Premonitions IV: Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Silent Edge
"Slashed, strangled, and slaughtered," said an amused Rosso as she sat atop a crate. "Beaten, stabbed, and crushed. Garroted and impaled. Shot and executed without mercy. Nicely said, Weiss."
She then looked upward.
"I wonder if this will be a little more amusing than last time," she said to herself, as she scanned the dead bodies of WRO soldiers.
MEANWHILE...
Vincent and Lucrecia had entered Midgar near the remains of the Sector Four Reactor. It was late now, and it was quite foggy. The sky looked like it wanted to rain at any moment. They were not sure ot where to begin, as neither had been to Midgar since the Geostigma Crisis.
And then, Vincent felt a gun pointed to his head.
Lucrecia immediately pointed the Hanging Judge to the captor's head.
"Get that gun off my man before I blast your brains all over the street!" she threatened.
The captor was a young woman. She had long, reddish-brown hair and was wearing glasses, though her left eye was closed. She also seemed to have a metal prosthetic left arm. She was wearing a short skirt and crop top, along with a pair of heels. She also had a labcoat, but was wearing it as a cape. She seemed to be twenty-four years old.
Then, Vincent noticed her nametag.
"You're WRO?" he inquired.
"Who's asking?" the girl returned.
"Vincent Valentine," he replied as he put his gun away. "Reeve sent me."
The girl put her own weapon away.
"My apologies," the girl said. "Shalua Rui of the WRO. The commissioner has told me much about you."
"What happened here?" Vincent asked.
"That's what I'd like to know," Shalua replied. "I'm here on other business, but something's not right. It's too quiet. I've seen no trace of Deepground, or the squads that were sent in to fight them. Also, where are the five hundred people who are supposed to still be living here?"
"We were wondering the same thing," Lucrecia replied. "Which is kind of what we're doing here in the first place."
"We ran into some trouble on the way here," Vincent added. "Crimson hounds. Hover bikers. Captain Mast."
"That bitch is still around?" sighed Shalua. "Figures. If she wasn't the president's girlfriend, she'd have been relieved of her command. She's dark and cruel inside."
"We're well aware," Vincent said.
"Did you know how she got like that?" Shalua asked.
Both Vincent and Lucrecia shook their heads in unison.
"Her husband and son died," Shalua informed them. "They were stabbed four years ago on Eros Nova."
"Jesus H. Christ," muttered Lucrecia.
"Well, this is getting us nowhere," Shalua said as she began to leave. "Like I said, I have business to attend to. I'll see you around."
"Business?" asked Vincent.
"The commissioner keeps telling me I'm wasting my time searching," Shalua replied.
"Searching for what?" Vincent inquired.
"For my reason to live," Shalua answered as she disappeared around the corner.
"Strange girl," Lucrecia muttered. "Personality-wise that is."
"She was missing an eye," Vincent pointed out. "And an arm."
"She was missing more than that," Lucrecia said. "I heard her intestines were replaced by mechanical tubes."
"Ouch," Vincent said.
Moments later, it began to rain. The two made their way through the deserted streets of Midgar. They went up a flight of stairs and onto an elevated sidewalk.
Several more quadrupeds attacked them, but they quickly shot them dead with their weapons.
And then, around a corner, they came to the inevitable.
A wounded WRO soldier sat on the edge of a street, moments away from death.
Vincent and Lucrecia ran to his aid, though they knew it would be a lost cause.
"Ambushed... by...soldier...in red…," he groaned. "Squad...wiped out…"
"Where did they go?" Lucrecia inquired.
"Warehouse... on the... edge of town…" the soldier replied. "They... were gathering... civilians…"
He lay his head back and rolled his eyes. Then he passed away.
Vincent knelt down and closed the poor man's eyes.
They then continued through the endless streets, dispatching more creatures that attacked them. Eventually, they came to an abandoned restaurant.
Their drenched clothes wrung on the floor as they went inside.
Lucrecia immediately turned to Vincent, and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"I want to get out of my clothes," she announced. "Naked time when we get back?"
"Agreed," Vinecent said.
She smiled and kissed him before they continued on their way.
They went upstairs to a storage area, then they exited to the side. Outdoors again, they were on another catwalk, where they were greeted by several beasts. They easily dispatched of them.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a square.
"It's quiet," Lucrecia observed.
"Too quiet," Vincent added.
And then, the silence was broken by the sound of a bullet striking the ground.
Lucrecia looked up to see a soldier, his face concealed by metal, aiming a rifle.
"Sniper!" she cried, as she fired the Hanging Judge.
The sniper died instantly, and fell from the ledge.
"There may be more than one," Vincent said as he scanned the ledges.
With that, he put the Death Penalty away, and pulled out a three-barrel handgun.
He then fired it in two places.
Moments later, Lucrecia could see the bodies of two dead snipers falling from above; they both hit the ground with a clang.
"When were you going to tell me you had that?" Lucrecia asked.
"When the time was right," Vincent replied.
"What do you call it?" she asked.
"Cerberus," Vincent replied.
"I like it," she complimented as she pecked him on the cheek.
The two lovers continued their way through the streets of Midgar. Eventually, they got through another restaurant, where they could see Eastern troops passing through.
They immediately pursued them, finding themselves in the streets.
The soldiers turned and prepared to open fire.
Vincent and Lucrecia quickly shot them dead.
It was then that Vincent noticed a child cowering against a wall. He was wearing a hat and overalls, and seemed to be right or nine.
Then, the boy got up and made his way over to Vincent.
"Thanks," said the boy. "The warehouse. I know how to get there. It's through that gate."
Vincent turned his head to see a gate that was sealed by bars of light.
"You have the cardkey?" the boy asked.
Vincent shook his head.
"Card key?" asked Lucrecia.
"Come on," commanded the boy. "I know someone who does. Follow me."
The boy led Vincent and Lucrecia through the streets. A beast attacked him, but Vincent killed it with Cerberus before any damage could be done.
The boy led them into a house, up a flight of stairs, and onto a balcony. Vincent and Lucrecia stood by his side, ready to protect him from anything.
Soon, they found themselves where the snipers had been. Several beasts jumped out, but Vincent took care of them quickly.
Further ahead, Lucrecia noticed two more snipers on top of other buildings.
"Close your eyes," she commanded.
The boy closed his eyes.
Lucrecia shot each sniper dead, causing them to fall over the ledges.
The boy then led them to a door.
Vincent cautiously opened it.
An Eastern soldier was there, ready to attack.
Lucrecia shot him right between the eyes.
Vincent then retrieved a card key from the soldier.
The couple led the boy down the stairs, covering his eyes to shield them from the corpse. Soon, they were back on the street level.
"There," said the boy. "That should let you through."
"Awesome," Lucrecia said. "Thanks for your help!"
And then, the boy began to cry.
"Avenge," he sobbed. "I couldn't…do…"
"Do what?" Lucrecia gently asked.
"Mom and dad," he continued. "Right there. But I couldn't move. I was too scared. But….but…"
Lucrecia lowered herself to the boy's level.
"Please!" cried the boy. "Help me avenge their deaths!"
Lucrecia hugged the boy and rocked him gently.
Vincent sighed as he looked on. As much as she didn't want to be a mother again, she was a natural.
A few minutes later, the boy was gone. They used the card key, and the bars of light disappeared. After several more streets, they finally arrived at the warehouse.
"Be careful," warned Vincent. "We don't know what's in there."
"If it's Captain Mast," Lucrecia replied, "mark my words, I'm going to kick her in the vagina."
Both made their way into the warehouse, finding themselves in a large, open room. As they stepped deeper in, a figure jumped down from the catwalk.
It was a heavily armored soldier. He was quickly followed by several armored Deepground soldiers.
"Hail Weiss!" they all shouted in unison.
The heavily armored soldier immediately fired a rocket at Vincent, which he easily dodged. He began to fire Cerberus at him, though the bullets seemed ineffective.
Lucrecia, meanwhile, ran up the stairs to the balcony, taking out the Deepground soldiers one by one.
She then aimed the Hanging Judge at the rocket launcher attached to the heavily armored soldier.
She pulled the trigger.
The rocket launcher exploded, sealing the fate of the heavily armored soldier.
"How could I?" he groaned before falling over dead.
"That solves that problem," Lucrecia announced before jumping off the catwalk to Vincent, who was fiddling with Cerberus.
"I'm out of ammo," he sighed. "At least with this one."
"I'll sing a Dirge of Cerberus later," Lucrecia promised. "You still have the Death Penalty."
THE STUFF THAT MIGHT HAVE GONE UNNOTICED:
Although, due to the changed timeline, Meteor never struck nor destroyed Midgar, and, by extension, Edge was never built, the city's name still appears in the chapter title.