Another chapter is here.
Kazeshuriken: And more you shall see.
Andrew MacKenzie: True true.
Enjoy!
"Kweh!" cried out Crimson's chocobo as it twisted around and flapped its wings. The others had caught good chocobos, content with either preening themselves or being patted and complimented. Hers was a spoiled one, slightly more obese and longer than the others.
"You can have more when we're done." She wavered and then steadied herself atop it. The larger bird constantly jerked around while she was mounted on it, in order to coax more Gyashl Greens out of her before it would behave. "Honestly, you've already eaten more than twice the others. Isn't that enough?"
Evidently not, considering it used its flexible neck to crane around and jab at her foot with its beak.
"Hey!" She pulled her foot back, thankful she had gotten a pair of ankle-high boots before they left Kalm. Her glare at her mount shifted towards Aerith and Tifa when she heard giggling. "It's not funny."
"Kweh!" Another peck and jerk. "Kweh, kweh!"
"Fine, you win!" She reached into a pouch, grabbed a handful of the foul-smelling greens, and tossed them on the ground in front of her. "There. Happy?"
Indeed, it trilled happily and settled down long enough to start pecking at the greens, tearing into them and taking them into its gullet.
"Spoiled bird," she mumbled under her breath as thoughts of Chocobo Jerky came to mind. While she had never thought ill of them before, this one had earned her ire. Not to mention they would probably be able to eat off this one for a good two weeks with how plump it was.
"Are you sure you don't want to trade?" Cloud asked, sitting stride his own chocobo. Its feathers were somewhat darker, marking it as older than the others, and it carried both him and their supplies tied on its back. There was just a note of concern in his voice as Cloud continued. "We could probably get another if we wait long enough."
She shook her head. "No, this one will have to do. For all of the stubbornness and gluttony it has, it's the only one that can and will let Red XIII ride on it. Besides, we're too far from where they gather and we've wasted enough time. I just need it to behave long enough to get us to the mine entrance."
At present, the party of five stood at the edge of the marshlands that dwelled between them and the entrance to the Mythril Mine. They had gotten their chocobos using the Chocobo Lure Materia and then practiced riding around under Mog's guidance before the summoning dissipated back into its materia. They were all set to go into the water now.
"Remember, we stay in the shallows of the marsh," Crimson told the party as Red XIII leapt behind her, onto the plump mount. It squawked in surprise. "Their legs won't be bothered by so little water and they can move faster. We'll take it at an easy pace at first to avoid wearing them out, but the moment we run into trouble we go full throttle."
Cloud's gently prodded the underside of his chocobo with his heel. Being an older one that had been ridden before, at least according to Mog, it interpreted the signal to move correctly and waded into the water.
"Are you ready?" Aerith asked her mount, a younger and bold one. It cocked its head and ruffled its wings just a bit, puffing up its feathers in the process. She stroked its head gently in turn. "Then let's go."
Tifa ushered hers to follow, the coarse feathers grating against her legs as it strutted with purpose and confidence. She took up a position next to Aerith, and both of them were behind Cloud, leaving Crimson and Red XIII to take up the rear.
The water in the marshes was dingy brown, sparse with grove trees that stood out proudly reaching for the sun as it shone down. There was little-to-no movement aside from the chocobos as they advanced at a gentle pace, not over-taxing themselves while their riders kept their eyes and ears out for any looming threat. They had gone maybe a full fifteen minutes before Red XIII bristled.
His ears caught the sound of the water around them being disturbed, displaced as a number of creatures lurked beneath the two feet deep murky water. They were closing in fast from the rear. He sounded the alarm. "They're coming!"
"Move!" Cloud ordered, taking his word for it. He bade his chocobo to run faster, its powerful legs splashing the water furiously as its talons sank into the silt and then pushed out, scattering clumps as it darted forward. Tifa's and Aerith's did the same, keeping pace with his.
Being unmotivated or unaware, Crimson's own chocobo continued to drag its feet despite its rider's protests until it spotted the first of the Midgar Zoloms closing in. They were all snakelets judging by their size of three or so feet, relatively young but just as deadly in the numbers they boasted. It quickly decided that it would be in its best interest to go faster and took off just like the rest.
"Oh sure, now you can run faster!" Crimson braced tighter as it sped forward, taking a glance behind her to see the snakelets still tailing them. She entertained the thought of using the Lightning Materia but decided against it while they were traversing the water too. The conducted electricity would likely injure all of them, if not outright kill.
Red XIII, fortunately, had no such qualms. He growled as he used the Fire Materia that he had on his headdress, next to the one they had labeled Enemy Skill, and spat out a ball of fire that slammed into the water behind them, causing it to erupt in spouts of steam as it instantly boiled and evaporated. The snakelets responded by slowing until out of his range and then started spreading out.
Cloud caught a splash coming from his left and pulled out his new sword. He swung the blade at an angle and cleaved at one the larger ones that flung itself out of the water. Green and purple visceral fluids painted the blade and his mount, which shrieked in alarm. He spotted another soon after. "Tifa, your right!"
"I know!" Tifa raised her hand and called forth the power of the Ice Materia she had on her. White and blue frost gathered on her palm and condensed into a sphere. She let the spell fly to her right and a patch of the marshwater quickly froze over on contact, catching three of the younger serpents pursing her and forcing the rest to deviate for precious few seconds.
Aerith used her new staff as a bludgeon, trying to discourage them from closing in. The weapon wasn't made to be used single-handedly, so it was ineffective in doing any real damage. But her chocobo made up for the lackluster defense by being quick on its feet.
The next five minutes were tense as they continued to stave off the attack. Fire, ice, and steel dwindled their numbers and held them at bay. But the snakelets refused to simply leave and seek out easier prey, continuously pursing them without rest.
"Why the hell are they so aggressive!?" Tifa asked out loud as she fired another Ice spell. It hit the water at the base of a thin tree whose roots pushed against the bottom of the marsh. Rime quickly covered it and sank deep into its core, leaving it brittle enough that the wood broke apart and collapsed.
"Something's not right!" Red XIII spoke. "There's bloodlust here, enough that they are willing to throw away their lives mindlessly!"
A loud and shrill cry of agony sounded from chocobo that Aerith was on and it stumbled as one of the serpents managed to sink its fangs just above its leg. The snakelet thrashed around, tearing further and further into the muscles with every motion it made. The young chocobo couldn't bear with it and warbled in anguish, tripping as the leg gave out and throwing its rider forward.
Aerith reached out, grasping desperately for anything to break her fall. A strong hand grasped her wrist and swung her in a pendulum motion so that she landed onto the back of another galloping mount. Aerith clung to Tifa's waist tightly and let out a shuddering breath while the death throes of the chocobo filled the air.
It was heartrending to listen as it was torn into bits, yet none of them could cover their ears as it struggled to regain its legs, flapped its wings, thrashed around—doing anything it could to drive off the ravenous creatures biting it endlessly. Blood quickly painted its once-golden plumage from the numerous wounds. Then the cries stopped entirely and the only movement came from the still-biting Midgar Zoloms.
"I'm so sorry," Aerith whispered to her fallen mount as she tightened her arms around Tifa and rested her head against her back. The tears that followed as the sound of flesh being apart and devoured grew distant stained her savior's white shirt.
"Their numbers have been reduced somewhat," Red XIII noted, watching as some of the marsh-dwelling serpents doubled back and congregated at the large bundle meat and feathers left behind.
"We'll be more likely to get away then, right?" Crimson asked, the tone of her voice cold yet shaking as she did so. She tried to look at it as a silver-lining, and they needed all the reprieves they could get considering the sheer numbers they were dealing with. If the chocobos became completely exhausted they'd be overrun in no time.
"No," he said bluntly. "There are still too many coming, and our strength is wavering. We won't make it at this rate."
Crimson it gritted her and then concentrated on the Sense Materia she had mastered. Information flood her mind—water depth, speed, stamina, weaknesses—and she took all of that information to come up with a plan.
"Use that missile spell as far ahead of us as you can where the water is deepest!" She ordered Red XIII. "Lockhart, use the highest level Ice spell you can and fire it after the missiles—create a platform the chocobos can land on!"
Red XIII unleashed the Enemy Skill: Matra Magic and missile-constructs flew forward into the depths ahead, rupturing into small explosions beneath the surface that made the water rise and mixed with loose silt. Ice engulfed it before it could settle, freezing it solid in an instant. The frozen section of water rose as the displaced water that hadn't been caught by the spell rushed in beneath it and filled the pockets of air to push it up.
The chocobos leapt on top of the three-foot high mini-glacier and clawed furiously to stop as they slid into the center of it. Crimson then unleashed the Bolt 2 spell into the water past the edge. Tendrils of lighting spread like the forked branches of ever-growing trees and covered the surface of the water. The edges of the ice platform crackled and collapsed as the lighting tongues stroked at the edges, unable to climb it.
The few snakelets that managed to jump out of the water and loitered on the edges of the platform fell with the chunks of ice and were electrocuted as well. The electricity eventually faded and charred corpses floated up in the water around them. They were bloated from the gases released as their inner organs boiled within their skin.
The party watched through the shimmering waves of heat rising from the dirty water in ribbons for any signs of life. Nothing emerged after a solid minute. They dismounted only for the chocobos to huddle together, cooing softly among themselves.
"What's wrong with them?" Crimson asked. Even hers, the stubborn thing that it was, had joined the others for the strange ritual.
"They're mourning for the one that I was on," Aerith explained, regret carried in her voice. It was clear she blamed herself. "It was the youngest… If I had something else I could have used, or did a better job…."
"You did the best you could." Tifa set a hand on her shoulder in an act of comfort. Aerith turned and laid her head on the other girl's shoulder instead. She resorted to patting her on the back. "It was a bad situation all around. Right, Red?"
Red XIII nodded. "We were warned they would be aggressive, but not to that extent or in such numbers. One loss was fortunate, and the last attack likely left too many dead for another assault of that nature. Things are much more likely to proceed smoothly now."
"Then do we let them rest and mourn for now, or press ahead?" Cloud asked, looking over their supplies mounted on the rear of the chocobo he had ridden. "The Weapon Shopkeeper said there was a pair of adults bigger than those were. I doubt they'll keep away for long with all of their children dead."
Crimson ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "We need to time to catch our breath and replenish our own strength, just to be sure. We'll feed them, give them ten minutes to rest their legs, and then we keep going."
[-oOo-]
Reeve Tuesti was careful as he stepped around the debris that littered the ground of the Sector 6 Park. It hadn't been more than a few days since the plate fell now, and he had come down to assess the damage done personally to get an accurate estimation of what would be needed to rebuild it. Provided that wasn't an option, he could also see about renovating the park or the Sector 5 Slums to house those who had lost their homes long-term.
Some part of him recognized the futility of it. The President before had made no effort in repairing the Sector 6 Plate after the previous incarnation of AVALANCHE's actions, nor the Mako Reactors due to the current one's actions, and had personally approved of the destruction of the entirety of Sector 7. If he had to be frank, he was glad the cheap, heartless bastard was dead.
Would his son be any different? Likely not when it came to the common folks of Midgar. But Reeve could still try to give something back after all that they had taken.
He had dressed down, obviously. It wouldn't do for someone in a pressed suit and tie to come down to the slums at the moment. He settled for a shirt and hooded jacket to conceal his face. He also had a gun, just in case he ran into monsters.
Reeve was careful not to disturb the memorial of sorts that had been built around the gate that had once led to Sector 7. It was composed of small things—candles, flowers, pictures, toys—each signifying the loss of a life that had done nothing to warrant their deaths. More proof of Shinra and AVALANCHE's sins.
He was about done when he saw a military vehicle drive through the gates leading to the Wall Market. That was strange. He decided to investigate and entered through the gates before they could close.
The vehicle drove past a crowd before coming to a stop at where Don Corneo's manor was. There had been talk about him going missing, but nothing proven. If that was true then, given the size of it, his manor could be used as a shelter. Reeve made a note of it for later.
To his surprise, Heidegger emerged from the vehicle with a few infantrymen while carrying a megaphone. The armed men stood at attention beside him as he raised it up and used it like a siren, sounding throughout the Wall Market and gathering a crowd. He waited for the crowd to thicken before he spoke.
"Proud Citizens of Midgar!" he announced. "To those of you who are unaware, I am the head of the Public Safety department of Shinra!"
The crowd began to murmur to themselves, with Reeve catching a number of opinions and complaints. Why was he here now? Why didn't they come sooner? What was Shinra doing about Sector 7?
Heidegger silenced them with the siren again before continuing. "As you know, several days ago, both Sector 7 and Shinra Headquarters came under attack by the violent terrorist organization known as AVALANCHE. In pursing their evil ambitions, they have killed countless men and women, including the good folks who served to keep the peace. This has delayed our response for the time being."
More murmurs, some doubts but most willing to believe. People needed someone to blame, and few served better than a terrorist organization. Just like that he could wipe the affair clean off his hands.
"We are working to solve this and aid will come, but it will take time. However, for those willing to enlist into the Public Safety forces, not only will you be able prevent such tragedies from occurring again, but you'll also be able to provide for your families in these troubling times. We're recruiting any and all able-bodied men—"
Reeve's lips pursed thin as he continued to listen. Heidegger was taking advantage of the very people he consigned to death in order to fill in their depleted ranks. The fact that he could say that with a straight face left Reeve feeling disgusted and he turned to leave.
"Ah!" Only to bump into a woman and knock her grocery bag out of her hand. "Oh dear."
"My apologies, madam." He kneeled down and gathered the groceries that had been spilled, mostly canned goods. Nothing had been broken or ruptured, which was a relief. "Hmm… I should pick up a few cans myself. My mother's been stockpiling them since the reactor incident and I haven't seen her in some time."
"You should visit her as soon as possible then," the woman said. "A mother always misses their child once they've left. Few things are more painful than waiting for someone to return, and fear that they never will. I speak from personal experience."
"Perhaps I will then." He stood and handed her the bag. "Please accept my apologies again, Miss…"
"Gainsborough," she said, with a pleasant smile on her face. "Elmyra Gainsborough."