Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Thirty-Three

Rufus paced about his office, impatiently waiting for news on the cannon. He had been told that Weapon had arrived on land, and he also knew that at this moment Cloud and his friends were out there fighting it. At first Rufus had toyed with the idea of sending a patrol of soldiers out to aid the fight, but decided against it. Let Weapon play with the rebels. Every second it wasted on them, Rufus reasoned, the more time they had to finish their preparations.

Rufus stopped pacing and looked out of the windows of his office, formerly his father's. There were storm clouds heading in from the south. He could see them already: thick, black, heavy clouds rolling in, the air broken by a few rumbles of low thunder. The untimely arrival of this storm concerned him. It was reportedly going to be one of the biggest storms Midgar had seen in about seven years (though the details on the true nature of the storm that day was kept firmly under wraps, and not even Rufus knew about it). Worse, the storm was heading straight for Midgar.

Finally the intercom crackled. Rufus turned away from the window and approached the desk, resting his fingers lightly on it. Heidegger's deep, irritating laugh came bellowing through, giving Rufus the news that he had been waiting for.

"Mr President, preparations for the Sister Ray are now in order."

The intercom crackled again, and Scarlet's high-pitched, cackling laugh echoed through, cutting over Heidegger's voice. "Anytime is fine," she said.

Rufus started to reply, but then he paused and shut his mouth. His fingers drummed on the edge of the desk. Like Reeve, the president had his own concerns about this plan, though his were more focused on whether or not the mako shells fired by the cannon were strong enough to reach the northern continent. An almost impenetrable barrier protected the North Crater. The cannon, the Sister Ray, was Shinra's last attempt to break through and take out Sephiroth. With Sephiroth gone then Meteor would disappear too, or so they hoped. But if the shell failed to break through…

Angrily the president clenched his fist and slammed it into the table. There was no room for doubts now. They were pouring everything that they had into this weapon. He had to believe that it was strong enough to do the job. All he had to do was give the order to fire.

Rufus turned back to the window. His fists were still clenched. The president ignored the fast-approaching storm and looked out at the city.

"…Fire."

On Rufus's command, the Sister Ray sprang into life. The many levers along the side of the cannon began to swing up and down as the cannon entered its Primary Phase, which was to draw all the mako out of the reactors surrounding Midgar. White and blue warning lights lit up along the length of the cannon, and a siren began to wail from below, warning all those still gathered outside to run for safety. Only the soldiers guarding the Shinra Building's entrance remained outside, headphones over their ears to protect them from the upcoming blast.

On the city's outer edge, the top of Reactor No. 2 opened up. Mako energy surged up from inside and gushed up into the air. Its green glow illuminated the darkening sky and cast an eerie glow on the sector below. The mako was scorching, with most of it rising in clouds of hot steam, though some droplets fell like rain onto the city below.

The No. 3 Reactor followed suit, opening up and releasing its contents into the air. The No. 4 did the same and the No. 5, and so on, until all seven Mako Reactors were lit up like beacons around the city. The glow of the No. 7 Reactor fell spookily on the remains of Sector 7, making the wreckage appear even more dark and desolate.

Inside, valves opened up in the reactor cores and released the thousands of gallons of mako that had been stored for productive use. The mako surged down the pipes attached to the valves, leading to the reactor's exterior and from there to the Sister Ray itself. Three of those pipes led straight into the barrel itself, collecting the mako in a chamber at the back to be formed into the shell. The remaining mako in the four other pipes was fed directly into the power station at the back of the cannon. This would generate the force necessary to fire the shells all the way across the ocean.

When the last of the energy had been siphoned out and into the cannon, the clouds of mako that were spewing from the tops of the reactors ceased. All power to the city stopped, and the city was plunged into darkness. Every single light, TV and machine went off. For the first time in its history, the city of Midgar was silent.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then sparks of light began to flicker around the end of the barrel. The light gathered and began to swirl in front of it, growing faster and faster until it became a churning whirlpool of energy.

The numerous switches alongside the cannon flicked up into the ON position. Every valve and container was thrown wide open, allowing the recently obtained mako to flow freely throughout the cannon. The switches locked in place and turned in a clockwise direction, in time with the internal shafts that pumped the mako through the cannon, increasing its power. When the power reached its max, the swirling lights were sucked inside the barrel, and then… the cannon fired.

The shot caused the cannon to recoil violently. The thunderous boom that came with the shot caused all the windows in the Shinra Building to shatter. Thousands of deadly glass shards went tumbling down like rain towards the soldiers and civilians still gathered outside. Unlike the soldiers with their armoured helmets, the civilians had no means to shield themselves from the falling glass, and so they dropped down to the ground and covered their heads or ran for the safety of the Shinra Building.

The mako shell that was released went zipping off at more than 100mph. It passed the borders of Midgar in a matter of seconds. It gained in speed until it was travelling at just over 200mph across the withered land. The shell glowed white-hot as it moved, and it was churning up the dry land as it whooshed northward, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. It showed no signs of slowing, and powered onward.

Rufus, in his office, smiled and ran a hand through his hair. Everything was in motion now. All he had to do was wait and let the shell do the rest.

Diamond Weapon came to a stop at the very edge of Midgar's outer perimeter, where the withered land came to a stop. It turned in the direction of the city, its eyes focused on the horizon where Midgar stood. It paid no attention to the Highwind, which was flying along steadily behind it, keeping at a safe distance.

A slit appeared in the front of the wing-like protrusions sticking out of Weapon's massive shoulders. It spread from end to end, and the wings opened up, revealing a weapon the monster had not yet used. The inside of his shoulders were filled with a barrage of bio-machine guns, powered from Weapon's very own life energy to release an unstoppable volley of energy shells.

On its torso, the armour partially covering the globe in the centre opened up. Embers of yellow light began to gleam around the globe and around the bio-guns in its shoulders. When it was ready, Diamond Weapon spread its palms. Its eyes narrowed and it opened fire, releasing several glowing missiles in quick succession. These missiles shot through the air at high speed.

Cloud and his companions stood on the Highwind's outer deck. As Weapon opened fire, they all rushed to the edge of the railings and leaned far over, watching the shells as they zipped away from them.

"Which direction is it going to attack from?" Tifa shouted. Her voice was barely audible against the unending roar of the wind.

"Midgar!" Red XIII called in reply.

Barret's eyes widened in fear. He leaned even further over the rail and reached out with his good arm, though he was helpless to shop the shells as they headed to the city where his daughter was still held captive.

"Marlene!"

There was nothing anyone could do to stop the shells. They had already disappeared over the edge of the horizon. All they could do was cross their fingers and hope.

There was one cross-section where the paths of the energy shells and the path of the Sister Ray's mako shell collided. Some of the energy bullets fell right into the mako shell's path, and on contact the bullets flashed and disintegrated, burned up by the intense heat. Many others, though, made it through and carried on towards Midgar. Undeterred by the collision, the mako shell continued north.

Diamond Weapon's shoulder guns closed, and the monster waited. Its body was perfectly still—not even its eyes betrayed any signs of movement. The Highwind flew above it at a safe distance, but Weapon was no longer paying them any heed. All of its attention was fixed on the land ahead. It seemed to be waiting for something.

There was a long pause. Then, a blue speck of light appeared on the edge of the horizon. It was small at first but grew rapidly, moving at incredible speed. It was also directly in Weapon's path. The monster did not budge but instead braced itself as a strong wind began to blow around it.

The light belonged to the mako shell. It struck Weapon right in the middle of its chest. It shattered the barrier protecting the red globe and went straight on through until it came out of Weapon's other side. Impaled on the beam, Weapon found itself being lifted off its feet and driven forcibly backwards. The monster was carried about twenty metres before the mako shell finally broke through Weapon's back, releasing the creature and continuing northward, still undeterred.

Diamond Weapon hit the ground hard. The mako shell had burned a giant hole in its chest that covered much of its torso. The red globe had been burned away; the only glow left now was the red-hot glow of its burning flesh and muscle, a sickening sight to behold. Weapon roared in agony as it hit the ground. The monster bounced once off the ground and then hit the earth again. The ground shook each time it landed. Weapon skidded a further ten metres down the countryside before it finally came to a stop. The monster twitched and then fell still. It did not move again. Its eyes, though, were still bright, gazing up at the darkening sky.

Up on the Highwind, the companions were in awe by what they had just witnessed. Awestruck… and horrified. Weapon was a mighty, terrible creature and yet, somehow, to see it lying there with a great, smouldering hole in its chest made them feel sort of… sad. As they watched, the lights of Weapon's eyes died out. Trails of mako began to rise from its body as it started to return to the planet. Tifa covered her face with her hands, unable to watch any longer.

The last traces of Diamond Weapon faded away. Barret stepped back away from the railing. "Damn…" was all he could say.

Red XIII shook his head. "It went right through Weapon…"

Cloud leaned over the rail again. He looked north. There was no sign of the mako shell. He frowned, confused. If the weapon was designed only to repel Weapon's attack, then the shell should have been destroyed on contact. If that was the case, why had it carried on moving? Where else could it be heading?

The answer then came to him, and realisation dawned in his eyes. "I see!" he said. "They're after Sephiroth. The crater on the Northern boundary!" Once again everyone leaned out over the rail, wishing that they could see that far north.

By the time Cloud and the others realised Shinra's true intent, the mako shell had already crossed the ocean and was zipping rapidly across the vast, icy mountains of the northern continent. Now travelling in speeds excess of 250mph, it sailed over the mountains towards the Northern Crater.

Since the events at the Northern Crater, when Sephiroth had used the Black Materia to summon Meteor, the entrance to the crater had been sealed off. To ensure that no one interfered with his plans, Sephiroth had created a barrier around the entrance, making it impossible for Shinra or anyone from getting anywhere near. The barrier repelled any attack that Shinra could throw at it. The Sister Ray was the company's last shot at breaking through and stopping Sephiroth from destroying them all.

The shell left the last of the mountains behind and sailed over the thick forests and icy plains surrounding the crater. The barrier was just ahead—a glowing white arc over the surface of the crater.

The shell slammed into the side of the barrier. On contact a thunderous explosion rent the air, causing the entire Northern Crater to shake down to its foundations deep beneath the earth. The air was filled with a blinding white light as the shell caused the barrier's exterior to crack, and bolts of electric energy danced over its surface. The light faded. The barrier shimmered… and then disappeared.

Rufus stood by the broken window of his office, waiting, still impatiently, for news on the outcome of the cannon's attack. The mako shell should have reached the Northern Crater by now, he thought. He looked out at the cannon. The Sister Ray was now in the process of being powered down. As the power was restored to the reactors, lights began to come on all across the city.

Finally, the intercom crackled. "Sir!" said an operator. Heidegger and Scarlet must be busy aiding in powering down the Sister Ray, Rufus thought. "Weapon's been defeated! The barrier has disappeared!"

Rufus turned from the window and walked back to his desk. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. So their risk had paid off after all. And better yet, they had managed to take out one of the planet's Weapons at the same time. A smile passed over Rufus's face. It seemed that they had not needed Cloud and his gang of rebels after all. The Shinra Company was more than capable of defending itself.

He was just about to relax when the intercom buzzed once again. The smile vanished from Rufus's face. The operator's voice, filled with panic, came trembling through.

"Sir! A mass of high density energy is heading towards Midgar!"

Rufus spun around to face the window and looked out at the city. His body went cold, and his breath caught painfully in his throat. It couldn't be…

Just as the operator had said, a number of large energy shots were hurtling across the sky towards Midgar. Although Weapon had been defeated and had returned to the planet, the shots that it fired did not. These high density energy pellets now began to tear across the city like miniature meteors, lighting up the darkened sky.

The citizens who had gathered in the streets after the city became dark watched the sky in captivated terror as dozens of energy pellets rained across the city.

"WHOOA—Weapon's attacking!"

"Run for your lives!"

All at once the people scattered and began to swarm the streets of Midgar, as fear and terror finally took hold of them. The sight of Meteor in the sky, the thunderous boom of the cannon, and now the arrival of the energy pellets above the city finally snapped whatever shred of composure and self-restraint the people had left. They ran over each other, trampled and pushed past one another, and screamed in complete fear as they ran to escape the city. Yet as they quickly discovered, the exits to each of the sectors were still sealed off. There was no escape.

Luckily for the panic-gripped citizens, most of the pellets were much too high to hit any of the smaller buildings and homes and as such sailed harmlessly overhead. The larger buildings however, such as the Shinra Building, were not so lucky.

Rufus watched in silence as the seemingly endless bombardment of energy pellets soared past his office.

It should be said that Rufus was strangely calm despite the situation. He did not run or scream or cry like the rest of the panicked populace of Midgar. That was not the way of Rufus Shinra.

He watched as an energy pellet struck one of the lookout towers at the side of the Shinra Building. The tower exploded into flames. Clouds of thick, billowing smoke rose into the air in front of Rufus's office. The president watched as the smoke cleared, and then looked straight ahead. There was another energy pellet approaching, and it was heading straight towards his office.

Rufus watched it draw near, his eyes stern and unflinching, showing no fear. He had been wrong, after all. It was not Shinra who would defeat Sephiroth and save the planet from Meteor. No. That duty now fell to Cloud and his friends. It was up to them to stop Sephiroth now. Perhaps it had always been their duty, and Shinra had simply paved the path for them to follow to achieve that goal.

The energy shot hit the Shinra Building just below Rufus's office. It detonated on contact, shaking the building down to its foundations. A wall of blistering hot flames surged through the office's broken window, rapidly turning it into a blazing inferno.

The force of the blast sent Rufus careening backwards. He raised his arms to shield his eyes as the extreme heat of the flames swept swiftly through the office. Behind him, the desk and chair were thrown back and crashed onto the floor. The flames continued to spread at an unbelievable speed and blocked the two main stairwells—the only exits.

Rufus Shinra, President of the Shinra Company, was trapped.