Premonitions IV: Dirge of Cerberus
Chapter 3: The Flames Continue
Vincent and Lucrecia quickly spotted a house with an open door. Both of them had a mutual idea.
"I could have sworn I saw that bitch go in there," Lucrecia said, referring to the red-haired captain.
"One way to find out," Vincent said.
Vincent and Lucrecia entered the house. They beheld what appeared to be an office before they made their way down the hall and up a flight of stairs.
On the second floor, they indeed encountered someone, but it was not the red-haired captain.
There was a hole in the wall, through which the blue-haired Goliath and the girl with the virtual helmet entered the house. Three soldiers followed behind.
"The Protomateria," the girl demanded as her eyes began to glow orange. "Tell us where it is."
"Who the hell are you?" Lucrecia demanded.
"Hail Weiss," the man-beast uttered.
"Hail Weiss!" the soldiers repeated as they began to aim their firearms.
Vincent and Lucrecia thought quicker. They swiftly killed them all.
"Challenge accepted," the man-beast said.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a thud.
The strange girl had fainted.
"This way!" shouted a familiar-sounding voice.
Vincent and Lucrecia began to run in the direction of the voice.
"Luck is on your side," groaned the behemoth as he tended to his fallen companion.
"I'm sorry," the girl sobbed as she was picked up.
The beast turned around to look in the direction Vincent and Lucrecia had run in.
"I am Azul," he introduced. "We will meet again."
At that moment, the owner of the voice met up with Vincent and Lucrecia.
They were both relieved to see someone familiar.
"What happened here!?" Reeve inquired.
Behind him was a man in white.
"Vincent Valentine and Lucrecia Crescent!" he greeted. "Are you alright?"
"Reeve, nice to see you again," Vincent greeted in return. "Not a very interesting outfit, though."
"It took me a while to decide which costume I'd put on for today," Reeve laughed. "But enough of the small talk. Who were those soldiers that just left? "
"Beats me," Lucrecia replied. "The big guy's name's Azul. I never got the name of the girl."
"Azul the Cerulean?" Reeve inquired. "Of the Tsviets!? Then that could only mean..."
"Commissioner!" interrupted the man in white.
He then showed him his cell phone, revealing three infrared images of soldiers on the floor below.
"We'll discuss this later," Reeve said. "WRO troops have arrived and commenced rescue operations. We could use your help. Both of you."
"Reeve," Vincent sighed. "I don't know what you are up to, but I want absolutely no part of it."
"But you fought alongside us three years ago!" Reeve protested. "We need your help once more!"
And then, a gunshot.
Vincent and Lucrecia could see Reeve's stomach practically blown away. They quickly turned and shot the three intruding soldiers dead.
Lucrecia ran to the fallen Reeve and closed her eyes.
"Reeve," she said solemnly. "I'll inform Parker and Sage."
She began to cradle him, and, to her shock, Reeve's head, along with his limbs, fell off.
And then, someone familiar popped out of the torso.
"That was a close one!" Cait Sith exclaimed. "Never was good at fighting. Luckily, I came out wearing Reeve."
Lucrecia looked at the cat crossly.
"You scared the shit out of me!"
"Ye're really not a bad lass, are ye, Lucrecia? Ye pretend not to care, but ye always come through in the end."
"Alright," Vincent sighed. "What do you want us to do?"
"Let's run those lads outta town," Cait Sith replied. "I'll leave the method up to ye. When ye've tidied things up, meet me at the square in front of the east church."
The cat then turned and ran off.
"The east church?" Lucrecia inquired.
"It's at the east end of town," Vincent replied. "At the edge of a plaza."
Vincent and Lucrecia, without further ado, jumped from the window and back onto the street. Near the wreckage of the Dragonfly stood four soldiers who immediately began to fire; Vincent and Lucrecia killed them with the greatest of ease.
They then made their way out of the square and down the street. After several yards, they spotted more soldiers.
But these soldiers were wearing white uniforms and red hats; they were not their enemies.
"Sir!" the soldier greeted.
"It's okay," Vincent assured Lucrecia. "They're with the WRO."
"The who?" Lucrecia inquired.
"The World Regenesis Organization," Vincent clarified.
"I've never heard of them," Lucrecia admitted.
"The WRO was originally established three years ago after Meteorfall," the soldier explained. "With Jenova War hero Reeve Tuesti at its helm, our organization is dedicating to aiding the healing process of the Planet, as well as protecting it from any who attempt further harm."
"Do you know where the east church is?" Lucrecia then asked.
"Just past these buildings," the soldier replied.
Vincent and Lucrecia then continued down the street. They passed through an open street gate, and the east church came into view.
Between them and the east church was a plaza, and they could go no further.
There stood the red-haired captain.
"Long time, no see," she taunted sarcastically. "You really messed up our Dragonfly back there."
"Better it than us," Lucrecia retorted.
"I guess you're helpless now," Vincent hissed.
"On the contrary," the red-haired captain dismissed as she adjusted her glasses. "And I thought people like you knew that there are things out there more powerful than technology."
And then, she produced what appeared to be a summon Materia.
"Oh, shit," Vincent muttered.
"What?" Lucrecia exclaimed.
"Ifrit!" called the red-haired captain. "By the authorization vested in me by the President of the Eastern Continent, I herby summon thee!"
The reddish-brown Materia began to glow in the captain's hand.
A moment later, a portal opened twenty feet above the ground. Out emerged a horned humanoid creature that was red all over.
"I can feel the heat from that thing!" Lucrecia exclaimed.
"It'll be cold when it's dead!" Vincent announced as he drew the Death Penalty.
Both Vincent and Lucrecia fired upon Ifrit.
Their weapons did nothing.
"What are you fools thinking?!" the red-haired captain cackled. "He melts your bullets before they even get close to him!"
Suddenly, the real Reeve emerged from the church and quickly tossed two orbs toward Vincent and Lucrecia.
"Here!" he called. "Ice Materia!"
Reeve was the first to cast ice; it struck Ifrit's back, causing him to briefly double.
"I think we need to try it simultaneously!" Reeve exclaimed. "On the count of three!"
Ifrit, meanwhile turned one hundred and eighty degrees to face his attacker.
"One," Reeve began, attempting to keep his composure.
Ifrit took a breath.
"Two," Reeve continued.
Ifrit's mouth began to glow; he was preparing to incinerate Reeve with a firestream.
"Three!" Reeve exclaimed.
Vincent, Lucrecia, and Reeve cast ice in unison.
Ifrit struggled as his complexion changed from a bright red to a cold blue. His movement slowed, then it stopped. Finally, Ifrit then fell to the ground and shattered to pieces.