The Color of Blood Chapter 9

Practice

By Brady Bryner, Bill Shofstall, & Anthony McKinley

Below Calthino, Lab 365 8:32 PM Dec. 4

"Lock down in four minutes." A woman wearing thick, radiation proof glasses flipped a switch. Rufus's secret underwater city was hiding the experiment that had been tested on Tseng.

"We're getting a very strange wave length, and some odd sounds are being emitted from the generator." With that, a bright flash blasted from the generator and knocked the two scientists to the ground. "Shit! What the hell is this!?!" In the glass room they were observing, a swirling, gray rift had appeared. From it, several skeletal creatures came, soon followed by more. They destroyed the lab and ripped the flesh off of the inhabitants. A larger rift was soon projected over the water, where ancient ships with skeleton crews poured out, with dragons and wyverns, and thousands of other creatures. Chaos appeared from rift, raging.

"The humans of this world have not fallen under my dictation, and for it, they shall die." In two hours, five-hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, all who had been damned to Hell, were standing on the Planet, and preparing for war. Zombies, skeletons, and demons carried dark blades and wore grisly armor, stained in the blood of Brathin, an angel who once served the world. In four hours, fourty-two hundred dragons, wyverns, wyrms, serpents, and other such creatures, loyal to Tiamat, filled the seas, air and land. Ghosts and spectres filled minds, driving people to suicide or insanity with horrid nightmares. A new continent rose from the water. A large desert. Astos, the dark elf, ordered a new tower built on the ground, and a great city for those who would serve Chaos. Living people, driven by fear of annihilation, joined Chaos's ranks. Within two months, a secret army was prepared to take Cardia.

.

Midgar, Shinra Building 3:45 PM Feb. 18

Almost all of the world remained oblivious to Chaos's army. Reeve was no exception. Nanaki was lying on the floor in front of the elevator, asleep. Reeve hired him for a gaurd for the week, but found that all Nanaki did was sleep and eat. Cait was resting against Nanaki's side, also sleeping Reeve sighed, wishing anyone at all was in his office, just for conversation. He had worked very hard within the past few months, and had run out of obvious problems that he could handle immediatly. Cait opened his eyes and got up. "How long did I sleep?"

"About four hours."

"Mmm... Still tired. We have any coffee?"

"Yeah, in the game room." Cait came out with a cup of coffee, and struggled up onto Reeve's desk with the cup trembling in his hand, spilling drops ever so occasionally. Finally, he sat with his legs dangling over the edge, sipping his coffee.

"So, what have you been doing?"

"Not much. Signed some orders for some attacks, passed some new building codes, a new gun law, and an order to finish a new mako cannon, with a regenerative reactor."

"I thought all of them were built like that. Yeah... Aren't they?"

"Uh huh."

"So what's so special about this one?"

"It is...big." Cait ran to the window, seeing a cannon, as tall as the building, covered with small weaponry, and a very, very long, wide barrel. Helicopters were spinning around it, some carrying pieces of the huge machine.

.

Cetralin, Outside Base 124 12:36 AM Feb. 23

"Damn it old man! Slow down!" Tim stumbled after Cid.

"Shut up and hurry!"

"If you don't slow down, I'll shove that spear where the sun don't shine, you twisted old man." Tseng and Reno also followed behind.

"Kid..." Tseng picked Tim up by his shirt. "You don't shut up, I'm gonna kick your piddly ass!" Tseng's gun clicked.

"I'll be good!" Tseng dropped him, and they continued on. Cid pressed his back to the wall, looking for gaurds. Reno stood opposite, staring through small slits in the gate. Tim turned and looked behind him, hearing a rustling, but saw nothing. He turned back around and saw a small creature through the light of the gate. Cid saw it too.

"Mog! What the Hell are you doing here?"

Mog thought of what he had come for. "I came to see...no... I... What did I come for? Oh yeah!"

"I came to see the temple!"

"Well, it's in there. They won't open the door, because they happen to want to shoot us. We're going to enter the temple, and get something. You want to come?"

"Uh, sure!"

"Wai' wai' wait..." Tim shook his head. "How invited the marshmallow to the party?"

"Shut up, boy. We're about to find out why the hell I'm here. Now, get your asses in. We have to find a way into..." Some one fell onto Tseng. Tseng fired his gun into the body. Anthony fell back with a bullet wound in his stomach.

"What the..." Anthony coughed up some blood. Tseng looked at him and saw he had many other cuts and holes in his body. His shirt was torn apart, blood seeping out. "Ah shit... Don't go in there..." Anthony had just been inside the base. "They're dead..."

"What?" Tseng looked at him oddly.

"Dead! They're all dead! Something in there slaughtered them all! It was it."

"What do you mean?"

"It! The thing that got out of that coffin! Whatever the hell it was, it ate their flesh, and it ripped them apart. It almost got me!" Anthony was crying through his screams. Never once in his life had he seen such a creature. "It was a woman..."

"A woman? That's it?"

"No... It was female...but it isn't from here."

"What do you mean?"

"I... I don't know... It was sent from the lowest reaches of Hell... That's all I..." Anthony coughed more blood. "...all I know... We have to get out of here!"

"Where did you get those cuts and bullets wounds?"

"Those aren't bullet wounds... She did that with her fingers." Anthony's face was very grave. Cid sat him down and began to clean him up as he told his story.

~~~

Anthony had heard of the Shinra occupation of the temple, which was still under research. Anthony took the Claymore, and snuck toward the base. He saw the gaurds at the top of the structure. He tired himself, but he destroyed one by actually melting his organs, the other running into the structure. Anthony was too tired to do another draining spell. He injected a needle into his arm, a form of ether with a high amount of nutrients. He took a deep breath, and felt lightheaded. Shaking his head, he began to climb the wall. As he reached the top, he saw several gaurds standing around the entrance. He made sure he only thought, no speech. "Great... Just fucking great. If that stupid prick saw me, I'm screwed."

"Hey! Identification!" He turned and saw a man with a gun.

"Ay! Put the gun down. God." The man cocked the gun.

"Let me see your ID."

"I... I don't have any."

"You're under arrest." Anthony pulled the Claymore and cut the end of his gun off.

"Lemme see your ID, you SOB." Anthony jammed the Claymore through the man's chest.

"Great, Anthony, you just fucked up big now."

"Shut up, brain!" Anthony swung around and brought his sword into another soldier's chest and jumped off the wall to the ground. "Shit..." Guns clicked all around him. "Damn damn DAMN!" Anthony fell back against the wall.

"You are under arrest!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know."

~~~

Anthony was brought to a small prison cell. Outside, however, much was going on. Soldiers were in the tomb, and already exploring forbidden chambers that had not been seen by Anthony. Three soldiers walked into a chamber, where two were ripped apart. The third ran back screaming, and his rants were said to be insane and they locked him up with Anthony, who he told his story to. "She's going to kill all of us!" Anthony just looked down calmly.

"Not me..." Anthony waited a moment longer, and a meal was brought to him. The gaurd reared his gun to execute Anthony. Anthony ate his apparent last meal, a roast chocobo leg, a slice of ham, and five shots of whiskey. The gaurd came back with his gun and took the tray. Anthony grabbed the chocobo bone, and jammed the blunt end into the gaurd's eye socket, killing him. He ran and got the Claymore, and rushed outside with the soldier to find people getting killed by a woman in a gray tunic. Blood was spraying over the ground, people being ripped limb from limb. Anthony ran for the wall, the man getting killed, and the demon woman came at him, and began scratching him and cutting him. Anthony punched her and ran for the open gate. He hit the switch and dashed out, the door closing behind him.

~~~

"...and then I hid in a tree to see what was happening, and I fell out onto you, and you shot me."

"Impossible. Tony, there is no blood in there. A bunch of gaurds are walking around..." Mog dropped from the grate.

"No... No... That isn't possible. I saw them die..." The gate opened, but no one looked toward them. The group walked in, followed by Anthony. The gate shut behind them. "Oh dear God..." Suddenly, all the gaurds turned around. They all had skulls for faces, and blood soaked uniforms. Blood seeped of the faces, and many had crushed bones, or one or no eyes.

"Umm... We'll be going now..." Mog turned and ran for the door. "Open up you stupid... GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He kicked and grabbed his foot. "Gwo! Damn thing!"

"This is bad... This is very fucking bad!" Cid concentrated and jumped over the gate. "Not too shabby." Everyone else was still inside though. Tseng punched the button, but the door wouldn't open. Reno shoved him aside.

"Nah nah nah, do this!" He jammed his night stick into the metal plate, and short-circuited the door. The door shot open.

"Wanna close it now!?!" The group ran out, followed by the lumbering zombies of soldiers. Some tried to fire their weapons, many having fingers snap off, but some did manage to fire their rifles. Tim grabbed his Barrier materia and put up a field in front of the door. It didn't stop the creatures, but they did slow. Anthony stood up and mustered all his strength. He threw his arms skyward and starting speaking in an ancient tongue.

"Dwavino, des meltoine, reathosin des marka. Beomo, vick gro thentais, mosbe oin." Wind seemed to shot up from the ground, which began to crack. "Crothin bal ima des nothicia!" Lightning began spraying down in an electrical storm, colliding with the metal walls of the base. "Carivana, belisia vema." Water began pouring from the sky and ground, many springs shooting boiling hot water. "Tweliviana, borishia!" The water from the sky turned into flames. The rest of the group ran for cover as the fire balls grew larger, creating enormous craters in the ground. "Benica, do des no." Anthony laughed with a very, very deep voice, almost demonic, but the base, and the creatures within, exploded into nothing. The smoke cleared and the base was gone, as well as the creatures. Oddly, the temple still stood. Craters dotted the area for several hundred yards in all directions, but nothing scathed the caster of such a devestating spell. Anthony collapsed, now without any energy. He could barely breath.

"Kid! Ya' okay?" Cid kneeled down and looked at him.

"I'll... I'll work on that..."

"Just do it some where safe." Cid helped him up, but Anthony was still stumbling. Lord Cait fell into the dirt in front of Anthony, holding a dark blue cloth. He got up and shook his head.

"Hey. This is yours."

"What? That thing? It smells like moth balls! I don't want it!"

"Shut up and take! It is yours! All wizards have to own one. It is tradition."

"Tradition can kiss my ass!"

"Well, your cloths are torn up anyway! Put this on." Anthony sighed and struggled the robe on, and pulled the hood back. He screamed as the robe jammed millenias of history into his head. Much like when he had taken the Claymore. He collapsed again, but stood up, breathing calmly.

"Ouch... What you trying to do? Kill me?"

"No! I'm trying to help you."

"Well, next time just get me a beer or something." Lord Cait crossed arms.

"Ingreatful ass..."

"What?"

"Nothing... Shut up and get going."

.

Cosmo Canyon, Anthony's Room 9:34 AM Feb. 23

Ras and Ranika hopped around the room, tackling eachother. Kianki smiled, and saw every time they got hurt as a chance to practice her unique talent. Today was such a time. Ras tripped and cut his left hind leg. Kianki touched it with her paw, and the cut sealed, and Ras wasn't sore, unlike how most other magic and medicine would leave him. "Thanks..." Ras nestled into Kianki's neck to rest. Nanaki padded into the room.

"Where's Anthony?"

"Well, Mr. Show Off went to go dance with a brick of lead..."

"What?"

"He went to get shot at."

"Oh... Did you here from him?"

"Yeah. Cid just used that damn PRS and..." She yawned. "...and said he got banged up pretty bad, but he'll be fine." Kianki got up, and sat Ras onto a pillow, as he was already asleep. "Wanna try again today?"

"Sure." The two walked to Seto. Kianki had made some flesh from him, and he had blood flowing through him, but his exterior was still stone. Kianki concentrated and pressed her paw to Seto's forehead.

"Beomo, tes sestivin." She repeated the phrase again and again, which meant "Earth to life." The first spell ever used to heal a condition of paralysis caused by an element. Slowly, more fur began forming, and Seto was closer yet to life. She concentrated harder, and the process grew rapidly. Soon, only the head and tail remained stone. "Beomo, tes sestivin!" A bright flash knocked her onto her side, bleeding, but when she looked up, she saw Nanaki standing next to Seto, who was breathing, panting heavily. Seto ran his paw across his face. Kianki stood up. "Se... Seto?"

"Yes, my child." Kianki knew Seto well, as Anthony and Kianki had always been good friends, as well as Seto and Esmiran.

"Father?" Nanaki almost began to cry.

"I know how it feels... I'm sorry..."

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry I left you."

"You've done nothing but love me." Nanaki looked at the ground, and squeezed his eyes shut as tears trickled down. Meanwhile, Lord Cait was busy setting an ancient cloak into Kianki's room, even if she'd never wear it, it was hers.

.

Go To Chapter 10

Return To FF7 Fanfic