Bizarre Occurances Chapter 24
Sending a Dream Into the Universe
By Dino Pollard
Once he stepped off the Highwind, Cid rushed into Rocket Town, not even worrying about his teammates. His spear was already held at the ready.
“Hey!!” Yuffie shouted, running up behind him. “Wait up!!”
“No time ta be lagging behind!!” he replied.
“Geez,” she said. “Who knew an old man could run that fast? ESPECIALLY one with a smoking problem!!”
“There’s no time to waste,” Barek said. “If we’re going to stop Shin-Ra from launching that rocket, we have to put a stop to them now!!”
*****
Kyoske admired the rocket. To him, it was the finest device ever created. Let Scarlet and Heidegger have their flashy cannons with the big noises. Kyoske preferred the mystery of space. And he would be the one to explore it. True, the Shin-Ra No. 26 would only be used for this one mission, but he had plans to insure that that another rocket would be built.
Footsteps entered the control room.
“Hello Rude,” Kyoske said. “Something you need?”
“They’re here,” Rude replied.
“Insure that they DON’T board the rocket,” Kyoske ordered. “We have worked too hard to have it all put to an end now.”
Rude nodded and walked back out.
*****
Lara checked to see that her uzis were loaded. If danger arose, which it most likely would, she would need to act quickly.
But she thought this mission was pointless. Honestly, they didn’t need Strike Force to help them stop a rocket from launching.
This Cid person seemed really eager to stop them from launching the rocket, however. She had to admit that she didn’t know a lot about Avalanche. But why should they be helping them? Just because Deadpool and Cloud were brothers?
“Poppycock…” she muttered.
“What?” Mercedes asked.
“I said poppycock, Mercedes,” Lara replied. “That’s what this whole operation is. We’re going on a suicide mission. There’s no thrill in suicide!!”
“And worse yet,” Kristi broke in. “We’re not even getting paid!!”
*****
Tifa hastily climbed the ladder up to the rocket. Cid was going as fast as humanly possible, and the rest of the team was having trouble keeping up with him. But this all seemed too easy. She had expected a LOT more security around the rocket.
“Cid!” she shouted. “If we get in a battle, we won’t have enough maneuvering ability!!”
“Huh?” Cid asked. He looked at the narrow platform that he was now standing on. “Oh shit. Awright, Tifa, Yuffie, an’….”
He looked down at the members of Strike Force following him up the rocket.
“You,” he said, pointing to Lara.
“Me?” Lara asked.
“Yer elected, bitch,” Cid said. “Now get the fuck up here!! The rest o’ you cover our asses!!”
*****
Rude heard the footsteps coming up the ladder. He turned to his attack squad and nodded.
They knew Rude was a man of few words, so they instantly picked up on his signal and readied their weapons.
Rude cracked his knuckles, getting ready for the coming battle.
*****
Barek paced around anxiously.
“Barek, stop it already!!” Kristi complained. “You’re starting to make me nervous!!”
“Sorry Kristi,” he replied. “I just wish I knew what was happening with Deadpool and Edge back in Midgar.”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Tetsuo said.
“So, the silent one finally speaks, eh?” Mercedes remarked. Tetsuo simply gave her a cold glare.
Barek turned to the horizon to see an attack squad running towards them.
“We’ve got trouble…”
*****
“Oh shit,” Cid cursed once he saw Rude. “Not you fucks again!!”
“……….”
“Are ya gonna say somethin’?” Cid asked.
“……….”
“Well?!?” Cid exclaimed. “SAY SOMETHIN’, WILLYA?!?”
“…..We can’t let you pass,” Rude said, finally.
“Just great,” Yuffie said. “Like yer gonna stop us.”
“Tifa, take down Rude,” Cid ordered. “Yuffie, bitch, take out the two soldiers. I got the commander.”
“Well thats a lot coming from an old man like you,” Lara replied in her snooty accent. “And the name’s Lara.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cid said. “Just get on with it!!”
*****
Rude’s heart sank. He had hidden feelings for Tifa. Ever since he first saw her face. And now, he had to fight her. As Reno would say, “life’s a bitch, live with it.”
He would, but that didn’t mean he had to like it any more.
*****
Tifa’s fist connected with Rude’s jaw.
The blow wasn’t that powerful, but it sent Rude reeling. She caught him off-guard.
Tifa followed up with a powerful kick to his chest. Then another. And another.
“Enough...” Rude said as he blocked her next kick. She tried to counter with a punch, but Rude was just a tad bit faster.
He grabbed her fist, and threw her back. After getting into a fighting stance, he rushed at her.
Tifa blocked herself from the assault, but something was oddly familiar about his fighting style.
*****
The space was too narrow. Lara knew that, and unfortunately, it didn’t work to her advantage. The MP, however, didn’t have such concerns. He was quite content with firing hails of bullets at her, not even worrying about his companions.
Unfortunately, Lara couldn’t go wild with her uzis. During all the craziness, she hadn’t had a chance to stock up on clips. She was beginning to run low on bullets. The clips she had right now were her last ones. She had to conserve them and make sure that the aim was perfect. She had to hit him dead on, but wasn’t having much luck. Shooting a moving target was, of course, a lot more difficult than shooting a stationary target. It’s also tougher if you’re dodging your target’s own bullets while trying to get in a decent shot.
*****
Kurosawa’s Blaze Sword hummed with power as he began to slice through the MPs. As his reputation stated, to fight him was like fighting thin air. He moved with uncanny speed, slashing through any MP who was foolish enough to try and stop him.
Tetsuo was also skilled with his Ninja To, but unlike Kuro, his thoughts weren’t on the battle. But halfway across the world.
His brother, Akira Hyroshima, a First Class SOLDIER Officer. Why Akira had gone in with Shin-Ra was beyond him. All he knew was that he had to win this battle. Because the battle with his brother was still to come.
*****
Barek fired shot after shot at the MPs. Christ, they were like roaches. There were always more, and they weren’t very easy to kill.
Still, he pressed on. But he kept thinking about his defeat at Garrison’s hands. The image still disturbed him. Lying there on the ground as Garrison delivered blow after blow. If he wasn’t so worried about his damn butler, Strike Force could’ve easily taken down the attack squad.
Some leader he turned out to be.
*****
Kristi Darklord has never cared for anyone, or anything, in her life. She hasn’t trusted people in a long time. However, after joining Strike Force, she now found out there were people she could rely on. Now though, she is extremely worried about them. Especially their leader.
Barek. She felt that it was too soon for him to be fighting after Garrison’s beating. But no, guys always had to put on a macho facade.
“Men....” she muttered, jamming her dagger into an MP’s gut.
*****
Mercedes Lopez shouldn’t be here.
She would’ve been fine if she just stayed in Kalm. But noooooo, she had to become a monster hunter!!
Still, this life was far more exciting than staying in Kalm and becoming an--ugh--dentist.
The thought sent chills down her spine. But it was less painful than her daggers in the MPs’ spines would be.
*****
It didn’t take long for the five members of Strike Force to finish off the attack squad.
“Not bad, team,” Barek said, admiring their handiwork. “Not bad at all.”
“But not good enough, either,” a voice said.
“Who...?” Kurosawa asked, bringing his sword up.
“My name is Kyoske,” he replied. “And I won’t allow you to sabotage my rocket.”
*****
“That’s it!!” Tifa exclaimed, as Rude continued his assault. She flipped back, and drove her fist into his stomach.
“Your style...” she said, breathing heavily. “It--it’s the Zangan-Ryu form, isn’t it?”
Rude nodded solomly.
“Zangan was your.... teacher?” she asked, more than a little confused.
“.....He was a father to me,” Rude replied. “Took me in, when I was nothing more than an abused child from the slums, kicked out by a disapproving father.”
“I knew he had a lot of students,” she said. “But I would never have suspected that you would be one of them...”
*****
The MP came rushing at Cid, shouting a battle cry.
Calmly, Cid simply drove the non-lethal edge of his spear into the MP’s gut, then flung him over the edge of the rail.
He took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled the smoke slowly in celebration of his victory.
But something else caught his attention. Tifa and Rude. Talking. That couldn’t be a good sign.
*****
Lara was still dodging the bullets when suddenly, they stopped.
She looked towards her opponent and saw him lying on the ground. Above him, Yuffie grinned, blood on her shuriken.
“Not bad, eh?” she asked.
“I could’ve handled it myself, brat,” Lara replied.
“Whoa, such harsh language,” Yuffie smirked. “C’mon, what’s the big deal? I finished off my guy, an’ you looked like you were having some trouble, so I figured I’d come ta help.”
“I don’t need your help!!” Lara shouted.
“Okay, okay,” Yuffie said. “Geez.”
*****
“TIFA!!!” Cid shouted. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YA THINK YER DOIN’, YA FLAMMIN BITCH?!?”
“Cid, calm down,” Tifa said.
“WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I DO THAT?!?” Cid asked. “YER ASSOCIATIN’ WITH THE GODDAMNED ENEMY!!!”
“Cid, there’s nothing wrong,” she said calmly. “He’s out of the fight now, anyway. I just found out that we have a similar teacher.”
Cid grumbled as Yuffie and Lara approached them.
“So, canwegocanwegocanwego?!?” Yuffie asked.
*****
“Kyoske?” Tetsuo asked. “The new head of the space program?”
“Correct,” Kyoske replied. “It took a lot of hard work just to get where I am today, and I won’t have you ruin all my carefully-laid plans!!”
“You Shin-Ra people bitch too much,” Kristi said.
“Perhaps we do,” Kyoske said. “But we have the power to back up our words.”
*****
“Captain!!” a crew member shouted.
“What?” Cid asked. “What the hell are you three doin’ here?”
“They’re going to launch our rocket into space!!” another exclaimed. “There’s been a Materia Bomb loaded on the rocket and it’s set on a course with Meteor, and when it collides, Meteor will explode!!”
“Our rocket’s gonna be famous!!” the third shouted proudly.
“Cid...” Tifa began.
“Shut up,” Cid replied. “Just shut up. How’s the rocket?”
“We were gonna use the auto-pilot, but it’s broken,” a crew member answered. “Shera’s checking it right now.”
“Shera?!?” Cid asked. “Way ta go, shitheads!! She’s gonna take a hundred fuckin’ years!!”
“Cid,” Tifa said, more persistantly.
“You all get out of here,” Cid said to the crew. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Good luck, Captain!” they shouted as they ran out.
“Cid, we need that Huge Materia to fight Bizarro-Sephiroth,” Tifa explained. “If we lose it now, we’re going to be in for some hard times. There’s no guarantee that this Materia Bomb will even work.”
“Yeah, I know that Materia’s precious,” Cid began. “But it doesn’t matter if it’s science or magical power--no, actually, if I hadta decide, I’d choose science. Think about what science has done. Men who used to crawl around on the ground can now fly. And now we’re about to go into space! The things that science has done for mankind is incredible. I don’t know what the fuck I’m sayin’ now, except that this is somethin’ I gotta do.”
The rocket slowly began to rumble.
“Wh-what’s going on?” Lara asked.
“Hey!!” Cid shouted into the intercom. “What the hell’s goin’ on down there?!?”
“We were told that the auto-pilot was fixed,” an assistant said. “So we’ve initiated the launch sequence.”
“Dammit Shera!!” Cid exclaimed. “Why did she pick today to get fast?”
“Launch commencing,” the assistant said.
“No countdown?” Cid asked.”It just doesn’t seem the same!”
*****
The rocket began to ignite, preparing for lift-off.
“See that?!?” Kyoske shouted over the roar of the engines. “I’VE DONE IT!!!”
“MR. KYOSKE!!” a commander shouted. “WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!!”
“Very well,” Kyoske said, running towards the waiting chopper. “But I believe I should earn one more victory this day...”
Kyoske spun on his heal, taking aim with a simple revolver.
Two bullets. Flying through the air.
Time virtually stood still. Especially for Barek Siamo.
Images. One by one. Childhood. Adulthood. Seido. Mercenary jobs. Strike Force. Sephiroth. Garrison.
One by one they fly across his mind’s eye.
A second, maybe two.
Two bullets.
Searing pain. First in the stomach, then in the chest.
Blood. His blood.
Images.
Enemies. Allies. Rivals. Friends.
A second, maybe two, is all it takes.
And slowly, Barek’s eyelids meet, blocking his vision.
The images continue.
Voices. Shouts.
His friends, no, his family. Strike Force.
Laughter.
His killer, Kyoske.
All it takes is a second, maybe two.
Then....
Darkness.
*****
“Let’s see what we got here,” Cid said, sitting in the pilot’s seat. “Damn. Looks like that bastard really did a good job of programming the course. We’re headed straight for a collision with Meteor, an’ I can’t change it.”
“I can’t die now!!” Yuffie exclaimed. “I’m too young and beautiful!!”
Tifa and Lara looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Cid said. “I always keep an escape pod on board just in case of an emergency. It’s right down that way. An’ if you want that Huge Materia so badly, it should be through here.”
*****
“BAREK!!!” Kristi exclaimed.
“GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!!!” Kurosawa shouted towards the departing chopper.
“He--he’s gonna be okay,” Mercedes said. “.....right?”
“Afraid not,” Tetsuo replied. “No pulse...”
“What about a Life spell or a Phoenix Down or something?” Kristi asked.
“No good,” Tetsuo replied, shaking his head. “Those will only cure unconciousness. There is no spell which can breathe life into a dead being.”
“They’re already up there,” Kuro said, looking towards the sky. “Lara, Cid, Tifa, and Yuffie. We should probably get back to the Highwind.”
*****
“Yep, just as I thought,” Cid said. “It’s a pretty fancy bomb they rigged up. Gotta hand it to Scarlet. While she may not be so bright, she can design a mean weapon if she applies herself.”
“Let’s get it out, then,” Yuffie said, trying to open the casing. “Ugh!!! It’s stuck!!”
“Ya gotta input a code,” Cid said with a shake of his head. “Dumb fucking people...”
“What’s the code, though?” Tifa asked.
“Not really sure...” Cid replied. “Just punch in some random numbers while I try to remember it.”
Tifa punched in a few keys.
{{ACCESS DENIED}}
“Oh for the love of God!!” Lara exclaimed, drawing her uzis. “Get back.”
“Wait!!!” Cid protested.
Too late. Lara already let loose with what remained of her bullets.
The glass casing shattered, causing the Huge Materia to clatter to the ground.
“Don’t send a man or a girl to do a woman’s job,” Lara smirked, holstering the guns.
“SHIT!!!” Cid shouted. “WHAT THE FUCK’S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!? WHAT IF YOU SET OFF THE BOMB?!? WHAT IF YOU DESTROYED THE MATERIA?!?
“Calm down, old man,” Lara replied calmly. “It worked. Now, about that escape pod.”
*****
Cid ran through the corridors of the rocket, leading the team.
They were in the home stretch. Just beyond the oxygen tanks was the entrance to the pod.
There was a small crackle of electricity.
“Huh?” Cid asked. He looked to see what was going on.
A small explosion caused the oxygen tank to fly out, knocking Cid to his feet, trapping him.
“Cid!!” Tifa shouted. She ran over to him and tried to pull it off. “Yuffie! Lara! Give me a hand, here!!”
The two came to his aide, attempting to lift it.
“This ain’t no time for you to be messin’ around!!” Cid shouted. “Hurry up and get in the pod!!”
“We’re not leaving anyone behind,” Yuffie said. “Even if it is a foul-mouthed chimney like you!!”
“So...” Cid began. “Tank Number 8 blew....so it was malfunctioning. Shera....you were right. For all the fucking good it does me now... this is the end for me...”
“Don’t say that, Cid.”
“SHERA?!?” Cid exclaimed.
“I stuck around,” Shera said. “Just to make sure things were running smoothly.
“YOU DUMB FUCKING BITCH!!” Cid shouted as she also began to help the others. “ARE ALL YOU FUCKERS OUTTA YER MOTHERFUCKIN’ MINDS............ sorry.”
“C’mon,” Tifa said. “I think we’ve got it....”
*****
“Everyone sit down,” Shera said once she entered the escape pod.
“Shera, you sure this thing’s working?” Cid asked.
“Should be,” Shera replied. “I’ve been checking it since now.”
“Then I’m relieved,” Cid replied.
“Thanks....” Shera said, blushing a little.
“Oh gawd...” Yuffie commented. Tifa shot her a cold glare.
“Wake me when we get on the ground...” Yuffie said, curling up into a ball.
“So this is outer space...” Cid said as the pod detached from the rocket. He looked out the window in awe. “So long, Shin-Ra No. 26...”
*****
The Shin-Ra No. 26 flew straight towards Meteor, entering a collision.
Meteor appeared damaged, but slowly began to pull itself together.
Would the Materia Bomb have been enough to counter Meteor or not? Now, the world shall never know.
And with their actions, Avalanche has either found the key to Earth’s salvation, or to its destruction.
_____________________________________________________________________________
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This one was a little short, as you can tell. I focused more on the characters this time around. Especially Barek’s death scene. I hope you all enjoyed that. I had some trouble finding the right words for this chapter, but I’m almost finished with Bizarre Occurances. Chapter 25 will have the team back together again, ready to confront Bizarro-Sephi--er, I mean Seraph (hope you like the new name, too).
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