Another chapter is here!
Enjoy!
There was a blink as Crimson and the others found themselves abruptly landing on top of a metal walkway, the floor of a corridor. Turning her brown eyes upwards revealed the ocean water, a dark layer illuminated by the lights that ran along the undersea pipe of glass and steel. They'd made it.
Having been there during her service with the Turks, she'd traversed the underwater corridor more than once. So she could personally attest that the sight was more majestic during the day, when you could see light breaking through from the ocean surface. Seeing it night though, it felt a lot more oppressive and nebulous. Not to mention there was no telling if something like another Bottomswell was lurking about.
"Am I the only one bothered by the fact that only a thin layer of glass is keeping us from sleeping with the fishes?" Yuffie asked as she stood in the center, as far away from the glass as she could get.
"I'm pretty sure they took into account how intense the water pressure is before they constructed it," Crimson said, recalling Yuffie's previous exploits involving the ocean and washing up around here. She probably wasn't fond of being this deep underwater after that.
Cait Sith backed up her statement to try and ease the younger girl's concerns. "This reactor in specific was geometrically designed so that the construction helps with the water pressure displacement, and the glass is actually harder when put under pressure. Short of a torpedo or powerful explosive of some kind, this segment alone won't break. And the other parts are designed to be sealed off in the event of a breach."
That didn't seem to have the effect that they were going for, considering how Yuffie still looked unnerved. "I still feel it would have been better if we popped up inside of the reactor, rather than outside in a giant water pipe."
"This was the closest I could get us safely," Aerith said. "Anymore and we could have overshot and ended up in the water, or in the pipeline where the reactor is pulling from the Lifestream. That wouldn't have ended well for any of us."
That last jump did feel a lot sloppier near the end, the former Turk thought to herself as she looked over to see Aerith winded and holding a hand to her head. This was as far as she could carry them, so it would have to do. She cleared her throat to get the rest of their attention. "We'll split up here and proceed with the mission."
"Are we going up top?" Yuffie asked, doing little to hide hope in her voice at the prospect.
Crimson shook her head. "No, I'll need you, Vincent, and Aerith with me to deal with the bomb and restraining this Shelke Rui person down below. The others will go deal with the Airship and Rosso… though someone should also slip inside to disable the cannon so they can't shoot it down. Ideally without being caught."
Cait Sith jumped up and down with its hand in the air to volunteer. "I'll do it. I have access to the blueprints and my plush body allows me to move around easier. Even if I'm left behind, I have replacement bodies as well."
"Cid, a moment?" Aerith reached into her pocket before they could leave and approached the pilot, who had his polearm slung over his shoulder. She handed over Phoenix's Summoning Materia. "Phoenix would be best in the hands of someone who takes to the skies as much as you."
He took it from her grasp and gave it a look in the light before shelving it in one of his jacket pockets. "You don't push yourself either, you hear?"
"Alright then, let's hurry," Cloud ordered. As Tifa, Nanaki, Cid, Cait Sith, and Barret turned towards the direction of the elevator leading up to the surface and the main base, Crimson found herself feeling uncertain as she watched Cloud prepare to leave. It was a weight, pressing down on her heart.
"Cloud," she called, reaching out for him. Her hand came short and pulled back as he turned. "You and the others be careful. I don't want to lose anyone else to Shinra or Deepground."
Cloud nodded his head once. "Same goes for you." Then he turned around and headed off with the others, their walk turning into a run as they decided to quicken their pace towards the elevator going upwards.
Sighing softly, Crimson took a breath to steel herself before turning to her party and heading off towards the other elevator. Yuffie couldn't get into it soon enough, practically relieved to be away from the sight of the dark depths. Once they were all inside, she pressed the button and they began their descent with the bubbling within the decorative displays resounding within the elevator car.
In the brief moment before they were no doubt onset by enemy forces, Crimson adjusted the materia on her bangle and Rekka while Vincent did the same with his gun. In contrast, Yuffie was guardedly whispering something in Aerith's ear. No guesses as to what that was about, given the slight smile Crimson could spy.
At least it was with someone who already knew about how I felt, Crimson thought as the elevator came to a stop. She gestured for them to hide against the panels to the side as the door opened, giving the appearance that the car was empty to all those outside, as a safety precaution. However, a peek outside into the walkway over the submarines revealed that no one was around.
Vincent broke cover and stepped onto walkway. The sound of his footfalls against the metal should have been like a beacon to anyone there. But when there was no response, he lowered his gun. "It's clear."
Crimson got a bad feeling and triggered Sense as she filed out with the others. Her eyes took in the details of their seemingly abandoned surroundings, until she spotted a blotch of scarlet on the railing near the entrance to the corridor. She touched it and felt it was still wet, adding to the suspicions nested in her mind. Then she grabbed onto the railing next to it to see that it was the right size for a bloody palm, which only served to confirm her fears that Shelke had already beaten them there.
"I hear something faint from further inside," Vincent said. "Sounds like gunfire, and there's the scent of human fat being burned."
"We need to hurry." Crimson released the railing and ran for the corridor. The others followed her until they came across the monitoring room, just outside the reactor chamber. Bullet casings and scorch marks served as evidence of battle with an intruder, but there was surprisingly little blood from the corpses while the automatons were melted where they were cut.
"There," Vincent said, pointing to the door leading to the reactor chamber as it slid open. A body fell back with a thud and near-silent wheeze. It was a Shinra Troop, a smoldering section of flesh where something hot had cauterized the entry and exit wound. He was still alive, but Crimson gave him less than a minute depending on circumstances.
"There's the bomb!" Yuffie gestured ahead to the point where the walkway met the reactor. A device was planted there, with the Huge Materia inside it. "The timer isn't running. Maybe we can disconnect it now."
Crimson's Sense picked up a shift in the air as the kunoichi made her way towards it. Something was moving fast towards her. "Yuffie, stop!"
"Why—" Her question was cut off as the sound of gunfire rang out. Vincent had opened fire, sending a bullet over Yuffie's shoulder, only to be smashed out of the air by something invisible ahead of her. Yuffie immediately halted in her tracks and jumped backwards, landing on the railing in an alarmed stance with her weapon in front of her, as a Bolt spell launched from Crimson's outstretched hand snaked through the air and hit that very same spot.
Sparks sprayed as tendrils of electricity wormed their way across the invisible figure until something sparked and their opponent blinked into view. It was the same girl from the photo standing before them, only with her eyes burning gold and dressed in a Deepground uniform that had a breastplate and holsters for the weapons in her hands. They were some kind of energy sabers constrained within an electromagnetic field, from what Crimson could peg.
"Perceptive," the red-haired girl said in a voice that lacked emotion.
"Shelke Rui is your name, isn't it?" Crimson said cautiously, carefully judging the situation. The bomb hadn't been set yet. If they could get close enough to take her out with the sedatives, then the mission was over. "You don't want to do this."
"I will carry out my mission," she said, standing between them and the bomb. "Nothing will get in my way."
"That bomb is designed to pull mako from the surroundings and crystallize it," Crimson warned her. "The yield encompasses a great deal of the coast and against someone like you, its instant death. Heidegger's using you as a disposable pawn to kill Rufus."
There was a pause of sorts, and a slight raise of her brows at that. For a moment, Crimson hoped that would stop her. But then her eyes settled in resignation. "…Even so, nothing else matters in my duty as a Deepground Officer. If my death means I will accomplish my mission, then so be it."
"It would make your sister sad to hear that," Aerith said as she stepped from behind Crimson to address the Tsviet directly. "If we have to tell her that you chose to kill yourself and everyone in Junon because Heidegger ordered it, she'll be devastated. Do you want that?"
Those molten-toned eyes turned to the last of the Cetra. "I do not have a sister."
"Her name is Shalua Rui," Aerith continued, using the information that Reeve gave them in an attempt to sway the girl from activating the bomb. "She's your older sister and she's been looking for you for the last seven years after Shinra took you. Even now, she clings to the hope that she can see you again."
"…Has it been seven years since they took me away?" Her tone held a note of emotion in it this time as she slightly lowered the EM sabers, crossed from where the lightning had struck and shorted out her cloaking. "I remember that they said I had potential, back then."
"But it was a lie, right?" Aerith asked. "To Shinra potential is something they can simply use to benefit them. I can't count the number of times I've heard Hojo speak of the potential my birthmother and I had as he made us suffer. It was the same for you, wasn't it?"
"The difference is that you escaped from your captivity, while I did not," Shelke said, her EM sabers going inert to reveal her eyes to be a shade of mako blue. "There was no one to help me escape as they manipulated my mind and tore who I was to shreds in order better serve them. No one to stop them as their scientists left me in a body that remains that of a child."
"And I'm sorry for that," Aerith said. "But we can help you now, if you'll let us. We can take you somewhere they won't be able to harm you further. You'll be able to start a new life, working to regain everything you lost."
"….Even if what you say is true, my body cannot survive without daily mako treatments that they provide." She stepped back towards the bomb, her eyes narrowing in the process. "I have nothing left but Deepground. I will carry out my mission!"
It was clear that the negotiations had broken down, so Vincent opened fire with two rounds as Yuffie leapt in with the shuriken that she'd taken from home and swung for the Tsviet. Before either could hit, a protective casing shrouded her like solidified light. The defense spell shielded her as the bullets were smashed by their impact with the invisible wall and the blades of Yuffie's shuriken scratched at it.
The EM sabers flickered to life again as Shelke swung the sabers for Yuffie once more. Coming in from both a vertical and horizontal direction before the kunoichi could react, after her attack was rebuffed, the only thing that stopped her from losing her head was Aerith's spell-work as the skin-tight wrapping of a barrier intercepted the attack. Even then, Shelke kicked Yuffie hard enough that her back slammed into the railing of the walkway and then cut through the railing to the right and left of her.
The section of railing that Yuffie was on gave out. Vincent moved towards the ledge and grabbed hold of her with his gauntleted hand to save her from helplessly plummeting to her death at the bottom of the reactor. But the opening allowed for Shelke to activate the bomb and the timer flickered to life with the detonation pending five minutes and counting.
Crimson flung her Rekka with the Destruct Materia equipped. The barrier around the Tsviet shattered on contact, but the blade didn't pierce her skin. The former Turk followed up with another Bolt spell, only for the sabers to shield the girl from it. She pulled back her Rekka with the attached wire as Vincent finished pulling Yuffie back up when an alarm rang out.
"What now?" Crimson turned around to see that the near-dead Shinra troop had pulled himself over to the console in the monitoring room and triggered it before all the tension left his body at that moment, causing him to go limp. "Damn it!"
"She's getting away," Yuffie yelled as she got to her feet, pointing to Shelke running off to where the walkway would lead to the submarine dock.
"You two go after her!" Crimson ordered, tossing a sedative and her Destruct Materia to Vincent. "Aerith and I will stay here and try to disarm it!"
Vincent grabbed them both and then nodded before running off after Yuffie, who had already given chase down the walkway after the Tsviet.
"I don't know how much help I'll be in disarming this thing," Aerith said as she followed Crimson to the device and stood over the former Turk. Then the sound of heavy footfalls and lumbering wheels approaching from where they'd just left. She turned to find that some kind of mechanical robot with spiked maces for hands was approaching them, and raised a defensive wall as it launched them at the pair.
"That guard activated the security system," Crimson explained, passing back her Thunder Materia to Aerith. "I need you to protect me until either I'm done or the timer reaches the minute mark and we need the backup plan."
"What backup plan?" Aerith asked as she placed the materia into a slot of her Princess Guard and aimed it at the Guardian robot. The resulting Bolt 2 spell let loose a roar as it smashed into the machine and launched it back through the doorway. The sound of screeching metal followed as it crashed into another oncoming security machine, tongues of electricity worming across their frames.
"You'll teleport it as far out into the sea as you safely can," Crimson said as she pried open the panel and looked at the underlying mechanisms before huffing.
"I can't teleport something like that on its own," Aerith said.
"But if I'm holding it then you can, the same way that we don't come out naked every other time." She looked up briefly to see the look on Aerith's face at the suggestion and then turned her attention back to the bomb. "I know it's not ideal, but we can't let Hojo and Heidegger succeed here."
[-oOo-]
"Get back here!" Yuffie called out, anger lacing her voice as she ran.
Not at the embarrassment of needing to be saved twice from nearly being killed by the girl she was chasing—though that certainly did add to it. No, her anger was because the girl had chosen to doom the people of Junon, including Priscilla. Even when they gave her a chance to walk away from that sort of life, she threw it back in their faces.
The red-haired girl looked over her shoulder for a brief moment as Yuffie cleared the walkway. Then she kicked off the ground to jump back towards her pursuer. Wordlessly, and with a practiced efficiency, Shelke swung the EM sabers around to take off Yuffie's head again in a decapitating strike.
This time, Yuffie was prepared. She fell into a roll, allowing the swing to go over her head before getting to her feet. In retaliation, she lunged and tackled Shelke to the ground while perched on top of her abdomen. Raising her Magic Shuriken up, she brought it down like a guillotine.
The Tsviet managed to curl her knees up and thrust them into Yuffie's unprotected back hard enough to send her rolling forward. Yuffie hit her head on landing, dazing her long enough for Shelke to try and stab her as she was regaining her bearings. That was when a serpentine bolt of lightning struck the red-haired girl with a flash, the impact so close that it stung Yuffie's ears and the scent of ozone filled her nose as it sent the Tsviet crashing into the submarine nearby.
"Don't rush in like that," Vincent said as he approached her, lowering his gauntleted-hand from where tendrils of electricity crackled from his own Thunder Materia. He pulled out his gun and then pulled the trigger, only for the bullet to be blocked as the Tsviet used one of her EM sabers to cut it down.
Yuffie got back into the fight as Vincent leapt out of the way of the incoming slash and then used her Poison Materia to fire a Bio 2 spell. The maleficent, green glob of poison came into existence above Shelke's head and then descended. It should have doused her in the bane-liquid and intoxicated the Tsviet down to her core, but a spherical shell of protection from her Shield Materia protected Shelke as it quickly evaporated while she got to her feet and came for the kunoichi.
Vincent stepped in front of the path and then triggered the Destruct Materia slotted into his gun. Channeling the power of it down the barrel of his gun as he pulled the trigger twice, it rode on the first bullet and shattered the protective sphere around Shelke. The second nailed her square in her chest, stilling her charge. "Now!"
"Got it!" Yuffie used the opening to grab an Ice Materia from her pouch and triggered it with a jolt through her mind, gathering frost into her hand and flinging it at the stunned Tsviet. The ball of condensed cold exploded against the slender frame of the girl, shorting out the EM sabers as she was encompassed in white rime and ice.
It wouldn't hold her for more than a second. That much was evident from how cracks started to form in the ice. So Vincent followed up by delivering a kick straight to her head from the side, breaking the ice entirely while sending her to the dock's floor with a pained cry.
Shelke bounced back to her feet, ignited her EM sabers again, and cut through Yuffie's second attempt at freezing her. The sphere of condensed cold turned into water that splashed against her breastplate, leaving Yuffie to click her tongue in disappointment. Their combined efforts still took its toll on her though, leaving her panting as she held her EM sabers at the ready while Vincent emptied the spent casings from his weapon and then replaced them with fresh bullets.
"You… are… formidable," Shelke said, her breath pained between the pants as she addressed Vincent. "You must be the first to be terminated."
Vincent let loose another Bolt 2 spell at her in response to that, only for Shelke to dart out to the side even faster than she was before. She then bounced off the submarine and came in with a twirling slash that cut at his cape as he barely managed to get out of the way. He took aim with his gun, but she proved faster as she somersaulted backwards, slamming her feet into his chin to stagger him, and then launched herself forward for a vicious stab.
"No!" Yuffie yelled as she watched the orange blade pierce through his body and out the back. A pained grunt left Vincent's mouth as the girl withdrew it and he fell onto his knees, leaving him unable to defend as she readied to take off his head. With a yell of fury, strength and rage surged through Yuffie's body and then sank into her arms and legs as she moved like Greased Lightning and brought her weapon around.
Orange streaks met cold steel as Shelke met the blitz with one of her own, the EM sabers meeting the shuriken. Yuffie twisted her body with all the effort she could muster, sacrificing the shuriken as it melted in contact with the sabers and brought her arm-guard around. It slammed into the red-haired girl's face, knocking her away and to the ground.
Yuffie then activated her Gravity Materia and darkness tinged the wavering air around the Tsviet as the Demi 3 spell did its work, stirring the water around the dock and making the metal of the nearby submarine groan. As the constant pressure of gravity hammered down on the slender girl's body, pinning her down to the ground, Yuffie crouched down to Vincent. "Are you okay?"
"Be…hind!" Vincent wheezed on his knees, clutching the spot where he'd been impaled through.
Yuffie turned to see that Shelke was fighting to rise against the intensified field of gravity even as the force pressed on her mind, lungs, and organs. With her weapon destroyed, she looked for another and found Vincent's fallen gun. She picked it up and then pulled the trigger at the Tsviet hastily, only for the recoil to be so strong that the gun nearly bucked out of her hands.
"Aghh!" Shelke screamed out in pain as her body collapsed within the gravity field. When it came to an end, she remained on the ground and clutching her stomach as blood slipped through her fingers. It seemed that they finally wore through the durability granted by the mako treatments.
Yuffie took better aim this time and was prepared to pull the trigger again when Vincent's gauntleted-hand set itself on the barrel before she could fire.
"Remember what we were asked to do," he said as he gently pulled it from her grasp. "Killing her now won't serve any purpose."
"But she tried to kill everyone and your injury—"
"I'll heal," he said, forcing himself towards Shelke, one hand on his wound and the other holding the sedative. He plunged the needle into her neck and then pressed down, injecting it into her. The Tsviet went still, and Vincent grunted as he reached down to try and pick her up.
"Let me do it," Yuffie said. There was no point in letting him strain himself further. She picked up the girl less than gently and found she was even lighter than she looked—skin and bones, despite putting up a fight.
That was when they noticed a sound like a muted explosion before the door opened, revealing that Crimson and Aerith were on the way. The former was holding the Huge Materia and the latter turning and releasing a bolt of electricity from her staff before coming through the door and letting it shut. Crimson then fiddled with the control panel and huffed when it locked with a click.
"What happened?" Vincent asked as Aerith noticed his wound.
"We disarmed the bomb but the automated defenses aren't stopping," Aerith explained, panting as she came over and tended to his injury. "It's only a matter of time before they come through."
"We need to get out of here, but Aerith can't teleport us right now after covering me for so long," Crimson added as she looked out over the dock. "Get to the second submarine. We're taking it."
"What about the others?" Yuffie asked.
"We'll get in contact with them after we get out of trouble," Crimson said. "We can't do anything if we're caught here. Now let's go!"