Bizarre Occurances Chapter 21
Grudges
By Dino Pollard
Shen’s mouth literally dropped when he heard this. These three calling themselves the Tribunal had just informed him and the rest of his companions that Tsunami was now to be under their command. He looked to see his fellow teammates who had the same surprised expression as he did. For some reason though, Rudy didn’t look all that surprised.
Finally, he got the courage to speak up.
“Just what exactly is Seido?” he asked.
“I am glad you asked that, Shen Long,” one of the Tribunal said. “Seido is a secret organization which, according to the rest of the world, doesn’t exist. Not even the Shin-Ra are aware of our existance. We work to keep order by removing those who would disrupt it. As of yet, we have failed only once.”
“You’re talking about the one who summoned Meteor,” Ray said. The man nodded.
“However, that is not the point,” another said. “Your days as an Avalanche offspring are no more. From this day forth, you work for Seido. And no one is to know.”
“What about the rest of Avalanche?” Striker asked.
“Do not concern yourself with them,” he continued. “They pose no threat to us. However, you have no need to draw the Shin-Ra’s attention. From this day forth, you are all Seido operatives. I realize that some of you may not wish to stay with us. Then so be it. You shall be permitted to leave after your mind has been wiped clean of these events.”
“Sign me up for that,” Rudy said. Everyone looked at him quizzically. “Look, whoever you are. I don’t give a shit about this ‘secret organization’ and I don’t give a shit about you!! So if you’ll just show me the door, I’ll be on my way.”
“Very well, Mr. Roughknight,” the third said. “Frost will show you out. Are there any others?”
“Well... yeah...” Squall said, uneasily.
“Squall?” Ray asked, looking at his friend. “What are you talking about?”
“Let’s face facts, Ray,” Squall said. “I’m in no position to be here. I was still in training when I met you all. And after fighting that war golem, I realize that I’m not cut out for this team. At least not yet.”
“We can help you there, Mr. Leonhart,” one of the Tribunal said. “We will admit you into our training program. And when we feel you are ready, you will rejoin your comrades-in-arms. Frost, take Squall here with you.”
Frost nodded.
“Now, are there any other questions?” he asked.
The room was silent.
“Good, then Frost shall show you around your new home.”
“This way,” Frost said, leading the team out of the room.
*****
Cloud took out the PHS and began to dial the connection for Tsunami.
“No answer,” Cloud replied. “I was worried when I lost the connection with Shen earlier. It looks like they’re still in Shin-Ra’s custody.”
“So that means it’s up to us to go in and save their asses,” Yuffie grumbled.
Everyone looked at her.
“What?!?” she exclaimed. “Why can’t they help themselves for once?!?”
“This is the first time they’ve needed our help,” Red said.
“Hmph!!”
“How are we gonna get in, though?” Barret asked. “Last time it was jes’ dumb fuckin’ luck.”
“We need to find some way to sneak in without alerting them to our presence,” Sephiroth said.
“Barret’s got a point though,” Tifa said.
“I’ll go with,” Knolan broke in. “I can use a cloaking spell on us so we can sneak in undected, get the file on Rain, and sneak out.”
“Are you sure that will work?” Red asked.
“Yes,” Knolan replied. “But I can only conceal a number of about six. Seven tops. Otherwise, I’ll need to be carried out.”
“So we’ll need to split up the teams,” Cloud said. “Okay. I’ll lead the team entering Shin-Ra HQ. Aeris, Knolan, Yuffie, Cid, Sephiroth, an--”
“I’m going, too,” Jonah interuppted.
“You?” Cloud asked. “Why?”
“He’s my son, Cloud,” Jonah replied. “I want to know what that monster has done to him.”
“It took you 20 years to care about the fate of your sons?” Cloud asked, rage building in his voice.
“Cloud, I’m sorry for everything that you’ve had to go through,” Jonah said. “I really mean that. All I’ve thought about for the past 20 years was you and Rain.”
“Why did it take you 20 year to try and find us, then?” Cloud asked.
“Your safety,” Jonah replied. “Shin-Ra probably had people everywhere with my description, ready to grab me at a moment’s notice.”
“It sounds to me like you were just saving your own skin.”
“Shut up.”
Jonah and Cloud turned to see Sephiroth glaring at them both.
“After all this time you thought you were alone, you find out that you have a family,” he said. “Be thankful. Some of us aren’t so lucky to have fathers that would risk everything for our safety...” He turned away from them.
“Sephiroth, are you okay?” Aeris asked.
“I’m fine, Aeris,” he replied. “Now, we must concentrate on the matter at hand.”
“Right,” Cloud said. “The other team, Barret, Red, Tifa, Cait Sith, and Vincent, will stay in the Highwind and circle around Midgar, while the rest of us enter Shin-Ra HQ under Knolan’s concealment spell. This is only a last resort, but if we need a quick getaway, we’ll need the Highwind there and we’ll also need you guys to be ready to come in with guns blazing in case things get too hairy.”
“Yo, ya know we’ll be ready!!” Barret said, brandishing his gun-arm.
“Good,” Cloud replied. “Then let’s board the Highwind and get prepared.”
*****
Once Cloud’s team was dropped off on the outskirts of Midgar, the Highwind took to the skies again, beginning to fly around Midgar, hopefully unnoticed.
Cloud looked up at the road leading to Midgar’s upper plate.
“We’d better start walking,” he said. “It’s probably about 10 or so miles to Shin-Ra HQ from here.”
“Screw that!!” Yuffie exclaimed.
“Do you have a better idea?” Cid asked sarcastically.
“Yeah, I do,” she replied. “....old man!!”
She motioned to a truck parked nearby.
“You’re not seriously suggesting we steal it, are you?” Aeris asked.
“We’re already the most wanted people on the face of the Planet,” Yuffie said. “What’s a little grand theft auto gonna do?”
“She has a point,” Knolan said.
“You sure you know what the fuck yer doin, pipsqueek?” Cid asked as Yuffie walked over to the car.
“Don’t insult me,” Yuffie said. “I’ve been able to hotwire cars since I was old enough to walk!!”
“You DO know that this means you lose the bet,” Cid smirked.
“Wha...?” Yuffie asked. “N-no!! This doesn’t count!! This is for the mission!!”
“We could always walk,” Cloud said.
“Can’t you teleport us up there or something?” Yuffie asked, turning to Knolan.
“Sure,” Knolan replied. Now it was Yuffie’s turn to smirk.
“But then I won’t have enough energy to keep us cloaked long enough,” he finished.
Cid broke out into laughter. Yuffie grumbled as she dug in her pocket for the money.
“THERE!!!” she shouted. “Ya happy now?!?”
“Yep,” Cid replied, pocketing his hard-earned 500 gil. He reached to his goggles and took the pack of cigarettes from it. Taking a lighter from his pocket, he put the cig in his mouth and lit it.
“Don’t you have a car to hotwire?” he asked Yuffie, blowing smoke in her face.
Yuffie muttered curses under her breath as she got to work on the truck.
*****
The drive to Shin-Ra HQ was surprisingly calm. Cloud expected roadblocks to be set up after Tsunami’s infiltration of Shin-Ra HQ. But the roads were quiet.
Too quiet.
“Goddamn sons of bitches...” Cid cursed.
“What’s the problem?” Cloud asked.
“The asshole who owns this thing doesn’t know how to take care of his fuckin truck,” Cid replied. “The brakes are really shitty!!”
“You better try and stop it then,” Cloud said. “Shin-Ra HQ is just up ahead.”
Cid nodded and slammed his foot on the brake. The car kept on going until it eventually stopped a few feet away.
“Let’s get this overwith,” Sephiroth said.
Cloud turned to Knolan.
“You ready?” he asked.
Knolan nodded and began to concentrate. His staff began to glow as green energy erupted forth from it and encircled each person before dissapating.
“It’s done,” he said, his staff still glowing.
Cloud slowly pulled the glass door opened and walked in. The receptionist looked right at him.
She said nothing.
“Well I’ll be dipped in shit and rolled in bread crumbs...” Cid muttered. “It fuckin’ worked!!”
“Glad to hear your confidence in me, Cid,” Knolan said.
Cid gave a smug looked and followed Cloud inside.
*****
“Hojo’s private files are all stored on a computer in his office,” Sephiroth said as they entered the elevator. “It’s on the 67th floor.”
“I can keep the spell up until we reach Hojo’s office,” Knolan said. “After that, I’ll hafta drop it to conserve energy.”
“That’s fine, Knolan,” Cloud said. “Cid, once Knolan drops his spell, I want you to call the Highwind and tell them to be waiting around Shin-Ra HQ.”
“No problem there,” Cid replied.
The elevator came to a stop at the 67th floor.
*****
Rufus looked over the papers, then back at the young man sitting across from him. He was about in his early twenties, just like Rufus.
“Very impressive resume,” Rufus said. “You seem to have a lot of experiance. And you’re also a helluva lot more serious about your job. Not at all like Palmer was.”
“Palmer was sickening,” the man said. “I doubt that your father cared much about the Space Program when he hired him.”
“Tell me about it,” Rufus replied. “Avalanche actually did us a favor by killing him off. But we need the Space Program now. It may be our best chance to stop Meteor.”
“You’re talking about the Materia Bomb, right?” he asked.
“Yes,” Rufus answered. “Scarlet and Heidegger have already collected all the Huge Materia. Now it’s time to put our plan into effect.”
“It would take too much time to build a new rocket,” he said. “The Shin-Ra No. 26 is our only hope. But we’ll need repair crews working around the clock to bring it back up to speed.”
“How soon can you be ready?” Rufus asked.
“About three or four weeks,” he replied.
“Good,” Rufus grinned. “Welcome to Shin-Ra, Kyoske.”
*****
Hojo’s office only had what the madman needed. A desk, chair, and computer. No filing cabinets.
“Hojo never really trusted file cabinets,” Sephiroth noted. “He always kept the files on computer. That way, he slept easier knowing that no one could steal his files from a cabinet.”
“So how do we download the file on Rain from his computer?” Jonah asked. “If it’s protected by a password, how are we gonna get it? Unless one of you is a computer hacker.”
They all turned to Yuffie.
“Hey!!” she exclaimed. “I only steal material things!! I don’t waste my time hacking!!”
“Then we have to guess,” Aeris said. “But what kind of password would Hojo have? Something he loves?”
“Hojo never loved anything save for his work,” Sephiroth said. “Wait, that’s it!”
“What’s it?” Cloud asked.
“The password,” Sephiroth replied. “Jenova Project!! There’s nothing Hojo loves more than the Jenova Project!!”
Cloud typed in the password.
“Access denied,” the computerized voice said.
“Damn!!” Cloud cursed.
“Try Jenova Project with a G instead of a J,” Sephiroth said. “That might work.”
Cloud typed in Genova Project.
“Access granted,” the computerized voice said. “Welcome Professor Hojo.”
“Yes!” Cloud exclaimed. He typed in search words Rain Strife.
“One file found on Strife, Rain,” the computerized voice said.
“There’s some noise coming from Hojo’s office!!” a voice said in the distance.
“Oh shit,” Cid cursed.
“No time to read the file, Cloud,” Sephiroth said. “Just copy it on a disk.”
Cloud fumbled around Hojo’s computer desk for any disk. He accidentally knocked a pile of disks over.
“Damn!” he said.
Aeris bent down and began searching through them. She eventually came across one that had no label.
“Try this one,” she said, handing it to Cloud.
Cloud put it in the computer and began to copy the file to it.
“Come on, come on, come on...” he said.
“They’re too close...” Knolan said. “I’ll hold them off.”
*****
Knolan ran outside to find himself face to face with two MPs aiming guns at him.
“Sorry boys,” he said as the top of his staff began to glow. “But your stink is bringing tears to my eyes!! Time to wash up!!”
With that, a wave of water appeared literally out of nowhere, engulfing the two.
“Holy shit!!” another MP shouted. He slammed his hand against a red button on the wall.
An alarm began to sound.
“Guys, you’d better hurry!!” Knolan shouted.
*****
“There’s gotta be some way out of here,” Mercedes said, looking over Strike Force’s cell again.
“DAMN!!” Barek shouted, throwing a green Materia on the ground. “The Teleport Materia is useless!!!”
“Whoever thought I’d end up in a place like this....” Lara said. “Well, it looks like we’ve got some time on our hands, Barek. Why not telling us the full story?”
“What do you mean?”
“Lara’s right,” Kristi said. “You haven’t told us everything we need to know. Like why are the Shin-Ra after us? And what about YOUR past?!?”
“Fine,” Barek grumbled. “But pay attention, because I’m only going to say this once. I’m a former member of Seido.”
“Seido?” Mercedes asked. “Is that some kind of detergent?”
“Seido is a covert black ops group,” Barek said. “They’re extremely secretive. And extremely deadly. Only the best of the best of the best work there. In fact, not even Shin-Ra knows of their existance. I was Seido’s top assasin. But there was one mission I wasn’t able to accomplish.”
“What’s that?” Tetsuo asked.
“Kill Sephiroth,” Barek replied. “Seido said he posed a great danger to the Planet. And it was up to me to take him down. Five years ago, I had the chance to kill him. Seido knew that he was leading a mission to Nibelheim to inspect a Reactor. I was there. Inside the Reactor, I saw him gravely injure three teenagers who went there to stop him. While fighting one that was named Cloud, Sephiroth was thrown off the catwalk and into the Lifestream below. The kid lost his footing and was about to fall as well. I leapt into action, stading on the guardrail and made sure he was all right. Then, I slipped and fell after Sephiroth. Eventually I awakened on a beach somewhere. Seido discovered of my survival and have now been hunting me ever since.”
“But why?” Lara asked.
“Because I couldn’t complete my mission,” Barek answered. “But after I awoke, I noticed something different. I remembered things that I shouldn’t have. I have memories of joining SOLDIER, of being abused as a child. But none of that happened to me. My memories are all mixed together. Some of them must belong to Sephiroth. But I guess I should tell you the truth. I didn’t form Strike Force just so that we can be the best mercenaries. I formed it so that I would have some insurance for when Seido comes after me. A fighting chance.”
“So we’re basically your bodyguards,” Edge growled.
“To put it in a way, yes,” Barek said. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t make any money.”
“In that case I’m fine with it,” Mercedes said. “But none of this will mean a damn thing if we can’t get out of here.”
“What’s that?” Edge asked. He walked over to Mercedes and picked up a small, red circular object at her feet.
“I dunno,” Mercedes said. She looked at it. “Must be a pendant or something.”
“Let me see it,” Barek said. Edge tossed it to him. It had two black circles on it with smaller white ones inside the black ones.
Barek grinned.
“I knew he’d come through,” he said.
“Who?” Lara asked.
“Watch,” Barek said. He held up the object and pressed the center. He vanished, then reappeared behind Lara!!
“Bloody hell!!” Lara exclaimed. “This is our ticket out of here!!”
“I know,” Barek said. “Okay everyone, hold on.”
Once the others held onto Barek, he pressed it again and they vanished.
*****
“Sorry I’m late,” a man in a red and black ninja outfit with various weapons said. His mask was exactly the same as the pendant.
“Deadpool!!” Barek said. “Strike Force, I want you to meet Deadpool, our eigth member. I’ve worked with him in the past.”
“Yep,” Deadpool said. “The damn alarm didn’t work. By the time I got to your place, Cardinal told me you already went to Broll’s house. So I took the chopper over there and beat some info outta him. He eventually told me that he set you up and you were arrested by Shin-Ra. I figured Rufus would keep you in a cell in Shin-Ra HQ so I came in here.”
“Here’s your teleporter,” Barek said.
“Oh thanks!!” Deadpool exclaimed. He put it on his belt buckle. “I’ve got the chopper waiting out on the helipad of the 65th floor.”
“INTRUDER ALERT!! INTRUDER ALERT!! ALL AVAILABLE SOLDIERS AND MPS REPORT TO THE 67TH FLOOR IN PROFESSOR HOJO’S OFFICE!!”
“Is that us?” Barek asked.
“No,” Edge said. “They said Hojo’s office.”
“Hojo...” Deadpool said. He shivered. “I HATE that guy!!”
“Why?” Kristi asked.
“I’ll tell ya once we get to the chopper!!” Deadpool said.
*****
“Oh shit!!” Cid said, drawing his spear. “This isn’t fuckin good!!”
“You just figured that out, old man?” Yuffie asked.
“Yer just upset cause you lost the bet!!” Cid exclaimed.
“Children!!” Knolan shouted. “Don’t make me separate you two!!”
“Cid, call the Highwind!!” Cloud ordered.
“On it right now,” Cid replied, taking out his PHS.
“Knolan, you can make us fly, right?” Cloud asked.
“I can form a cloud that can lift us,” Knolan replied.
“Close enough,” Cloud said. “We’ll need you to fly us up to the Highwind’s deck.”
“Not so fast!!” a man ordered.
“Garrison!!” Sephiroth shouted. “So you DID survive our last battle!!”
“Of course,” Garrison replied. “And now, I’d like you to meet some associates of mine. Bruce Robeson, an expert sharpshooter. Akira Hyroshima, a skilled swordsman. Charlotte Christine Colde, who can wield her epee sword as if it were part of her body. And...”
“‘BRETTO!!!!” Knolan shouted, instantly recognizing his creation.
“That’s right,” Garrison said. “Calibretto, the war golem you created, Knolan. We’re your death, Avalanche. We’re SOLDIER!!”
*****
“HURRYHURRYHURRYHURRYHURRY!!!!!” Deadpool shouted. He climbed into the pilot’s seat of the chopper.
The rest of Strike Force followed suit, leaping in.
Deadpool put on a headset and lifted the chopper into the air.
“Whew,” he said as they flew away from Shin-Ra HQ.
“Thanks for the save back there, Rain,” Barek said.
“How many times have I told you NOT to call me that?!?” Deadpool asked.
“Sorry, ‘Pool,” Barek apologized.
++Cardinal,++ Deadpool said into the headset. ++Just finished with the rescue. I’m bringin’ them home.++
*****
“Ahhhhhhh........” Deadpool said, collapsing on a sofa in Barek’s mansion. “
“OK ‘Pool,” Barek said. “It’s your turn.”
“Whaddaya mean?!?” he asked.
“What’s your story?” Lara asked.
“Oh that!!” Deadpool said.
“Anything else we can call you besides Deadpool?” Kristi asked.
“Well, a lot of people call me ‘Pool,” Deadpool replied.
“What about Rain?” Tetsuo asked. “I heard Barek call you that.”
“Oh that,” Deadpool said. “Well, Rain’s my birthname. Rain Strife to be exact. I was kidnapped by Shin-Ra when I was just a little kid. Hojo’s been conducting all sorts of experiments on me for the past 20 years. Shin-Ra wanted to create the perfect assasin. It was called Project: Deadpool. That’s how I got my name. The experiments also deformed my skin, so it looks like ground-up chuck. And they also made me a litte...... Oh how do I put this.....”
“Insane?” Barek asked.
“Insane’s such a hard word, B,” Deadpool replied.
“Wacko?” Kristi asked.
“Crazy?” Lara asked.
“Messed up in the head?” Kurosawa asked.
“A few forks short of a dinner set?” Mercedes asked.
“OKAY!!!” Deadpool exclaimed. “You made your point!! I’m a certifiable wacko!!”
“But now the question is, what do we do?” Barek asked. “No doubt that both Shin-Ra and Seido will be after us. But who were those intruders in Shin-Ra HQ?”
“Avalanche,” Deadpool replied.
“You sure?” Mercedes asked.
“Yup-yup,” Deadpool replied. “I overheard some soldiers talking about it.”
“Cardinal,” Barek called.
“Yes sir?” Cardinal asked, walking in.
“I want you to try and find the frequency of Avalanche’s PHS,” Barek ordered. “If we’re hunted by both Shin-Ra and Seido, then we might as well make an ally of Avalanche.”
_____________________________________________________________________________
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Well, well, well. I finally intro’ed one of my
favorite characters--Deadpool!! And he’s also Cloud’s brother!!
Didn’t I tell you you’d be surprised? Also, now we know more about
Barek’s past, more about Seido, and who Cloud’s brother really
is. That’s a lot for one chapter. Anyway, in Chapter 22, Avalanche faces
off against SOLDIER, and Cloud gets to read the file on his brother!!
.