid crossed his arms and tapped his foot irritably against the floor, the second mechanic braced himself for the blow and broke the news.

"Shera's doin' it…"

He got the reaction he expected, as Cid threw his arms into the air in disgust. "Oh great!" he shouted, exasperated. The mechanics flinched. "What a buncha wizards you guys are! She's gonna take a 100 years!"

The three mechanics lowered their heads and stared at the floor. Cid let his arms drop to his sides and thought about the situation. It didn't take him long to come to a decision. He nodded his head and looked up at the three shame-faced mechanics.

"I'll take over," he said, "so don't worry about the Auto-Pilot!" He grinned widely as the mechanics stared at him in wonder. "Hey, go ahead! Go tell everyone!"

The mechanics dared not dispute him. "All right, Captain," they said. "Good luck." They ran out of the door.

When the mechanics had gone, Cloud went to Cid, his face dark. "Hey, Cid. What're you doing!?" he demanded. "There are generations of knowledge and wisdom inside the Materia. We're gonna borrow their powers and save the planet from Sephiroth. There's no way we can lose the Huge Materia. You understand that, right?"

Cid paused in silence for a moment, before turning to Cloud. The pilot's blue eyes were wide and wistful. "Yeah, I understand," he replied calmly. "I understand that Materia is precious, and I also understand what you're thinking. But listen."

The pilot paused to look around at the others, all gathered in the cockpit of his beloved Shinra No. 26. His expression hardened. He turned his gaze back to Cloud. "I don't give a rat's ass whether it's science or magical power. No, if I had to choose, I'd rather put my money on the power of science."

Cid spread his arms wide, gesturing to the array of buttons and panels, consoles and gizmos, and all the other various electronic devices that beeped and flashed throughout the cockpit.

"Humans who used to only roam around on the ground are able to fly now!" he said, and his voice filled with awe. "And finally, we're about to go into outer space! Science is a 'Power' created and developed by humans. And science just might be what saves this planet." He clenched his fist, and it shook. "I was able to earn my living thanks to science. So to me, there's nothing greater! Now quit your worrying 'bout what Shinra's gonna do!" he finished sternly. "I don't want to regret not having done something later."

"But Cid……"

"Shut the hell up!!" Cid raged. "I don't wanna hear it!!" Cloud shut his mouth again, sighing inwardly. Cid ignored him and looked around at the others. "Anyone who ain't involved, get the hell outta here!"

Just as he finished speaking, the rocket gave a loud groan from deep below them. Cid and the others looked around in alarm as a loud hum reverberated throughout the rocket, and the ground beneath them quivered vigorously. There was a loud whoosh as vented steam was released to the outside and every so often there was a loud pop, as though metal was heating up rapidly. The rocket ship's engines roared into life, deafening those in the cockpit.

"What the hell……?" said Cid, confused. "What the hell happened!?"

In answer to his question the intercom crackled, and an unwelcomingly familiar voice spoke cheerfully through.

"Hey-hey!"

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS

I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, but I was overwhelmed by a funny image as I wrote the submarine section. I don't know how many readers outside of the UK are familiar with The Beatles, but I had this image of the gang in the submarine singing "We all live in a Shinra submarine. A Shinra submarine. A Shinra submarine."

……Oh, how I wish I could create flash images.

On a different note, I was estimating how many chapters it might be until the end. According to my figures, it might be just over 10 chapters left to go. So I have set myself a new target. I want to try and get this story finished before I go to Disneyland Florida in September. So that's what we're aiming for people, okay? An end before the end of September, so I can go to Disney and rejoice in peace! 8D

……I'd better get cracking getting the Crisis Core script down. _ I've just finished Banora.