Chapter VIII
Paint the Town
"That weapon. What kind of abomination is it?" - Cloud
Tifa did not recall the town of Lee's Camp having more than a picnic bench and a broken water fountain covered in dead grass beside the road that curved up towards Mt. Corel. Perhaps it had sped by in a blur during their original pursuit of Sephiroth, as so many farms and villages had. Now as she stared up at the bald hillsides, she wondered why Vincent had insisted they set up camp here.
"He says she will pass by this point," Cloud said, frowning up at the Corel Mountains. "Whether she heads for Mt. Corel or the desert, she will pass through here." He scuffed his foot in the loose dirt. "From that bluff up there, we can see the whole valley."
"She could angle to the coast," Tifa said.
"In that case," Cloud said, "We redeploy to Desert Springs and move in to Fulsom's Crossing where I bet we catch her feeding at the hog barns."
"What hog barns?"
"Shinra's Pig-in-a-Can division. Centrally packed meat." Cloud shrugged. "She likes to skirt inhabited areas, areas inhabited by humans at least. A mass of livestock may prove too tempting."
"Today," Vincent said, "I have no reports of depredation. She seems to be in a type of remission."
"Maybe she's full," Tifa said. "How many sheep souls can one person eat? What do we do when we catch her?"
Vincent heaved a golf-bag sized bundle out of the chocobo cart. "I will attempt to leave her unharmed, though I won't guarantee she will extend the favor to us."
Cloud looked up the slope, at a trail twisting up to the rock of the bluff. The site made Tifa think of brick ovens.
"We have a big climb ahead of us," Cloud said.
An hour later, Tifa plopped down to rest on a smooth ledge. Looking down over the land, she realized how far they had climbed. The view stretched all the way to the smudge on the horizon where land met sea. From the slopes they had climbed, the land unfolded into grass and sparse jungle, all of which played out like one of those quilts her mother used to sew in Nibelheim. Tifa examined the forked roadway they had traveled. One fork led up to Mt. Corel while the other led through Lee's Camp on its way to the big desert. She bundled her long hair in her lap to brush the debris out of it. Vincent set up his tripod and sighted down into the valley while Cloud paced like a caged dog behind them.
"You just going to blow her away with an anti-tank missile, Vincent?" she asked.
"This is a backup system." He took another sight reading. "In case we need to take down something huge."
Tifa looked from the few toy cars crawling along below to the over-sized cannon next to her. That ammo, those bullets looked larger than the late Scarlet's lipstick casings. She wondered how Vincent had lugged all that it up here but then again, he floated just off the ground when he needed to. He didn't appear hot in his vampire cape, either.
"I have to do something," Cloud said, stopping mid-pace.
"She will come," Vincent said.
"How can you be sure?"
Vincent pointed with his metal hand. "Patterns."
Tifa turned away from them. Their bickering may help them cope but it grated on her. Years later, she may look back on these times and laugh. Great. It sounded like something Aeris would say. Aeris. Her mind flashed back to that horrible scene at the Ancient Lake. She shivered, despite the heat. Still, no sense dwelling on such -
"Wait, what's that?"
Cloud and Vincent stopped their banter and turned.
"What? I don't know," Cloud said.
"Motorcade," Vincent said.
"Can't be Rufus," Tifa said. "He only goes by helicopter."
"It's Shinra, though," Cloud said. "We should prepare."
Tifa checked her materia. Her Powersoul glove did not have linked slots but it packed a mean punch and its four materia grew in power fast. This landscape looked natural for a Titan summon as well. Even if the camo-colored trucks turned out to contain nothing but livestock feed, she relished a chance to mix it up with those blue marionettes. Where do they all come from? Did Shinra harvest them in an underground minion garden? No - she recalled her youth in Nibelheim, where jobs had become so scarce that young people - including young Cloud - went off to join SOLDIER to escape. Most never made it into the elite corps, instead finding themselves stuffed inside blue suits. Faceless minions, just following orders.
Below, the trail of gray trucks reached the fork and paused before turning towards Lee's Camp. Behind the third truck, glimmering like a hot iron in the sun, a silver limousine pulled to a stop. A coppery smudge of mako exhaust spewed in its wake. Tifa's two companions shifted.
"Disgusting," Vincent said. "If I knew Hojo was in that car, I'd vaporize it."
Cloud said, "Think Shinra is heading over to Dio's prison to break him out?"
"Unlikely," Vincent said. "Those trucks are not desert capable."
"They could have buggies inside."
"If so, it means fewer troops. Dio could hold them off if it came to that."
"So who's in the limo?"
Vincent lifted a pair of metal binoculars to his eyes. "Tinted glass," he said. He twisted a silver knob. Tifa heard a high pitched beep. He peered again, then lowered the glasses. "As I feared."
"What?" Cloud said. "They have," he swallowed, "my mother in there?"
"No." He handed the device to Cloud, who peered through it for a full minute.
"Who is she?"
"Carmine. Scarlet's older, jealous cousin. Shinra's new second in command."
"Carmine. I've never met her."
"Just as well. She's smarter than her firebrand cousin but colder. Also, rumor has it she is mako enhanced."
Tifa felt a shiver at that; she watched as six of the nine trucks pulled off the road, flanking the silver limo in a triangle. The other three trucks moved to block the roads in each direction away from their camp.
The two nearest the limo opened their rear doors to disgorge a score of troops each. They marched in orderly blue rows to the car itself, saluting as one when the limo's back door opened.
Tifa could barely make out the gray-suited blonde woman who stepped out into the sunlight but she would call the figure regal and beautiful, if in an ice queen sort of way. At the woman's command, more trucks opened. The troops split into two groups and unloaded pieces of wheeled hardware, mostly long guns and rocket launchers that looked to Tifa able to shoot down airplanes. They arranged their weaponry along a rocky outcropping, the guns pointed down into the valley they had just left.
"Looks as if they're after the same thing we are," Tifa said. "Unless there's something bigger out there."
More truck doors opened. Additional troops climbed out, these carrying heavy swords.
"SOLDIERs?" Cloud said. "This is a major operation."
"Overkill," Tifa said. "Though I'm rooting for your mother."
Vincent raised his spyglass again. "That is an impressive array of firepower. Those look like the stinger rockets they used against Wutai. Now, that's strange."
"What?"
"They are loading grenades into a launcher but they handle them as if they are a plague virus, using hazard suits and long tongs."
"Let me see," Cloud said.
Vincent handed him the telescope and pointed.
"I, I can't make out the writing. Ah, now someone is standing in the way." He frowned. "Poor ambush, really. Shinra is getting sloppy. Either that or they think she will be attracted by the crowd."
"They'd have done better if they'd staked out some livestock," Tifa said.
"Perhaps they're after something else? Perhaps, my, mother, is not the only threat loose out here?"
We are out here, Tifa thought. She turned that over in her mind while watching the blue suits waylay a few travelers who dared stray too close. Most turned back without incident. A couple long haul truckers from Costa del Sol seemed to argue longer, until they eventually backed their rigs along the highway and pulled off a few kilometers back. Another vehicle, a camper coming down from Mt. Corel, refused to retreat. Tifa could hear the sounds of argument becoming more heated.
"Vincent," Cloud said, "What do you say you boost that Shinra truck out of their way."
Vincent looked between Cloud and the tripod. "It would not be wise to engage when we are so outnumbered."
"I was kidding."
Tifa didn't feel so sure. The day had gotten on toward evening but the heat had not yet let up. Vincent went back to his binoculars and Cloud went back to pacing. It appeared the occupants of the camper had been placed under arrest. The family lay on the ground in the shade of a scrawny elm tree. A blue suit handcuffed each one. Shinra justice for you: no threat too small to contain.
"Carmine," Vincent said. "You wouldn't be here unless - "
Suddenly he threw down his binoculars, swiped the tripod onto its side and whirled to send Tifa sprawling across the rock.
"Vincent, what - "
"Down!" He dropped. Behind him, Cloud dropped just as fast. Something punched the mountain above them like a celestial mallet. The ground moaned; chips of rock began to rain down ahead of a roiling cloud of dust.
Tifa felt herself yanked to her feet.
"Quickly!" Cloud tugged her toward the left.
She glanced up to see the rush of boulders roaring down upon them. She ran.
A second explosion hit below their perch, shifting the ground beneath them. They raced pell-mell across the slope, parallel to the road below but angling downward, looking for any sort of cover before Shinra got a lucky hit.
With a rattle, the rock slide smacked onto their former ledge, rocks piling into a rickety cone, only to have another hit blow them to gravel. The trio hit the ground. Tifa tasted dirt and blood. She felt herself slip down the slope but she snagged a clump of ironweed and held on, thanking the Planet these plants had a root system befitting their name. Using his sword as an anchor, Cloud skidded to a stop beside her. Vincent bobbed behind him, a near-human weather vane, his cape flapping in the dusty wind like the cloak of the Grim Reaper. She noted the pall of dust now hid them from below.
"Mako grenades," Vincent said.
Indeed, the acrid scent all but choked her.
"Keep going down," Cloud panted. "Let's take the fight to them. We can't make it over the top and maybe they won't expect us to attack."
Tifa wanted nothing better. She picked herself up and started down but, finding she could barely see, stumbled to a halt.
"Problem," she said, pointing into the dust.
"Idea," Vincent said. He pointed to a red materia. "When it comes, grab on. It will be a wild ride."
"Have you ever tried this before?"
"Never." Vincent almost cracked a smile. "But Yuffie insists it works."
"I'm so going to regret this," Cloud said, "but let's do it." He stowed his sword. "I'm ready."
"Deathblow."
The thunder sounded too loud to come from a mere chocobo. As the giant chicken emerged from the gloom, Tifa and Cloud both leaped onto its back, perching awkwardly behind the cute little mog in the saddle. The ground dropped away. Tifa wriggled higher, clinging for dear life. When her hand grasped onto Cloud's, their eyes met.
He grinned like a maniac. Tifa focused on him, ignoring the furious blur beyond. "How long can he hold this summon spell?"
"Let's hope it's long enough."
The chocobo touched down on level ground with an inelastic jolt. Tifa looked up. A cluster of blue suits turned as one toward their juggernaut, staring blankly under their helmets as the chocobo slammed into their midst, strewing them like bowling pins. Cloud leaped down, drawing his sword with one motion. Tifa saw him fly forward toward a pair of SOLDIERs who looked as if they had just spotted a giant anvil hurtling from space. Tifa vaulted into her own battle. After punching herself free of the clingy blue suits, she spotted three SOLDIERs crouched around a hollow tube pointed up the mountain. One of them, wearing thick gray mitts, lifted a glowing green capsule, holding it aloft with tongs before lowering it toward the tube.
Shrieking her battle cry, Tifa kicked him hard in the helmet. The SOLDIER flew back and lay inert in the dust. The green capsule bounced into the air, turning end over end in a hypnotic arc. One SOLDIER drew his sword. The other stared, frozen as the cylinder dropped toward him. His hands reached for it by reflex. Then he screamed like a table saw cutting into metal. Tifa leaped back, screaming herself as his arms erupted into green flame.
She remembered the sword wielder. She ducked. A blade decked out with materia whistled past her, black and frosty. She grabbed the man's legs and flipped him onto his back, cringing as his blade sparked off her elbow guard. She thanked the Planet she had listened to John's advice and added metal guards to her outfit; elbow, wrist, knee and ankle guards also served as handy weapons in a pinch. Hence the old standby knee to the groin packed more of a punch, even if her opponent wore a crotch guard, which this SOLDIER, to his sorrow, did not.
With the warrior whimpering in a fetal position, Tifa turned her attention back to his burning comrade. The poor man's screams became bubbly yet more piercing. Green fire raced up and down his body. His flesh melted as if doused in napalm, a devilish weapon Shinra had used toward the end the Wutai war. Tifa stumbled back, half afraid the man would flame out by hurling himself against her.
"My God, what is that?" she asked no one in particular. After a pause, she touched her Destruct materia and sent a Death spell in his direction. Not a spell she liked to use since most creatures deserving of it proved resistant and also because the Shinra Peace Preservation troops like to use it as crowd control. (Even then, the trusty Fire and Bolt spells worked better.) This time, the human torch slumped with a final sigh. The green fire, as if delighted by the surrender of life, flared into a final cone before dying down to a dull glow. The heat of it forced Tifa back, hand over her face to quell the stench of corrupted mako.
The newly soprano SOLDIER came to life and snaked out a hand to snag her ankle, jerking her sideways to the dirt. They brawled, exchanging kicks and jabs, Tifa batting away his fallen sword. He belted her several times before she managed to jam a knee into his solar plexus. They broke apart with his "Oof!" Still, the sneaky twerp recovered enough to dive for his sword.
Rage clouded her vision. She kicked him in the side, followed with more strikes, launching him into a cadre of his companions. She leapt forward to meet the last four SOLDIERs. Dimly she heard her inner voice tell her to get control, act human, but her mind swam in its swirl of red mist, seeing only enemies.
Her attack came in brutal and quick. The first SOLDIER went down in a flurry of punches. The second received two kicks and an elbow jab, sending him and his sword sailing in different directions. The final two had their heads smashed into each other hard enough to meld their helmets.
Tifa whirled, alert for more threats. She spied Cloud dueling beside one of the monster trucks, a trail of bodies in his wake. She drew in a quick breath as Cloud's sword separated the head from one remaining SOLDIER, whose body stumbled two more steps before toppling in a heap. Cloud turned his fury on the truck itself, crashing his over-sized sword against the metal siding. Tifa screamed at him to be quiet - the noise would make her head explode.
"Incompetent fools!" A regal voice rang out over the battle, Stopping Cloud mid-swing. The voice continued, "You can't take care of two ragtag terrorists? I suppose I'll have to take care of them myself!"
Tifa scanned the area for the owner of the voice. From behind the trucks, a cloud of white vapor flowed in and swirled over the bodies, even squelching the stench of spoiled mako. Tifa saw the bodies of the fallen begin to rise, with the exception of the headless wonder next to Cloud.
"White Wind?" Tifa said to herself. "I like it better when we use it." Feeling more in control of her sanity now, she threw out a Big Guard spell for herself and Cloud. The SOLDIERs, looking none too happy at the pair, began to close in a circle about them, though their blue suit toadies fell back and broke into a full retreat.
The SOLDIERs shuffled closer. One of them knocked into a metal box, out of which poured out a putrid smoke and a dozen more green vials. All of them froze. They looked at the vials. Each pulsed with a leathery, green glow like an egg of a mind sucking demon.
One SOLDIER took a half-hearted swing at Tifa before he, with the others, fell back in the direction of the blues. Tifa hurried to Cloud who pointed along the road.
"Hurry," he said, "before, it gets, too much, to handle."
Tifa followed him. The air cleared, smelling sweet once they passed the trucks. The silver limo stood on a patch of gravel. Another pair of trucks sat parked beyond it. Cloud cast a Regen spell on the two of them. Tifa looked at Cloud, who pointed at the limo. She nodded.
Taking a defiant pose, he called out, "Show yourself! Cease this pointless attack!"
"May I help you, children?" The regal blonde woman, dressed in a smart gray suit, strode into the clearing, flanked by two hard-bodies dressed only in boxing trunks, their mako-glowing eyes the only indication she hadn't grabbed two drop outs from Mukki's wrestling team. The woman's suit had enough style to hold court in the boardroom, yet looked sturdy enough to repel bullets on the rifle range. She wore an armlet bristling with materia, one of which glowed a cold lavender. Tifa wondered what kind of magical menace it represented. She also noted the woman's poise, the denim pumps with stainless steel spikes - don't tell me she goes out for a morning run in those, she thought - to the cold blue mako glow of her eyes. On top of that, she looked drop dead gorgeous. Tifa could picture legions of macho stud muffins lining up just to have her plant her stiletto heels through their wooden foreheads.
"That weapon," Cloud said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder, "What kind of abomination is it?"
"Invert mako. It's everything invert sugar isn't. You do cook, don't you, sweetie?" She looked at Tifa.
"What are you doing here?" Tifa asked.
"Oh, I could ask you the same thing. You see, I am on a recovery mission, and what should I recover but a pair of terrorists. Including their leader, no less. Cloud? Your notoriety precedes you, though I can't say I'm impressed with your handmaiden. Tiffie, isn't it?"
"Tifa." She clenched her teeth.
"Oh yes. The barmaid. Still dressing the part, I see. Not enough men in your life? Big beefy hunk here still loony as a bat cave? How was it he claimed to have killed Sephiroth? Ah, yes. Got himself stabbed in the stomach. Then, using those abs of steel, he levered the great Sephiroth over the mako pit and hurled him into the reactor." She clucked her tongue. "All because Sephiroth couldn't think to let go of his sword. Then again, you know about men and their swords." She clucked again and turned to Cloud. "That must have left a wicked scar. Do you have any problems with incontinence?"
Tifa clenched and unclenched her fists. How she would enjoy ruining that immaculate make-up, those pearly whites polished to a shine.
"And you are?" Cloud said.
"Why, I'm surprised you haven't heard of me. I'm Carmine, head of Shinra Weapons Development. And unlike Scarlet, I'm also the executive vice president." she smirked. "The job comes with these two darlings." She nudged her companions. "Meet Hamm and Stu."
They bowed slightly in turn. They looked like twins, Hamm with curly dark hair and Stu a straighter, sandy blond. They each put a hand on Carmine's nearest shoulder.
Carmine reached out and squeezed their biceps. She grinned. "They serve me well."
"I'll bet," Tifa said.
"You two," Carmine's voice grew stern, "have caused me a great deal of trouble. True, you alerted me the incompetence of my troops, but that's to be expected. Good help is hard to find. We at Shinra are on the cusp of great deeds, a new age of - "
"Talk a lot, don't you?" Cloud said.
"I'm sorry. Did I use words with more than one syllable?" Carmine's mako eyes flashed. "My recovery mission may fail but I'll settle for the two heads of Avalanche, mounted on pikes if I can find any. Rufus could never corral you but he has trouble catching kittens. Boys? Seize them."
Tifa snapped off another Big Guard spell. Cloud fronted with his sword. No one attacked at first, though Carmine's boys edged back and around, looking as if to flank them. Tifa watched Carmine; the woman would not wipe that smug smile off her face. Tifa felt her spine shiver.
Hamm opened with a Fire spell. Tifa shrugged it off as it flared off her Barrier. Cloud pivoted to keep both Carmine and Stu in view. Stu smiled and gave Cloud the 'come hither' gesture.
Tifa sized up the scene. Lady executive in a suit, her body guards standing not in front but behind her, as if inviting Tifa to step in and deliver a knock-out punch.
"Aren't you going to fight?" Carmine said. "Or is it true you let your boyfriend do all the work? You should really try the top position once in awhile."
"Shut up!"
"Oh dear." Carmine's eye twinkled. "Did I upset your prim sensibilities? I'd never expect such from a skanky slum barmaid. But maybe you frequent one of those quaint little churches they have down there? One where a senile geezer in cast-off robes mutters some drivel about peace, good grace, and petting kittens, when all that really matters is service to the Company?" She spread her arms toward her beach bum bodyguards. "What more could I want? Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."
Sooner or later, Tifa thought, she will get to me. I'll walk right into her trap.
"As for you, I'll bet the only time you get any is when they leave a thousand gil note on your dresser."
Oh, to hell with it.
Tifa made as if to spring, but instead jumped back and triggered her Titan summon.
From inside the red glow that followed, Tifa saw Carmine jerk up her arms to meet the expected charge. A pair of razor sharp wrist blades shot out and slashed at chest level. Now that would have hurt . . .
Tifa's Titan appeared, the giant reaching down and pulling up the earth, trying to tip it onto the enemy. Hamm and Stu found themselves pelted by a hailstorm of rocks, though they appeared barely more than dazed. Tifa cursed mako enhanced SOLDIERs. Carmine, however, shrugged and brushed a mote of dust off her shoulder.
I hate spell immunities, Tifa thought.
Stu barely held his ground against Cloud's assault. Hamm, cracking his macho grin that he probably thought reduced all barmaids to quivering pools of lust, tweaked Tifa with another Fire spell. The distraction almost caused Tifa to miss Carmine's darting thrust.
Tifa twisted aside, kicking out to trip but finding only air. Carmine flashed in again, aiming for Tifa's knees, a blow Tifa evaded with a leap. Carmine came back at her in a blink, forcing Tifa into a pair of back flips to avoid those wicked wrist blades.
In slammed another Fire spell. Tifa expected it this time and dodged, forcing Carmine off balance into the flames, though they too fizzled off her suit.
I want the name of her tailor, Tifa thought. In the background, Stu barely avoided Cloud subdividing him. At least one part of the battle went well.
Tifa paused for breath. Carmine smiled. Tifa ducked in for a quick kick, finally catching Carmine behind the knee. The woman stumbled but Hamm spoiled Tifa's follow-up with another annoying fire spell. Off balance, she still managed to knock Carmine away with a hook kick. It did her heart good to hear the power-suit woman snarl.
Tifa jumped back to dodge another Fire spell and Carmine rush, this time with whistling blades and snappy kicks. Tifa grabbed for and caught the woman's spiked foot, jerking her leg so the woman hit face first on the ground.
"Ha!"
Not allowing Carmine to recover, Tifa yanked the leg again while ducking away from Carmine's other foot. Yikes - stiletto spikes of actual metal? Tifa kicked Carmine's free leg in the shin and heard a satisfying squeal of pain. Stabbing her blades at the ground, Carmine tried an anchor flip but Tifa whipped Carmine's body sunny side up, twisting Carmine's wrists into awkward angles. The foot near Tifa's face still had on it's metal spiked shoe, which Tifa tore off and hurled away. Carmine's right leg stretched out on the ground so Tifa planted both boots just above Carmine's knee. Power-suit woman grunted again. Tifa jerked Carmine's left leg straight upward. Pushing on, Tifa shoved the foot toward Carmine's face, yanking down on the toes to keep Carmine's knee locked. She watched Carmine's face grow red with strain.
"Nnngggh!"
"Can you do the splits? Call off your goons or we'll find out."
"N-n-never! Kill, that, ugh - "
"Wrong answer, sweetie!"
Tifa heard another clash of swords and a scream. Something soft thudded behind her.
Carmine twisted, trying to wrench a wrist blade free of the ground.
"Not happening." Tifa snatched the woman's wrist. "You stay pinned."
They wrestled and spat but Tifa held on, her superior strength keeping that leg pinned between their bodies, pushing Carmine's knee into her immaculate face.
"Hamm! D-do something!" Carmine's wail had gone from furious to desperate.
An explosion. In her field of vision Tifa saw Cloud fly past and bounce off the side of the nearest truck.
"What the - "
A blast of ice slammed into her back, knocking her loose. She rolled across the ground like a rolling pin. When she fetched up against the truck tires, she saw Carmine wobble to her feet, rage etched on her face.
Sounds of combat came from the far side of the truck but Tifa couldn't think about that. Stu lay in a heap; a short distance away lay his sword with his arm still holding it. Tifa winced.
"You," Carmine said after something slammed the truck hard enough to wobble its bed. Carmine's walk wobbled about as much. "I, hate you." She waved her wrist blades. "So I'm going to gut you. Your boyfriend - " She motioned toward Cloud, who stood using his sword as a cane. "I'll just take his head. As for you," She spread her arms. "These trucks have wooden panels up front. I'll nail you to one, slit your belly and let you stare at your guts all the way back to base. How does that grab you?"
Tifa raised herself to one elbow. Her head pounded and she lacked the strength for more than a minor Cure spell.
"You don't approve? Too bad. You fight dirty."
"Dirty?" Tifa pushed herself up. Cloud swigged a potion bottle.
"I bet you pull hair, too. My cousin liked to do that." Carmine activated a yellow materia, casting a White Wind on her comrades and herself.
Hamm smirked and threw another Fire spell at Tifa, who barely managed to roll aside.
"You work out, don't you. Hard, muscular arms. Almost like a man." Carmine smirked. "Except, no one would mistake you for a man, would they?"
Carmine took the shoe Hamm handed her and slipped it back on.
"Your point?" Tifa said.
"I'll enjoy pounding nails through your firm flesh."
"No wonder you're not married," Tifa said.
"Who needs marriage? I have two fine specimens here. Stu, pick up your arm. You call yourself a SOLDIER so act like one. Anyway, Tiffie, all you have is that spiky haired freak who can drool almost as well as he can fight."
Tifa saw Cloud roll his eyes. He tossed a potion at her feet. It had a bright red X on the label.
"Maybe I should feed you this," Tifa said, "And see if you dry up like that monster in the Gi cave."
"Reliable pets, those Gi, if dumb," Carmine said.
Tifa held the potion bottle, about to pop the cork. She made as if to drink and sure enough, Carmine charged, blades extended. Tifa sprang to her feet and kicked out, connecting with the Carmine's midsection. She fell back with an "Oof!" popped back to her feet and they circled, two wolves searching for an opening. Jab. Dodge. Swipe.
Another blast of fire, this one hot enough to scorch her exposed flesh. Tifa wheeled in time to avoid the next Carmine rush. A smoky smell touched her nostrils, the smell of burning fabric, and -
"My hair!" Tifa beat on the end of the long, bundled strands, enough to get the fire out but knowing her hair would require a major cut. Carmine slashed in again but Tifa snaked out a foot and tripped her. She turned her attention to Hamm, who began powering up another maddening Fire spell. Tifa rushed him. He tried to draw his sword but she stepped in close and pounded him with a flurry of blows, driving him back against the limo where he slumped, spent.
"Lie down and stay down you swine!"
Tifa whirled to find Carmine and Cloud facing off, blades ready. Finally, a chance to drink her potion. Meanwhile, something slammed into the far truck. What? Wait.
"Vincent?"
"Come on, you fight like a choirboy," Carmine said. "I have a gift for you. I think you'll love this." She touched a red materia. "Palmer's Terror!"
Palmer? The fat guy who got hit by a -
An air horn startled Tifa, who turned to see an onrushing truck. No ordinary truck: from its grille of chrome teeth, a snake tongue flicked across its bubble windows, which opened to spew a gout of exhaust along with its next horn blast.
Tifa yelped and vaulted onto the roof of the limo, but not fast enough to avoid a clip from the demon truck. An instant later she lay supine in the dirt, watching Cloud struggle to his feet behind the calm Carmine.
"Not smart enough to stay down? Eat my Spiritual Hammer." Carmine touched the mystery lavender materia. Above Cloud, a massive silver mallet took shape, spinning full circle before smashing onto that spiky bird's nest he called hair. Cloud managed to deflect the brunt of it with his sword but he sank to the ground, his hairdo squashed like flattened dandelions.
Tifa pulled herself up and fell upon Carmine, who flung Tifa away like a dirty dishrag. Tifa hit the ground and lay still on her left side.
"As for you, I give you my Tears of Elysium."
Tifa's world darkened. Images reversed their colors, revealing a dark landscape dotted with pink rocks. Out of the hellish sky dripped salvos of ice-cold pain. Barely able to breathe, Tifa went rigid as each impact shot a bolt of agony through her body. Pound, pound, pound, like the world's worst migraine. Her hands became claws and tore at the earth, as her head squeezed tighter in its vise, until finally, after what seemed like hundreds of blows, the hail of pain stopped. In its wake, Tifa floated in a sea of dull aches. As long as she dared not move, she could bear it.
She heard the roar of an angry beast mixed with the crackle of lightning. She dimly saw Carmine's two bodyguards (Hamm back up again? Cripes.) dance a jig amidst the sparkles, though Carmine herself strode through the storm as if pushing aside a curtain of beads. The light show made Tifa's head burn.
"Why, if it isn't Vincent, Hojo's freak. Eat my Ax of Torment." Again the lavender materia glowed. Tifa caught a glimpse of an enormous glowing battle-ax. Confusion followed, a beast's scream of pain, though apparently it still stood because Carmine tumbled head over heels across Tifa's field of vision. The beast, an over-sized walking corpse with several deep wounds, stumbled into view. Carmine tried to jab with her wrist blades but her weapons bounced off its rocky skin.
Suddenly Tifa spotted another figure. Standing almost invisible in the shadow of the farthest truck, a tired young woman in cast-off clothing stared at the combatants as they jousted and parried. Tifa raised an arm and pointed, not realizing she had done so until it flopped back to the dirt. When Tifa looked again, the woman had gone. Imagination? Her head hurt worse than Vincent looked.
How could Raine, Cloud's mother, go walking around five years after she died? And yet, there she had stood. Just now.
Carmine found herself taking a beating now, almost pressed back against her limo. Inexplicably the beast changed tactics, loosing a flurry of impotent lightning bolts, which allowed Carmine to catch her breath long enough to say, "Missile of patience."
"What now?" Tifa moaned.
The lavender materia again: a glowing ballista emerged from the earth and fired a volley of bolts at the surprised beast, who staggered and grunted with each blow. Carmine ducked under Vincent's reach and summoned yet another White Wind, boosting her two helpers to their feet. Tifa realized now how maddening it must seem for enemies to fight their group when they had Aeris in their party. My, she could use Aeris right now.
The ballista vanished. The beast crumpled in on itself and melted into the cloaked figure of Vincent. Carmine barely gave him a second look.
"The world is full of freaks," she said. "Damn stupid Hojo. I'm always cleaning up his messes."
Hamm helped steady her while dusting off her suit. He gave Tifa a leer of victory.
"Shall I, sample the merchandise?" he said, his speech accented.
Carmine smacked him. "You'd do well to remember who wears the blades in this family. I need you to help with Stu." She reached down to retrieve the stray arm. "I told you," she told the one-armed man, "to pick up after yourself."
"Yes ma'am."
"Pay attention next time." She slapped his face with his disembodied hand.
"Yes ma'am."
"Now hold still."
"Yes ma'am."
"Hamm? Keep him from jerking."
Carmine held the arm up to Stu's body. Hamm helped her guide it into place. He held it there as if waiting for super-glue to set.
"Steady now," she said. "Steady." Her body stiffened as if in a trance. A lavender glow again began to swirl around her. "Blood Bridge."
Tifa heard a wet, ripping sound. A gout of something red spurted forth from Carmine's chest - with the woman's back to her, Tifa thankfully missed the details - and flew into Stu's ruined arm and shoulder. Bits of it spattered on Hamm as well. Tifa swallowed hard. Carmine staggered, if only a second.
"Damn," said Hamm, looking green himself. "Creeps me out when you do that."
Tifa looked away until her stomach settled. Glancing at Vincent, she saw him lying with his eyes open. His hand, his good hand, inched toward his materia.
"Now," Hamm said, "Can I take out the trash?"
"Yes, but save the girl for me. I intend to take my time becoming acquainted with her." She flicked her wrist blades twice for effect. "Intimately."
"Oh, yes ma'am." Hamm smirked at Tifa. "I'll just get poor Stu to rehab, shall I?"
Carmine ignored him. She turned around, looking over at Tifa. Smiling. She sauntered forward, a hip-swinging stride down down a fashion runway. In the air, she traced Tifa's body with the tip of a blade, biting her lip as if in thought.
Tifa lay immobile, wondering if she had enough energy for a quick summon, if even it would do any good. Perhaps a surprise jab to the throat? Except her arms lay leaden, barely any feeling in them. No, she would never expect it. Nor would Tifa.
"So, my pretty - " Carmine jumped as her cell phone chimed. With a grunt, she straightened and answered.
"Better be good." Pause. "Wow, really?" Pause. "Sighted? Coming our way? Okay, I'm a tad busy right now, can - now? But I'm just - you don't underst - I - yes sir. Right away sir."
She snapped the phone shut. "How can that moron be the president of the company!"
"Eh, boss?" Hamm said.
"Stu, after you stop crying about your arm, you're with me. Hamm, carry on here." She leaned down toward Tifa. "As for you . . . "
Carmine's kick almost drove her stomach out through her spine. Tifa gasped, unable to draw breath, when the next kick connected with her head. Finally, blessed blackness.