Chapter 47: The Elevator
RED XIII AND DISTEFANO
Hojo stood fearless in front of Red XIII and DiStefano.
"Hojo!" Red XIII exclaimed. "We killed you! Twice!"
"Still that naive," Hojo sighed. "You have no idea of my true nature."
"In the contrary," Red XIII said. "We find it quite spiteful."
Hojo then began to advance on them.
"I would back off if I were you," DiStefano warned.
"I think not!" Hojo dismissed.
She fired a bullet straight into Hojo's chest.
Hojo did not even flinch.
"It's an android!" Red XIII exclaimed.
DiStefano then fired into Hojo's forehead.
He began to jerk, and collapsed to his knees. His eyes became red.
"I got its CPU!" DiStefano announced. "Even androids have brains!"
"Don't think this is the end!" Hojo taunted. "I am…..already……everywhere!"
With that, he exploded.
For a moment, the two of them stared at the pile of rubble.
"I don't get it," DiStefano said. "I thought Hojo was a human."
"He was," Red XIII explained. "But then we found that he downloaded his consciousness into a computer. We destroyed it, but it's obvious that we just encountered another copy."
"What did he mean, 'everywhere?'" DiStefano then inquired.
"Well," Red XIII replied, "we encountered him in a temple on the Southern Continent. I just wonder how many more of him are there."
"One seems bad enough," DiStefano pointed out.
Just then, a door slid open behind them, revealing the elevator down.
"I guess we made it," Red XIII said.
BARRET AND JESSIE
The Black Widow stood there, seemingly ready to attack.
"Who sent that here?!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Why, me, of course," announced a familiar voice.
Captain Mast was standing behind the deadly contraption.
"Captain Mast," Jessie greeted.
"You're that little bitch who got drunk and freed Sephiroth," Captain Mast taunted. "You sure put the world at risk."
"Sorry," Jessie replied sarcastically as she pulled out her cell phone and began typing.
"What are you, a teenager?" Captain Mast demanded. "Can't you pay attention."
"Of course I can," Jessie retorted. "I'm just choosing to ignore you."
"Fine," Captain Mast sighed. "I'll just have this Black Widow blast you all over the place. Pieces of your intestines will be everywhere."
"I know you intimidate a lot of my friends," Jessie said. "But not me. I'm not the chick to mess with."
"Neither am I," Captain Mast retorted. "But, either way, it looks like-"
The Black Widow suddenly exploded.
Captain Mast screamed at the top of her lungs.
"What the hell happened?" Barret demanded. "What hit it?!"
"Nothing," Jessie replied. "I downloaded a hack app and ordered the Black Widow to overload its circuits."
"You blew that up with your cell phone?!" he exclaimed.
"These things are capable of anything these days!" Jessie said triumphantly.
She then noticed the two of them were alone again.
"And where the hell's Captain Mast?!" she demanded.
"She's gone," Barret replied. "As always. She's pretty good at escaping."
"Damn," she sighed. "No wonder she's Rufus' boyfriend."
Just then, an otherwise-invisible door slid open on the back wall, revealing a large elevator, along with Red XIII and DiStefano.
VINCENT AND LUCRECIA
The prime Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng stood blocking any way forward, opposite of Lucrecia and the fallen Vincent.
"So," Reno taunted. "The mighty Vincent has fallen."
"It looks like he's really dead this time," Rude added. "Funny how fate repeats itself."
"He's not dead," Elena disputed. "One of the flowers got him."
"Elena," sighed Tseng, "must you spoil all the fun?"
"Relax," Elena insisted. "Our fun won't be spoiled once we feed him to the Neptune man-trap."
Lucrecia sighed.
"I really miss the 0007 Elena," she said. "She's gained her senses."
"A twenty-five-year-old wife and mother?" groaned the prime Elena. "Forget it!"
"Better than a thirty-three-year-old virgin," taunted Lucrecia.
"Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson," Elena snapped as she charged at Lucrecia.
Lucrecia defended herself as best she could. But Elena, as a Turk, was trained for such combat. She quickly seized control, and flipped Lucrecia on her back.
"That's a warning," Reno announced. "She could have stepped on your sternum and pieced your heart."
"And I wanted to," Elena added.
"But," Reno continued, "we'll let you off with a warning under two conditions."
"One," Rude began, "you leave this place without a fuss. Two, you leave all your weapons. And him."
"Not happening," Lucrecia declined. "I may not be perfect in the head, but I'm not going to abandon the man that I love."
It was only then Lucrecia noticed that a door behind the Turks had opened.
"That's a very unfortunate decision," Elena said. "Time to snap this bitch's neck!"
Just then, a hand suddenly appeared on both Elena and Rude's heads, and clashed them both together.
Both Elena and Rude dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Tseng turned, too late, to see Yuffie standing next to him.
She knocked him unconcious with an uppercut front kick.
Reno then began to attack, only to be knocked unconscious himself by an uppercut back kick.
"Thanks!" Lucrecia said.
"Don't mention it," Yuffie assured her. "I had worse. Like Azul."
"Azul's here?!" Lucrecia exclaimed.
"Was," Yuffie corrected.
She then directed her attention to the fallen Turks.
"They'll wake up half an hour to an hour," she continued.
Vincent remained unconscious.
"What happened to him?" Yuffie asked nervously.
"He breathed in flower pollen that knocked him out," Lucrecia replied sadly.
"Is….he…." Yuffie stammered, fearing the worst.
"No," Lucrecia quickly dismissed. "He'll wake up in a couple of hours."
"But," Lucrecia continued, "he can't stay here. He's completely defenseless."
"What about them?" Lucrecia asked, pointing to the fallen Turks.
"They'll wake up," Yuffie replied. "Half an hour. Forty-five minutes, tops."
YUFFIE AND ZACK
"So," Azul greeted, "Rosso was captured."
"That's right," Yuffie announced as she folded her arms. "If you miss her, no need to worry. You'll be joining her shortly. Maybe you can even be cellmates during your life sentences.
"I think not," Azul dismissed. "Now, let the killing begin!"
"You picked the wrong girl to mess with!" Yuffie announced as she cracked her knuckles.
Without warning, Azul began to charge.
Zack immediately drew his sword and prepared to defend her, but Yuffie made the signal for him not to.
Azul, meanwhile, drew closer and closer.
Then, at the last possible moment, Yuffie slid under him and kicked him between the legs with all her might.
Azul howled and doubled over on the floor as Yuffie rose to her feet.
"Never mess with a ninja chick. She doesn't have no balls to kick," Yuffie said triumphantly.
Just then, Azul rose to his feet.
"This is how a battle should be," she said. "Don't you think so?"
"Not really," Yuffie dismissed. "You really need to know when to quit."
"Now feel my true strength," Azul taunted. "Feel the wrath of Azul the Cerulean!"
A bright white light surrounded him. When it dissipated, he had become the best that, unknown to Yuffie and Zack, had previously attacked the WRO Headquarters.
Yuffie was not intimidated.
"Toro! Toro!" she shouted. "I mean, pendejo! Pendejo!"
And then, Azul caught sight of Zack.
He was by the sealed door, with nowhere to run.
Azul began to charge.
Zack aimed his sword, though he knew it was no use against a beast like him.
In a few moments, it would all be over.
And then, Azul felt a nasty sting in his butt.
"Yoo-hoo!" called Yuffie.
He stopped, and turned around.
She had a shuriken in her hand, and realized she had gotten him with another one.
"Hey, fuckface!" she called.
Azul made a hideous noise and began to charge.
Yuffie disappeared around the corner.
She was then followed by Azul.
Zack frantically ran in the same direction, knowing Yuffie's ninja skills were no match for the creature. He darted as fast as he could, turning the corner and preparing for the worst.
There was Yuffie, pressing herself against the wall, with no escape.
Azul was charging toward her like made.
"Come here!" Yuffie growled. "Fight like a man!"
Azul continued to charge.
Closer and closer he drew.
Inside, Zack felt sick; there was no way to save his love. In a few moments, Azul would reach her. One hard butt would shatter her ribs and likely pierce her heart, killing her instantly.
Azul drew closer to the cornered Yuffie.
And then, Azul suddenly disappeared.
Zack skidded to a stop, and stood in confusion. He wondered why Azul would suddenly disappear into the floor like that. Then he heard a splash, and remembered.
Both Zack and Yuffie ran to the hole Azul had fallen through.
Azul, who had since reverted to his human form, began to swim toward the ladder.
And then, Azul screamed in agony.
"The nasties got him," Zack whispered.
Azul writhed and struggled in vain, screaming the whole time.
But, amongst the scream, he did manage to say one thing meaningful.
"Hail Weiss!"
Thirty seconds of screams and howls filled Yuffie and Zack's ears.
Then, Azul began to meaninglessly float.
He was dead.
Yuffie peered below; it was a Chironex Fleckeri that had done him in.
"See you in hell, you bastard," Yuffie announced triumphantly as the corpse disappeared into the abyss.
Just then, the door in the back slid open. Beyond the door was a huge elevator that could only lead to Deepground.
"We made it, babe!" she exclaimed as she turned to Zack and kissed him.
She then led him into the room with the elevator.
Moments later, Barret and Jessie appeared, along with Red XIII and DiStefano.
"Where's Vincent?" Red XIII asked. "And Lucrecia?"
Yuffie drew her attention to the door that was not open. She saw a button that read "OPEN" on it, and she pushed it. The door opened, and, before anyone could object, Yuffie disappeared through it.
Red XIII thought he heard Yuffie arguing.
DiStefano thought she heard the prime Turks.
Barret thought he heard people being kicked.
Jessie thought she heard several thuds.
Zack thought he heard Yuffie and Lucrecia talking.
Moments later, Yuffie and Lucrecia pulled an unconscious Vincent into the room.
"Is he okay?" Red XIII asked.
"He'll be fine," Lucrecia replied. "He'll wake up in several hours."
"What happened?" DiStefano asked.
"He went through a biodome and got sprayed by a flower," Yuffie replied.
She then noticed Zack seemed to have a limp with his right leg.
"And why are you limping?" Yuffie demanded. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Zack insisted.
"Bullshit," Yuffie disappeared. "Something is definitely up with your right leg."
"Nothing's wrong," Zack insisted.
"Show me," Yuffie commanded, "or I'll rip your pants off."
"I could live with that," he said.
"In front of everyone," she added.
Defeated, Zack rolled up his leg, revealing stringed red marks.
"You were stung," Yuffie observed. "Looks like the man-o-war got you."
"I'll be okay," he assured her. "Just some pee will fix it."
Yuffie sighed and put her hands on her hips.
"I'm not peeing on it," she dismissed. "You're dousing that in vinegar."
"There's probably some around here," Zack said sheepishly.
"You're going home," Yuffie commanded. "You're going to recover from that. Besides, Lucrecia needs help carrying Vincent back."
"But…" Zack began to protest.
"No buts!" Yuffie dismissed.
"Will you be okay?" he naturally asked.
"Don't doubt me because I'm a girl," Yuffie insisted. "I've got this."
Zack sighed, knowing he was beaten.
He kissed her goodbye.
He then picked Vincent up by the hands as Lucrecia picked him up by the feet.
They carried him out through the route Red XIII and DiStefano had taken.
Yuffie then turned to face Barret, Jessie, Red XIII, and DiStefano.
They all looked at her, waiting for their next command.
They all trusted her.
She was in charge now.
"Elevator to Deepground," she announced. "Going down."
Everyone stepped onto the elevator, and it began to descend.
"It's just the five of us now," Red XIII pointed out.
"In the original timeline, Jessie said, "there was only one. We got this."
"Honestly," Yuffie added, "I could use a small break from Zack."
Jessie gave her a concerned look.
"You're not breaking up with him again, are you?"
"No," Yuffie replied as she shook her head. "He just doesn't seem very supportive of my next quest."
"Your next quest?" Barret asked.
"After we take care of Deepground," Yuffie answered, "I plan to go and find my cousin, who's been missing for years. But every time I bring it up to Zack, he gives me this skeptical look, as if he's certain it's a lost cause."
There was a long silence. She had grown, in their perspective, from the petty sixteen-year-old thief they had first met three-and-a-half years ago. Now, she was a nineteen-year-old heroine.
"Is Miranda nice?" Red XIII asked.
"Most of the time," Yuffie replied.
And then, the elevator stopped.
"We're here," Yuffie announced.
