Premonitions IV: Dirge of Cerberus
Chapter 2: Sea of Flames
From a catwalk adjacent to a roof, Vincent and Lucrecia could see the chaos continue in the streets of Kalm. Soldiers continued to round up civilians, and the quadrupeds continued to maul them. It was utter chaos that no one had seen coming.
Save one.
"So," Vincent muttered. "The time has come."
"What time?" Lucrecia inquired.
"The attack on Kalm," he replied. "I remember thwarting this in the original timeline."
"You remember?" Lucrecia asked. "Did you go inside the Lifestream?"
Vincent nodded.
"When I was healed, I saw...everything. But it was all shaky. I wasn't in there for that long."
"Well then," she continued, "it'll be easier this time, now that you have me at your side."
Vincent gave her a skeptical look.
"Aren't you drunk?" he pressed.
"I was," she corrected. "Until about ten minutes ago."
"Was that before or after you decided to bring the Hanging Judge?" he asked.
Lucrecia shrugged and giggled.
At that moment, three soldiers approached Vincent and Lucrecia from behind. They were armed, and pointed their firearms at both of them.
One of the soldiers scanned Lucrecia. His helmet visor read: Lucrecia Crescent Hojo. Gender: Female. Blood Type: O. Date of Birth: June 7, 1950.
Another soldier scanned Vincent. His helmet visor read: Vincent Valentine. Gender: Male. Blood Type: A. Date of Birth: October 13, 1950.
MEANWHILE...
In what appeared to be some kind of control room, a young woman sat on a console, with a helmet, which was seemingly wired into her surroundings, covering her eyes. The technology around here was sophisticated, with many screens behind her, as well as to each side.
"Found you," she said.
SOMEWHERE ELSE...
Vincent, sensing the presence of the three soldiers behind him, spun around and shot each of them dead with the Death Penalty.
"Shit!" exclaimed Lucrecia. "How did you know they were behind you?"
"A premonition," Vincent replied. "But this isn't right."
"What's not right?" she inquired.
"These were supposed to be Deepground," he answered.
"Deepground?" Lucrecia exclaimed. "What's that?
"My memories of the original timeline are shaky," Vincent replied. "But if I remember correctly, they were a Shinra-based medical group indented to take care of wounded SOLDIER members. Then they slowly became a eugenics group. In the original timeline, Deepground had plans to summon Omega and destroy all life on the Planet. It was Deepground soldiers who attacked Kalm. But now, they're wearing Eastern uniforms."
"Was there an Eastern Republic in the original timeline?" she asked.
"There wasn't even a Midgar," Vincent replied. "Now that I mention it, the original reason this happened tonight was because Meteor sealed them below the Shinra Building. But, in this timeline, Meteor never destroyed Midgar. It hit the Western Continent instead. So, why...why is this still happening tonight. It shouldn't be."
"Could our favorite president be behind this?" she asked.
"It would seem likely," he answered. "But we can't stay here."
"No kidding," she agreed.
Vincent led Lucrecia down the catwalk and up a latter, where he dispatched two more Eastern soldiers.
"Are they already everywhere?" she asked.
"It looks like it," he replied.
They arrived at a brick structure, where they descended the stairs. Two more soldiers were on those stairs, and Lucrecia quickly shot them dead with the Hanging Judge.
"See?" she somewhat gloated. "I have my aim. That's all that matters."
At the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves at ground level, in a back-alley.
"Now where am I supposed to meet Reeve?" Vincent asked aloud.
"Reeve?" asked Lucrecia.
"He texted me, telling me to meet him in this village," he replied. "As soon as I saw that, I knew it was happening."
"Let's go look for him, then," Lucrecia suggested.
They made their way to the mouth of the alley, where a group of terrified Kalmians ran in the opposite direction, pursued by Eastern soldiers.
Both Vincent and Lucrecia killed the pursuing soldiers.
"It's like they have the whole Eastern army here," Lucrecia pointed out.
"Of course," Vincent agreed. "Keep your eyes peeled for crates. They're putting people in them and taking them away."
"Why?" Lucrecia asked.
"I'm trying to remember," he replied.
They came to a small square where there were two large crates. After killing the lone soldier who was defending the area, Lucrecia tried, unsuccessfully, to open one.
"It's stuck!" she grunted.
"I'm trying to remember how to open them," Vincent replied. "But we need to find Reeve. We need to continue."
They thus continued down the cobblestone street. A soldier came out of one of the buildings, and Lucrecia shot him right between the eyes.
"The moral of that story," she quipped, "is don't fuck with Lucrecia Crescent!"
Vincent and Lucrecia then came to another small square, this one with a fountain, only to see a menacing quadruped roaming about. After Vincent killed it, they both noticed more crates.
"Please...help..." pleaded a female voice.
Lucrecia turned, and gasped.
A woman of about forty was laying face-down in the street. Seemingly wounded, she pointed toward one of the crates.
"Rio!" she groaned.
"It must be her son," Lucrecia deduced.
She then ran to the crate and attempted to lift the door, to no avail.
"Shit!" she grunted.
"Wait a minute," Vincent commanded as he suddenly remembered. "Push the door in, and then lift it."
Lucrecia pushed the door in and lifted it. It opened, and, to Lucrecia's surprise, out ran a four-year-old girl.
"Mommy!" the girl cried and ran off in the direction of the injured woman.
"Rio!" cried the injured woman.
Strange, Lucrecia thought. I could have sworn Rio was a boy's name.
The injured woman then rose to her feet. She was bruised, but with no open wounds. She looked at Lucrecia, and, surprisingly, glared at her.
"Don't curse in front of my daughter!" she snapped.
The woman then disappeared into a house.
"You're welcome," sighed Lucrecia.
Further down the street, another menacing drama began to unfold.
"Help me!" shouted a young voice.
Lucrecia turned to see a young girl of eight held at gunpoint by three soldiers. Wasting no time, she shot all three of them in the back of the head, killing them instantly.
She then approached the sobbing girl.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently.
"I am now!" she replied happily as she threw her arms around Lucrecia.
After the hug, she turned and ran to her house.
"Thanks!" the eight-year-old said again. "You saved my ass!"
She then disappeared into her house.
Lucrecia and Vincent began to crack up in unison.
"Well," Vincent began, "at least that one was grateful!"
"I always am," she said with a smile as she pecked him on the cheek. "Come on, let's find Reeve!"
A few moments later, Vincent and Lucrecia arrived at a stone brick wall. Upon entering, the place nearly looked like a train station.
"When did they build this?" she asked.
"It's the first I've seen it," he replied.
Suddenly, three soldiers rushed down a nearby flight of stairs. Vincent and Lucrecia took them out in less than five seconds.
"There'll be more of them," Vincent pointed out as they began to ascend the stairs.
Sure enough, three more soldiers were waiting at the top. Vincent shot two dead, and Lucrecia finished off the remaining one.
"Don't they know when to give up?" Lucrecia sighed.
"No," Vincent replied.
"That's what I thought," she muttered.
Vincent and Lucrecia exited the structure through another opening that led to another outdoor square.
And then, they both stopped in their tracks.
A woman in her mid-twenties with red hair and glasses was standing in front of them. She was wearing an Eastern uniform, and had captain insignia on her shoulder.
"Vincent Valentine," she greeted.
Vincent scanned the woman; he did not remember her from the original timeline.
"You're not supposed to be here," he dismissed.
"Correction," she insisted, "the president himself has ordered me here. You are a bothersome insect getting in the way."
"Saving innocent civilians is hardly bothersome," he retorted.
"Is the president behind this attack?" Lucrecia demanded. "Why would he attack his own citizens?"
The red-haired captain scanned Lucrecia, glaring at her as she did so.
"Is that your girlfriend?" she inquired.
"Yes, I am," Lucrecia retorted proudly. "Any attempt to get into his pants is ill-advised."
"I didn't come here for sex," the redhead cackled. She then scanned Lucrecia's crop top. "But, for the record, why are you dressed like a pop star?"
"Then what did you come here for?" demanded Lucrecia, ignoring the redhead's second question. "Why are you rounding these people up?"
Just then, a shadow appeared over the three of them.
"Talk to the Dragonfly," commanded the redhead, before she turned and ran off.
"Hey!" shouted Lucrecia. "Get your ass back here!"
"Forget her!" Vincent shouted. "Look!"
Lucrecia looked up just in time to see a four-winged helicopter bearing down on them. Missiles fired from two side turrets, causing Vincent and Lucrecia to jump in opposite directions.
"Aim for the gas tank!" Vincent shouted as he pointed the Death Penalty towards the underside of the helicopter. "One hit and it's done!"
"Where's the gas tank?!" Lucrecia called back.
"Somewhere on the underside behind the cockpit!" he shouted.
Vincent and Lucrecia began firing their weapons like mad, hoping to strike the fuel tank.
And then, the turrets began to glow red-orange.
"Aw, shit!" Vincent shouted as he and Lucrecia jumped out of the missiles' way again.
Suddenly, the sound of mechanical doors opening came from above. Vincent and Lucrecia looked up to see that six troopers were sliding down ropes from the Dragonfly and landing on the ground.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Lucrecia exclaimed as she and Vincent fired their respective firearms.
They divided the fight evenly; Vincent got three and Lucrecia got three.
Both of them then aimed their weapons at the Dragonfly.
Both of them fired.
And then, suddenly, the Dragonfly exploded into a giant fireball.
"Watch out for the debris!" Vincent shouted as he and Lucrecia dashed toward one of the houses.
Sure enough, the debris fell. It all landed harmlessly on the square's cobblestone surface.
MEANWHILE...
The girl with the helmet removed it, revealing irises that were glowing a bright orange.
"Vincent Valentine," the girl said to herself, as she heard footsteps approaching from behind. "We've found you."
Her eyes suddenly became blue as she turned around to greet her visitor.
"Is this the one?" the visitor inquired.
"Yes," the girl replied.