Chapter 33: The Invasion and the Damage Done

Vincent, Lucrecia, Zack, and Yuffie entered the main hall of the WRO headquarters to find three WRO soldiers exchanging fire with their Deepground counterparts. Vincent and Lucrecia quickly shot them dead.

They then made their way through the ruined foyer and into the basement, where Zack was able to dispatch several beasts with his buster sword.

After turning several corridors, the four of them happened upon two WRO soldiers stepping back and firing.

Vincent turned to see a monstrous, inhuman creature closing in on all fours.

"What the hell?" Vincent exclaimed.

"Azul," replied a female voice.

Vincent turned to see Shelke and Shalua standing behind him.

Azul, recognizing Vincent, began to charge.

Vincent and Lucrecia fired like crazy, but the bullets had no effect.

Shalua tried to attack Azul, but he knocked her to the ground.

"Shalua!" Vincent exclaimed.

A moment later, Vincent was knocked to the ground himself.

Then, Azul took a swipe, knocking Shelke to the ground as well.

Shelke quickly stood up again.

Azul took another swipe, but she managed to dodge it. A moment later, she cast a spell, and an energy field appeared around Azul.

"The extreme potency of this shield materia is comparable to that of your barrier field, Azul," she announced.

A blinding flash of light filled the room. When it subsided, Azul was human once more.

"Shelke?" demanded Azul. "Why do you stand in my way?"

"I had to protect myself," Shelke replied. "You were trying to kill me."

"Then now is the time," Azul announced.

He made another attempt to strike Shelke, but she dodged him all too quickly.

"You are no longer required," Azul announced.

"No longer?" inquired Shelke.

"You are no different from the others," Azul explained. Your weak body is nothing without Mako. Your only skill is collecting data from inside a virtual reality. It makes me sick to even think of you as a member of the Tsviets. Weiss has ordered your termination."

"Weiss?!" exclaimed Shelke.

"Your mission was to identify and locate the keeper of the Protomateria," Azul continued. "That is why we uploaded the doctor's data into your neural network. But now we no longer need it. And we cannot let it fall into the hands of the WRO. Your fate has been decided, Shelke. It is time for you to return to the planet."

Shelke cast the spell on Azul once more, stunning him.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her wrist; it belonged to Shalua.

"Vincent! Shelke!" she exclaimed as she led her sister away. "Let's get out of here!"

Shalua opened the nearest door.

Vincent passed through first.

"Let go of me!" Shelke demanded as she struggled to free her hand.

"I don't think so," Shalua dismissed. "We have ten years to catch up on. I'm not going to let this end here!"

Just then, the door began to close.

"Shalua!" Vincent exclaimed from the other side.

Shalua quickly braced the door with her prosthetic left arm.

The pressure from the door caused the arm to fire sparks, and Shalua let out a groan of pain; she would not be able to hold the door much longer.

"Why are you doing this?" Shelke asked.

"You can still get through," Shalua pleaded. "Go on."

Using almost all of her strength, Shalua thrust her sister through the doorway. She then tried to open the door using both arms, but it was no use.

"Shelke," she began as Azul approached from behind. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better sister."

Her prosthetic arm began to break.

"I'm sorry I let you suffer so long," she continued. "Vincent. Take care of her, will you?"

"Wait!" cried Vincent as he attempted to open the door, but it would not budge.

"Shelke," Shalua said, "I'm glad I was able to find you. And remember, I'll always love you."

With that, the door sealed shut.

Vincent pounded his hands on the sealed door.

"Why?" asked Shelke.

A pounding noise from the other side sounded the door.

A light brown fluid oozed from under the door.

"Why did she? Why?" continued Shelke. "Shalua."

The pounding noise sounded again.

This time, Vincent grabbed Shelke by the wrist and ran off.

LATER….

Sparks flew from the ceiling and the screen displayed static as Reeve sat dejected in the remains of his office.

"I'm so ashamed," he lamented. "I am supposed to be a hero of the Jenova War. But look at me."

"Don't take all the blame," Vincent assured him. "You're not thinking of giving up, are you? I used to be nothing but a stone in the river of time, but three years ago it was you and the others who taught me I had to move ahead."

"Vincent," sighed Reeve.

LATER….

Vincent looked over the regeneration tube. Inside lay the unconscious Shalua. She was seemingly hurt very badly by Azul.

Zack and Yuffie were also there, keeping vigil. Zack felt uneasy; it was very reminiscent for him of the time he was confined to a tube for four years.

"They say she won't wake up," Yuffie said sadly. "She suffered too much trauma to her head. Unless there's some kind of a miracle, she's not…"

Suddenly, a feeling of rage shot through her.

"Vincent!" she exclaimed as she slapped the ledge she was sitting on. "You were there! Why couldn't you save her?!"

"I'm sorry," Vincent apologized as he lowered his head.

"No," sighed Yuffie as she lowered her head. "I didn't mean to…."

Just then, Shelke walked in. She took one look at her fallen sister before looking at Yuffie.

"She was a fool," she said nonchalantly.

That did it.

Yuffie got up off the ledge she was sitting on, marched over to Shelke, and smacked her in the face.

"Keep her name out of your mouth! You have no right to call her that!" Yuffie snapped. "You don't know what...!"

Zack gently pulled her away.

"Why would she do something so...?" Shells asked herself.

Yuffie then stormed out of the room, with Zack following behind.

"Before," Vincent replied, "when I asked Shalua what she was searching for, she answered 'her reason to live.' It was you, Shelke. You were her reason to live."

"So?" Shelley retorted. "I don't understand how someone could give her own life for that of another. Do you understand, Vincent Valentine?"

"I can't answer for your sister," Vincent replied as he turned his head. "But…"

"But?"

"When a person has someone they care about that much, giving their life is sometimes the least they can do," Vincent explained. "And maybe that's what makes us human."

"Someone they care about," Shelley said aloud to herself.

"Although," Vincent said, "it seems like there are alot of people around me who don't need a reason to risk their lives for that of another."

"And are you…" began Shelke.

She walked toward him, and stumbled.

Vincent caughted her, and held her up.

Shelke slowly backed away.

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she turned to view her sister. "Why are her data fragments responding?"

Just then, Reeve walked into the room.

"Vincent," he said, "I agree with you. This is not the time for us to give up. But I need to know something. Those data files you and Lucrecia recovered from the President's Mansion; are you sure there were not any more?

"I'm sure," Vincent replied.

"I see," Reeve said.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked.

"Well, the Omega Report," Reeve answered. "The file was incomplete. To make any sense out of it, we are going to require the other half. If possible, I wanted to know more about our foe before we launched the attack on Midgar."

"Are you speaking of Dr. Lucrecia Crescent's findings?" Shelke interjected.

"Yes," Reeve answered in surprise. "But how did you...?"

"A large quantity of her mnemonic data fragments has been uploaded into my neural network," Shelke replied. "It was my prime directive to use this data to locate and retrieve the Protomateria. However, not only was the data incomplete, but part of her consciousness began interfering with my own thought processes. It was believed that the missing fragments may have been the reason for this. I can attempt to upload the WRO's files on the Omega Report. By combining it with the data I possess, you may obtain a clearer picture of what you will be up against. And perhaps I can regain control of my mind."

MEANWHILE…

Captain Mast stepped off the elevator into the penthouse apartment she shared with her boyfriend. She made her way down the hall before passing through the parlor and dining-room. She went into the kitchen and poured two glasses of champagne. Then, she went to the bedroom.

Rufus was there, dressed in a gold robe.

"I made it," she greeted.

In response, Rufus kissed her, and slightly lifted her off the ground.

Rufus then took the two glasses of champagne and made his way to the sofa, setting them on the coffee table.

He then sat down on the sofa, and signaled for his girlfriend to joined him.

Stripping to her underwear, Captain Mast walked over to the sofa slowly, allowing her boyfriend to enjoy the show. She sat down on the sofa and picked up her champagne glass. She took off her glasses and put them on the table.

"Rough day?" he asked.

"Not really," she assured him. "WRO Headquarters is in ruins."

"This week can't get any better," Rufus said. "Moles were in the President's Mansion on the Western Continent. Cloud and Tifa were nowhere to be seen."

"Do you think there's a coup going on?" asked the redhead as she took a sip of her champagne.

"It could be," Rufus agreed. "But who would end up in charge?"

"Possibly one of the Downings," Captain Mast suggested.

For a while, the two lovers sat on the couch, drinking their champagne.

"Hey Rufus," she began suddenly, "I love you."

Before he could respond, Captain Mast pressed her lips against his, sparking a flare of passion in between the two.

In response, Rufus reached under her panties and gently rubbed her butt.

"You sure know how to turn a girl on!" she giggled before kissing him hungrily.