Bizarre Occurances Chapter 9

Execution

By Dino Pollard

“Uhhhh...” Tifa moaned as she slowly began to awaken from her unconcious state.

“Tifa!!” Aeris cried. “You’re awake!!”

“What happened?” Tifa asked. “Where are we?”

“Junon,” Red replied. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Tifa said. “What about Meteor? What about Cloud?”

Barret walked over to the window and pressed a button, which opened the blinds. Tifa nearly fell back in shock at the site before her!! Meteor was staring them right in the face!!

“Oh God...” she began. She looked around and saw that Yuffie and Cait Sith were missing. “What happened to Cloud? Where’s everyone else?”

“Cloud fell in the Crater,” Sephiroth replied. “We have no way of reaching him. There is some type of barrier surrounding the Crater. Cait was seperated from us when we were in the airship. No one knows where Yuffie is. She was able to run off when we landed. As for the others, we split into two fractions while in the airship. They aren’t part of Avalanche anymore.”

“Oh, it gets better,” Cid said, taking a drag on his cigarette. “Tell ‘er.”

“Once Cloud gave the Black Materia to Bizarro-Sephiroth, Meteor was summoned and the WEAPONS were released,” Vincent said. “Rufus has dispatched SOLDIER to fight the WEAPONS, but they haven’t had much luck.”

“Damn man!!!” Barret shouted. “We should be da ones out dere!! An’ I hate ta say it, but Rufus is doin a good job.”

The team begins to hear footsteps approaching and looks to the door. The next sound is that of fingers striking a keypad. Then, the door hissed open. Rufus walked in.

“Meteor has been summoned,” he began. “It’s all over now. We’ve done about all we can. I was counting on Cloud to come and rescue you all. But it looks like he’s dead”

“Cloud will come,” Aeris said. “He’s not dead.”

“Professor Hojo also wanted to check up on Cloud as well,” Rufus continued. “Although, he’s still puzzled at why this Sephiroth isn’t a clone.”

“Hojo can go to hell,” Sephiroth cursed. He turned away from Rufus and looked out the window.

“You now serve no purpose,” Rufus said. “No, that’s not true. You do serve one last purpose.”

“Preperations for the public execution are complete,” Heidegger said as he walked in.

“Ex-execution?!?” Aeris asked with surprise.

“That’s right,” Rufus said. “You’re to be executed for causing all this. People are ignorant. They’ll feel better as long as there is someone to blame.”

“You sonnuva bitch!!” Barret spat. “I take back whatever praise I had fo’ dis jackass!!”

“You cold-hearted monster...” Aeris said.

“I was inspiredby my hero,” Rufus revealed. “Sephiroth.”

“Sephiroth saved you!!” Tifa shouted.

“If I had my sword...” Sephiroth began.

“You’ll what?” Rufus cut him off.

“.................”

“Just as I figured.” Rufus replied. “Enjoy your last moments together. I need to check up on your friends.”

“He means Shen’s team, right?” Tifa whispered to Aeris.

“Yes, Tsunami,” Aeris whispered back. “I hope they’re alright.”

As Rufus walks out, several MPs enter.

“Tie their arms,” Heidegger ordered the MPs.

*****

“Kya ha ha!!” Scarlet laughed as the MPs led Avalanche into a room full of reporters. “There they are!! The people responsible for this mess!!” Television cameras turned to the prisoners and camera shutters where clicking constantly.

“Why are they here?” Aeris asked.

“We’re going to broadcast your worthless demise on national TV!!” Scarlet answered.

“Scarlet, why a public execution in this day and age?” a reporter asked.

“We figured that the world would love to see the deaths of the people who caused all this trouble!!” she replied. “Tifa Lockheart will be the first to be executed.”

“No,” Sephiroth ordered. All cameras turned to him. “If you want to kill someone, kill me.”

“Sephiroth, no,” Aeris said.

“I destroyed Nibelheim, I killed President Shinra alongwith countless others, I would’ve summoned Meteor as well,” Sephiroth replied. “I deserve to die for that.”

“Make sure you get this on tape!!” Scarlet answered. “The audience just eats up tearful goodbyes!! Take her to the gas chamber!!” An MP led Tifa into the chamber. Scarlet followed.

*****

The MP put a hand on Tifa’s shoulder, stopping her. He then untied her arms and held her so she couldn’t move.

“This is a gas chamber of my design,” Scarlet said as she walked in. “Enjoy a slow death.” She shoved Tifa into the chair and the MP locked her in place. Scarlet slapped Tifa. “Stuck up bitch!!” She walked out and the MP followed. The door was shut and locked. Tifa looked down at the ground.

The guard dropped his key.

*****

Scarlet walked back in front of the cameras.

“We can watch as the girl dies slowly on this monitor,” she said, pointing to a large screen behind her. Avalanche looked on in horror at their teammate as gas began to surround her. Then, an alarm sounded.

[[WARNING!!! WARNING!! WEAPON IS APPROACHING JUNON!!]]

“It’s WEAPON!!!” A reporter said. “We’re all gonna die!!”

“I’m outta here!!” another said. One by one, the reporters and camera operators ran out of the room abandoning their equipment.

“WAIT!!” Scarlet called to them. “Oh well.”

“Scarlet, how do you feel?” a large reporter asked.

“You stayed? I’m impressed,” Scarlet replied. “How do I feel? Well I--” She fell unconcious.

“Sleeping gas?” Red asked. The reporter spun around and revealed himself to be Cait Sith!!

“Here I am!!” Cait said.

“Why are you doing this?” Aeris asked as he untied them. “Aren’t you part of the Shin-Ra?”

“Let’s just say I’m against capitol punishment,” Cait replied. “Besides, I hate this broad.”

“What about our weapons?” Cid asked. Cait bounded over to what seemed to be a case for camera equipment. He opened it and inside were the team’s weapons.

Aeris looked at the screen with horror. “Tifa is still in there!!” she cried. “Sephiroth, can’t you do anything?”

Sephiroth ran over to the door and tried to open it. “No luck. It must be locked from inside.”

“Let’s head to the airport!!” Cait suggested. “Maybe we can find another way in!!”

The team ran out of the room and the door slammed shut.

“SHIT!!” Cid cursed. “We’re locked out!!”

*****

Tsunami sat in their cell pondering their current status.

“Any ideas?” Ray asked as he stared out of the window lazily.

“Not a one,” Shen replied.

“What do you mean no?” Sara asked. “You’re the leader!!”

“Yeah all-mighty leader!!” Rudy shouted. “Think of something!!”

“OK, I don’t like this,” Striker said, pacing. “We’re stuck in here.”

“Striker, stop pacing!!” Sara ordered. “You’re making me nervous!!”

“Shut up, Sara!!” Striker snapped. “And where the hell is Avalanche?!?”

“They were seperated from us and put in a seperate holding cell, remember?” Shen replied. “But I can’t believe Cloud is gone.”

“He’s not gone,” Striker said. “He seems like a strong person. Reminds me of Zack.”

“You know him better than any of us Rudy,” Shen said. “What do you think?”

“Me?” Rudy asked.

“You were with him at Nibelheim five years ago,” Shen replied. “Or, with Zack rather. I forgot that Cloud wasn’t even at Nibelheim. If what Bizarro-Sephiroth said was true, then he wasn’t even human.”

“Everything about the Nibelheim incident, and much of my past, is kind of a blur,” Rudy said.

The door hissed open and Rufus walked in followed by several MPs.

“Meteor has been summoned,” he began.

“Really?” Ray asked. “Tell us something we don’t know.”

“Avalanche is to be executed for it,” Rufus continued.

“Huh?” Ray asked. “Why them?!?”

“It wasn’t Avalanche’s fault Meteor was summoned!!” Striker protested. “You really are a rat-bastard!!”

“People are ignorant,” Rufus began. “They’ll feel better if someone is blamed.”

“What about us then?” Shen asked.

“You all have some previous connection to Shin-Ra,” Rufus said. “Shen was a trainer for MPs and Pre-SOLDIERS, Striker was a First Class SOLDIER Officer, Rudy was an MP, Sara was a security guard at the No. 7 Reactor, and Ray. Well, Ray has just been evading us for years.”

“Seems like the Shin-Ra has ruined all our lives,” Rudy said.

“What are you trying to say, Rufus?” Sara asked.

“We’re willing to accept you back into the ranks of Shin-Ra,” Rufus replied.

“No way!!” Ray protested.

“Go to Hell!!” Sara spat.

“Not gonna happen!!” Striker shouted. “Not after what you did to Zack!!”

“I’d prefer death over working for the Shin-Ra again,” Shen said.

“This is more than what you think,” Rufus began. “You wouldn’t get your old jobs back. You would be placed in a special SOLDIER strike force. Led by Garrison, the General of SOLDIER. This strike force is the best of the best. So far, only two SOLDIER Officers have been assigned to it. You will also be assigned to it.”

“Go fuck yourself!!” Striker cursed. He spit in Rufus’ face. Rufus wiped the saliva from beneath his eye and raised his fist to strike when the alarm sounded.

[[WARNING!!! WARNING!! WEAPON IS APPROACHING JUNON!!]]

“Shit,” Rufus cursed. “Well, I need to get going.” He turned to the MPs. “There is a chopper waiting outside. Get them in it and take them to Midgar.”

“Midgar?” Shen asked. “Why there?”

“Professor Hojo is expecting you all,” Rufus replied.

“Hojo?” Ray asked, backing up nervously. “What does he want?!?”

Rufus walked out and the MPs tied their hands and led them through the corridor.

*****

As the MPs took them through the corridors of Junon’s Shin-Ra Headquarters, there was a banging noise heard from above them.

“What the hell is that?” an MP asked.

“It’s ME!!!” Cait Sith shouted as he jumped from his perch and landed on two MPs. “The one and only toysaurus!! Cait Sith #3!!!”

“Get him!!” an MP ordered. The remaining three MPs all took aim at Cait.

“Mog Smash!!” Cait ordered through his megaphone. The mog rushed forward and pounded the three MPs into unconciousness. “Hey all!! I freed Avalanche AND I brought your weapons!!” Cait pulled a box from a hiding spot with Tsunami’s weapons in it.

“My sword,” Ray said. “Thanks Cait.”

“What’s the plan?” Shen asked.

“We need help getting Avalanche out of Junon,” Cait replied. “We can take the airship, but we need a distraction. But we’d hafta leave you guys behind.”

“We can handle it,” Striker said.

“There was a reason Tsunami was formed,” Shen noted. “You do what you must.”

“Alright,” Cait said, bounding off. “Good luck!!”

“Send Avalanche our regards!!” Sara called to him.

*****

Sephiroth led the team down the airport path. They were stopped by a young reporter.

“Please people,” she said. “What is your opinion on the current string of events?”

“Out of our way!!” Sephiroth ordered.

“You don’t hafta be so cold!!” the reporter replied. She spun around. “It’s me!!! YUFFIE!!!”

“This is no time for games,” Sephiroth snapped. “We must get to the airport.”

*****

The first shot from Junon’s cannon had no effect on WEAPON.

“Is the cannon ready?” Rufus asked.

“Only enough power for one more shot,” Heidegger replied.

WEAPON fired a blast of energy at Junon causing a hole to open in one of the areas.

“We better make this shot worth it,” Rufus said. “............Fire.”

As WEAPON powers up for a second shot, the cannon blows its head off.

*****

It was getting difficult for Tifa to hold her breath. WEAPON had just blasted a hole in the wall in front of her which had allowed some air to enter, but not enough to overpower the gas. She looked down at the floor. A few feet in front of her was a key. The guard must have accidentally dropped it after he locked her in the chair. She carefully slid down out of the chair until she could grasp the key in her feet. Pulling herself back into the chair, she lifted her feet towards her head until she could grasp the key in her teeth. She let her legs fall to the ground. With the key in her mouth, she bent over to the lock on her left arm and stuck the key in it. She turned it and the lock snapped open!! She took the key and unlocked the other lock. Quickly, she stood and caught her breath over by the hole. The gas was starting to spread.

“I need to shut it off,” she said. Walking back into the gas cloud, she fumbled around until her fingers found the switch for the gas. She flicked it off and the gas began to dissapate.

“HEY!!” Scarlet shouted from outside the door. “What’s going on in there?!? Open this door!!”

“First you lock me in this weird place, and now you want me to come out?” Tifa said. “Make up your mind!!” She looked at the hole WEAPON made. “Maybe I can climb out....” The MPs began to charge through the door. In response, Tifa climbed out the hole and began the climb down.

“STOP HER!!” Scarlet ordered. “She’s headed for the cannon!!!”

*****

Tifa began to sprint onto the cannon when the MPs caught up to her. Scarlet walked behind them and approached Tifa.

“Your public execution may have been a bust,” Scarlet began. “But your death from plummeting from this cannon into the waters below can still be entertaining.” She walked right up to Tifa and slapped her. “Stuck up to the end.”

“Stop slapping me you old wench!!” Tifa ordered. She slapped Scarlet back.

“OW!!” Scarlet shouted in pain. She slapped Tifa back. “You little bitch!!”

“Who are you calling a bitch?!?” Tifa asked as she slapped back.

“Cheap-ass WHORE!!!!” Scarlet cursed as she slapped Tifa.

“Look who’s talking!!” Tifa replied. She jabbed Scarlet in the stomach, then finished off with a light uppercut, just enough to knock the Shin-Ra employee off her feet.

“GET HER!!!” Scarlet ordered the MPs. They started to approach her.

“Run Tifa,” a voice said. “Run to the end of the cannon.” Tifa began to run like the voice said. The MPs followed.

“Don’t bother chasing her,” Scarlet ordered. “Just SHOOT HER!!!” The MPs readied their guns and began to fire several rounds at Tifa. She kept running until the airship came up from beneath the cannon with Barret on the deck shouting to her. He threw a rope down. She lept and caught it, then began to climb up.

*****

Barret led Tifa into the cockpit where everyone was waiting. Cid greeted her.

“Welcome to my airship!!” he exclaimed. “The HIGHWIND!!! Ha ha!! I KNEW I’d get her back!!”

“So this is the famous Highwind you’re always talking about?” Vincent asked.

“Damn straight,” Cid replied. “I created it and I flew it.”

“Ulp, if you don’t mind...?” Yuffie said, holding her stomach.

“It’s the fastest ship ever,” Cid bragged.

“.......Fast?!?” Yuffie asked. “I think I’m gonna be sick.” She leaned over the railing.

“Wow, I’ve wanted to ride this ever since we first went to Junon,” Aeris said. “Cloud promised he would take me on it someday.”

“Cloud.....” Tifa said.

“We need to continue on,” Sephiroth said. “It’s what Cloud would have wanted.”

“Ha ha!!” Cait laughed, looking at Yuffie. “I’m lucky I’m a robot.”

“You’re goin’ down cat,” Yuffie threatened. “Ulp!!!”

“I think you’ve mistaken me for your LUNCH!!!” Cait joked. He fell over in laughter.

“If we find out where Cloud is, the Highwind’ll get us faster than I can smoke this cig,” Cid said.

“Maybe....” Red began. “Grandfather once told me there’s a place where the Lifestream comes to the surface. A small island to the south.”

“Damn Yuffie,” Cid began. “You better hope we don’t take a sudden dive or climb!!”

“CID!!!” Yuffie protested.

“Cid, leave her alone,” Aeris ordered.

“Heh heh,” Cid replied.

“As I was saying,” Red broke in. “The Lifestream may have carried Cloud to the island.”

“It’s a long shot...” Sephiroth began. “But it’s worth a try.”

“Den let’s get a move on!!” Barret said.

Cid looked to a monitor with a map displayed on it. He pointed to a small island. “Is that it?” he asked.

“Probably,” Red replied.

“Mideel,” Sephiroth pointed out. “Have your pilot take us there.”

“Alright,” Cid agreed. He turned to the pilot in training. “You heard the man.”

“YAAAAAHHHH!!!!” the pilot cried. “WE’RE OFF!!!”

“Uggghhh,” Yuffie groaned. “I don’t care WHERE we go, just LAND this thing!!”

“It’s at the south,” Cait reminded Yuffie. “It’s gonna be a LOOOONG ride!!”

“NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!” Yuffie protested.

“And just imagine all the.....TURBULENCE!!!” Cait shouted.

“Turbulence?” Yuffie asked. “Ulp...why me?”

“Because you’re a rotten little thief,” Barret commented.

“Yuffie, green is more of your color,” Cid said. “I like it!!”

*URK!!!!!*

“Nice Yuffie,” Cid said. “Now howzabout cleaning it up?”

“Cid, what about the Tiny Bronco?” Aeris asked.

“All taken care of,” Cid replied. “I got some friends in Junon with a boat. They can pick it up and leave it in Junon. All I gotta do is call ‘em.”

As if on cue, the PHS rang.

“What the hell do you want?” Cid asked as he activated it. He hooked it up to the Highwind’s speakers.

{{Nice to know you miss me so much, Cid.}} Shen Long said through the device.

“Shen!!” Tifa cried. “Are you guys alright?”

{{We’re fine, Tifa.}} he replied. {{We’ve stolen a Gelinka plane with the help of a Pre-SOLDIER by the name of Squall Leonhart. Right now, we’re headed to Midgar to cause an even bigger disturbance.}}

“We’re about to search for Cloud,” Aeris said.

{{Then this will be the perfect way to keep Shin-Ra off your backs.}}

“Be careful, Shen!!” Aeris replied.

{{You too. Keep us posted.}} Shen shut off his PHS. Cid disconnected it and tossed it to Sephiroth.

“You’re the leader now,” he said. “And we’ll get movin once Yuffie--”

“I’LL CLEAN IT UP!!!!! I’LL CLEAN IT UP!!!!!” Yuffie exclaimed.
_____________________________________________________________________________
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hope you guys liked this. A little bit of character interaction alongwith some humor at Yuffie’s expense. So far, this storyline has pretty much followed the original. But once Cloud rejoins the team, things will start to change BIG TIME!!! We’ve created a whole cast of new supporting characters who will play big parts in the upcoming chapters. So keep reading. Soon, I’ll have Chapter 10 up. And in that one, the team finds Cloud in Mideel and there is a BIG surprise that has never been in the game and is not in any fanfictions!!

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