Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Thirty-Four

With Weapon defeated, Cloud and the others returned to the bridge of the Highwind to plan their next move. Outside the Highwind, a strong wind was beginning to blow from the south as the impending storm clouds drew ever closer. They would be over the city of Midgar within an hour at the most.

Cloud looked out the window and folded his arms across his chest. He was thinking about Holy. What kind of magic was Holy that it would bring an end to Meteor? His thoughts turned darker. Meteor was already so close… what if it was already too late for Holy? Then there was the added worry of what would happen to them if Holy was unleashed. The swordsman shook those thoughts from his mind. Whatever Holy was, Aeris had put all her faith into it—had given her life for it. Worrying about their lives was meaningless, not when the whole planet was at stake. Aeris had understood that: they had to honour that belief that Holy would do what was best for the planet.

But for that to happen, they first had to defeat the one who was holding Holy's power in thrall. As long as he still existed, the planet would never be safe.

Cloud turned from the window. "What happened to… Sephiroth?" he asked aloud. He tapped his foot against the floor. The eyes of other others were on him, waiting for him to make a decision. Eventually Cloud nodded his head, his mind made up. "Northern Cave… Let's go see what happened to it."

Cid barked an order at the pilot, who immediately turned the airship around and began to fly north as fast as it could go. Within minutes they passed over the shores of the eastern continent, following the mako shell's route to the Northern Crater.

It was not long before they passed over the last of the mountain ranges and came to a slow stop about half a kilometre away. The energy barrier had gone—Shinra had succeeded. Cautiously the Highwind moved forward and hovered at the edge of the crater. Cloud and the others crowded around the window and peered out.

"Sephiroth's energy barrier is gone…" Cloud observed. He looked down into the hole. At this time of day the light of the sun did not shine into the crater, making it appear incredibly dark inside—he could see nothing inside. Cloud turned from the window. "Cid! Can the Airship get inside?"

"Huh?" Cid scowled and rubbed his nose, before patting the Highwind's pilot roughly on the shoulder. "He's my student, ain't he! Of course he can go anywhere!" At this the pilot beamed, practically glowing with pride, touched by this compliment from one of the most prestigious pilots on the planet.

Cloud scratched the back of his head, feeling rather sheepish under the pilot's insulted gaze. "Right," he said hesitantly, "sorry about that." He glanced at Tifa. The young woman covered her mouth and giggled.

Barret watched all this with little interest. His thoughts were on Marlene. Was she safe? He had little doubt that Elmyra would do her best to ensure that Marlene was unharmed by Shinra. But not even Elmyra could protect the little girl from Weapon. Even he had not been able to defeat that monster. Well, he probably could have if Shinra had not intervened.

Shinra… the name still made him furious inside. He looked over at Cait, intending to ask more about Marlene. However, when he turned to the cat he saw that Cait had other things on his mind. He had his back to Barret and the others and appeared to be drumming his fists angrily against the Mog's head. The Mog, in turn, hopped from foot to foot.

"Yo, Cait! Now what?" called Barret irritably. This was not a good sign.

For a moment Cait ignored him. Then the cat suddenly threw his arms into the air and shouted loudly. This drew everyone's attention on him, as they turned and stared at him in complete surprise.

"Hold it!" the cat said. He sounded both angry and panicked by something. The cat lowered his arms and moved the Mog away from the others. He stopped it at the back of the bridge where his reception was clearest and placed one hand over his right ear. "Scarlet, Heidegger! What's going on?"

In the conference room, Heidegger closed his mobile and stared at it in confusion. His large brows furrowed deeply, until both brows joined in the middle to become one large line of fur. "Strange," he said. "I can't reach the President."

Reeve, however, had other things on his mind. He had just received some extremely worrying news from the soldiers guarding the reactors and was, as a result of this, extremely agitated. "Not the President. To Sister Ray!"

"What is it, Reeve?" Scarlet asked with a cackle. "You're speaking strangely." She leaned against the conference room desk.

It was no wonder Scarlet was acting so calm. According to the report they had received, her plans to destroy the energy barrier at the Northern Crater had worked perfectly. Not only that, it had completely obliterated Weapon as well. Everything had gone in their favour. Why should she worry about anything else?

"None of that matters!" exclaimed Reeve. He shook his head. "The reactor's output is increasing all by itself!"

That got Scarlet's attention. She pushed herself away from the desk and stormed over to Reeve, her eyes widened in fear. "Ww, wait a minute!" she stammered. "That's not wise! It must cool for 3 hours or it won't work. Reeve, shut off the machine!" She jabbed her finger at him, as though the problem was his doing.

Reeve brushed her hand aside. "We can't do that! It's inoperable!" he told her. He turned from her and pulled out his phone. He called up the No. 2 Reactor and requested an update on the status of the reactors from the soldiers stationed inside.

"Someone has switched the machine over to mainframe operation!" was the report he received. "We can't operate it from here."

"What about the mainframe? Who!" Reeve demanded.

Unfortunately, the soldier did not know. Reeve cursed and hung up. The mainframe was the cannon's auxiliary control station, situated at the very top of the Sister Ray. In the event that any of the additional stations around the seven reactors failed to function, control of the cannon and the reactors could be diverted to the mainframe. It was also a last resort station, since the immense mako levels surrounding the cannon when it fired would surely kill the operator. Who would want to take over control of the cannon, knowing this?

Reeve crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the floor. After a moment's thought he turned to Heidegger. "Hey, call the mainframe!" he ordered.

Heidegger pulled out his phone again. He was just beginning to dial when he stopped and lowered his phone again. His dark eyes rested on Reeve, and his brow furrowed into a single line again. "Huh? Why are you giving orders?" he asked.

As much as Reeve wanted to point out that they were both Heads of Departments, this was no time to argue with the irritating man on company positions. "I don't give a damn about the details!" he snapped, losing patience. He turned from them again and pulled out his phone to call the mainframe himself.

Behind him, Scarlet and Heidegger shared a glance, wondering…

"Just you wait, Sephiroth. I'll give you the mako you want."

Hojo reached over the console and slowly turned one of the dials. He then watched in satisfaction as the valves in the No. 3 Reactor opened up, and the deep glow of mako rose from inside. The glow was not as impressive as the first time the reactors had been opened up, but it would do for now. The No. 2 Reactor was already open and was currently drawing more mako from beneath the city.

The lights of the city flickered and dimmed. It would be a while—an hour or two at least—before all seven reactors were flowing again, but Hojo was not worried about that. His plans were already in motion, and nothing could interfere with him. On the console the intercom crackled, and Reeve's panicked voice shouted through to him.

"Hojo, STOP! The cannon, no. Midgar itself is in danger!"

At first Hojo did not respond. He sighed heavily and began the preparations for opening up the No. 4 Reactor. This reactor was almost completely drained of energy, but Hojo ignored the warning signs and bypassed the security system. He chuckled.

"One or two Midgars?" he said, speaking mostly to himself rather than to Reeve. The professor paused momentarily and then shrugged. "…It's a small price to pay."

"Hojo! HOJO…!"

As casually as if he was turning a page, Hojo reached over and flicked the intercom switch off. He did not want any interference from the plebeian thinkers who did not fully appreciate the sheer brilliance of the forces that Sephiroth had put into motion. The sacrifice of the lives of Midgar was a paltry one to pay in comparison to what would be achieved if Sephiroth achieved his goal and brought an end to this miserable planet.

"Show me… Sephiroth. It should be near…"

Over by the No. 4 Reactor, a siren began to sound. The scientist quickly and calmly pressed some buttons, and the siren stopped as the reactor core became stable again. Even this high up, he could hear the cries of panic coming from the idiotic citizens below. All of them running around, screaming, and crying to some god that did not exist. How Hojo pitied their foolishness. They would see soon enough.

The professor paused in his work and looked up at the sky, where the dark storm clouds were beginning to settle over Midgar. He chuckled again to himself.

"Go beyond the powers of science… Before your presence, science is powerless… I hate it, but I'll concede to it. Just… let me see it."

And Hojo laughed once more and continued with his task.

When Cloud and the others heard this, they were mortified. Had Hojo completely lost his mind? Themselves and Shinra were doing everything they could to stop Sephiroth, and here was Hojo… trying to help him! Cloud shook his head, unable to believe that Hojo would go that far for the sake of 'science'. Barret meanwhile, was glaring at Cait angrily, his fist shaking.

"YO!" he said, barely able to contain his rage. "Do somethin'! Ya big cat!"

Cait Sith and his Mog both sagged in unison. They turned slowly and the Mog waddled miserably over to Barret. The cat looked up at Barret sheepishly, before letting his head fall to his chest again. He shook it glumly.

"We're sunk. Hojo's doing this on his own…" The cat suddenly paused as a thought struck him. "…? …? H, huh!"

If it had been possible for Cait Sith to pale in fright, he would have right then. He was frightened because he had just realised, in his panic and confusion, that he had allowed Barret and Cloud and all the others to overhear the conversation with Hojo. And in doing so, he had inadvertently revealed his true identity. Only an idiot would not figure it out. The cat's whiskers quivered and then he sagged again.

"I don't like this…" he complained, his heart sinking like the clouds over Midgar.

Barret crossed his arms across his chest and smiled smugly. "You're busted, Reeve."

Knowing that the secret behind his true identity was out, Cait Sith leaned far over the Mog, his ears low over his face.

Cait Sith, otherwise known as Reeve Tuesti, Head of Shinra's Urban Development Department. Though it was Reeve who controlled the cat from behind the scenes, the advancement of Shinra's technology was so great that the cat pretty much operated by itself. Cait could move and speak independently, obeying orders and relaying all the information it received to Reeve back in Midgar.

As the channel between Cait and Reeve was always open, it was easy for Cait to receive extra information, which he could then pass on to Cloud and the others. The two were intrinsically linked, functioning like one extended being. Reeve was Cait, and Cait was Reeve. It was this level of technology, designed by the same Science Department that had created Sephiroth, which made Shinra the most powerful company the planet had ever known.

Barret continued to smile at Cait, smug that the cat had given away his identity at last. Cloud walked up and put a hand on Barret's arm—a subtle warning to keep quiet. Who Cait really was wasn't important right now. Barret frowned and turned away stubbornly, thinking about Marlene. "Can't you stop the Mako reactor?" Cloud asked, ignoring the big man.

"…We can't stop it," Cait replied, without looking up.

Barret turned back and pushed past Cloud. "You're from Shinra, ain't ya?" he asked. "So why's it impossible!"

"…"

"We came a long way to get here," said Cid. "You better not double-cross us now!"

Once again Cait sighed. He released the Mog's controls and sat down on its soft pink head. He poked his red boot with his hand. "I can't make you trust me…" he said.

"You damn fool!" shouted Cid angrily. "Don't you understand anything I'm saying?" The pilot smacked his fist into the side of the nearest console. The suddenness of his strike startled the poor pilot and even startled Cait, who looked up at him in surprise.

The pilot continued: "I don't give a damn about Shinra. If you're a man… no, if you're a human being, you'll save the planet. Don't you even care?"

"No way! If we shut down the reactor, all hell will break loose!"

"Why?" Cid asked, puzzled. "Can't you just shut off the valve?"

Cait turned to him. "Yeah, it's easy to shut off the reactor's pipe valves…" he conceded. "But the reactor made a path for the energy to escape from below." He turned from him to include everyone. "Once you open that, it's impossible to close it until everything blasts out… And we can't try to stop the energy gushing out…"

Everybody took a moment to assimilate this new information. The scene came to them all too clearly:

There was Midgar, a city at the centre of a vast wasteland. Thousands of people lived in the city. At the edge of each sector were the seven reactors, delving deep into the ground and sucking up the Lifestream that flowed there. Numerous pipes that regulated the flow of mako to the reactors ran like a maze beneath the city, ensuring that each reactor was supplied with a constant, even supply of mako.

Once inside the reactors, the Lifestream was put under immense pressure, condensing it until it reached a state where it could be drawn out and converted into a usable form of energy. The valves that Cid had mentioned regulated the amount of energy that was sucked up, so that the reactors did not become swamped with compressed energy. The Lifestream, when compressed, was often unstable and required constant monitoring. Ordinarily the valves would automatically shut off once the pressure levels reached a certain point and preventing such an imbalance.

But now Hojo was at the mainframe, bypassing the reactor's inbuilt security and forcing the valves open. More mako would be drawn from the planet and gather in the reactors. The pressure would build to dangerous levels, the cores would become unstable, and the pressurised energy that had gathered would be forced to find an escape route. If Hojo closed the valves again, then the only path the mako could take would be down into the pipes that ran beneath the city. The mako would enter the pipes, and the pressure would, eventually, cause them to blow.

"An explosion!" exclaimed Barret.

"This blast'll be way bigger than when the number 1 reactor blew up!" said Cait.

Barret shook his head. "Damn…!"

The people of Midgar were standing on a ticking time bomb.

Now they understood why Cait was so alarmed. The pressure in the reactors was growing with every second that passed. Unless Hojo was stopped, that pressure would continue to grow, until finally the pipes could take no more and blow, causing a catastrophic explosion that would engulf the entire city and the people in it. Cloud frowned. Damn that Hojo!

All through the conversation Vincent remained silent, with his back to the others. Hearing Hojo's voice had brought back yet more painful memories. An almost uncontrollable anger burned inside him. If he had not spent thirty years sleeping away the guilt and shame, that anger would probably have overwhelmed him. Lucrecia… Hojo… Vincent clenched his fingers tight around his arm, and the claws of his gauntlet dug into his bicep, bringing back his control.

"Forget about that…" The sound of Cait Sith's voice broke through Vincent's thoughts, and the gunman turned his attention back to his friends. He turned and walked up to rejoin the group. Cait Sith was standing on the Mog's head. "The CANNON!" he was shouting. "We've got to get to Midgar! That's the first thing!"

Cloud looked over at Vincent. The gunman leaned against the edge of the stairs. He caught Cloud looking at him and gazed back at the swordsman. His expression was clear and unreadable, but the fierceness of his eyes revealed the anger that was burning there. Looking into Vincent's dark red eyes, Cloud recalled the moment when Vincent agreed to leave his long slumber and join them on their journey.

"If I go with you, will I meet Hojo?"

"Dunno. But we're after him and Sephiroth. So, I guess sooner or later…"

"Lucrecia… All right, I've decided to go with you."

"What? You're coming with us?"

"Being a former Turks, I may be of help to you…"

It seemed like so long ago to Cloud, but Vincent had been waiting even longer. All those years he said he'd spent sleeping, dreaming of a shame he could not shake. Now, at last, Vincent was going to have the chance to confront the man who had played a part in that shame. Cloud turned from him and faced the others.

"We must stop Hojo… first."

Back at Shinra Headquarters, Reeve finished analysing the data received from Cait and turned to Heidegger and Scarlet. "Looks like Cloud and the others are on their way," he informed them. "Stay out of the way!"

Heidegger looked at Reeve closely, and then burst into a sudden fit of laughter. "Don't be so ludicrous!" he guffawed. "I don't recall you giving me any orders! The Peace Preservation will give their best effort to make the enemy retreat!" The man then paused and clenched his fist, teeth grating in anger. "Because of them, I… I…!"

"That's a private matter…" said Reeve calmly.

Heidegger unclenched his fist and looked up at Reeve, his brows furrowing once again. He had never liked Reeve, and disliked him even more now that Reeve was trying to give him orders. He'd also harboured secret suspicions about Reeve's wavering loyalty to the company. Suspicions him and Scarlet both had raised with the president, but had gone unheard. As long as Reeve continued to provide information on the doings of Cloud and his little band of rebels, Rufus had said, Reeve continued to have some use. Now, though, that had changed.

"The President is dead!" Heidegger protested loudly. "Now I'm doing things my way!" He and Scarlet both laughed.

When she was done laughing, Scarlet turned to Heidegger. "Heidegger! Now I'm going to use the new weapon!"

Scarlet clicked her fingers, and the two of the three soldiers guarding the door ran over to them. They stopped on either side of Reeve and drew their guns, pointing the barrels at his head warningly. Reeve stared at them in surprise, before turning his eyes on Heidegger and Scarlet. Heidegger was beaming, while a cold, twisted smile touched Scarlet's lips. Reeve could not believe it. Had they planned this all along!

Without bothering to explain, Scarlet and Heidegger laughed again and headed for the door. The third soldier opened it as they approached and they exited the room leaving Reeve under the guard of the soldiers.

"Hey! Wait!" Reeve tried to call after them, but they didn't listen. When they had left the third soldier slammed the door shut and stood in front of it. Reeve shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Cloud, everybody!" he said in dismay. "Sorry… But!"

"But! You'll come, won't you!"

Reeve's words rang loud and clear in the hearts of everybody on the bridge. Cloud unfolded his arms and walked over to Cait, who was looking at him hopefully.

"I know," Cloud said.

Around him, the others nodded. Even Barret, his anger forgotten in Cait/Reeve's heartfelt plea for their aid in Midgar. Cid turned to the pilot, who was waiting patiently for his orders.

"Hey!" said Cid. "I'm leaving the ship in your hands!"

The pilot nodded and turned to the wheel. "I'm heading for Midgar!" he said.

Cait looked around at the others standing around him, his hope rising. He had originally thought of Cloud and his friends as nothing more than a group of callous terrorists aiming for nothing more than causing Shinra trouble, and not caring one jot about the lives of innocents who fell in their wake. The destruction of the No. 1 Reactor had helped form that impression. But Cait was glad, deep down, that he had gotten this chance to travel with them. He believed that they, over anyone else, would have a chance to save Midgar from obliteration.

If they could only get there in time.

End of Part Thirteen

Next Part: Part Fourteen: Gene Warfare

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS

And that brings an end to Part Thirteen. Now we have just two parts left to go. I'm so excited! After six years of hard labour (well, four and a half, since I went on a loooong hiatus), the end is finally starting to come about! Mwahaha!