Hel & Back Chapter 12
Turn of Events
By Dino Pollard
Reeve worked feverishly with the equipment he had.
Here he was, a captive in his own tower. Working on plans that the new President Rufus wanted. Some sort of anti-gravity platform.
He looked down at the scattered equipment and deviated from his assigned project. The CPU had already been crafted. Now he just needed something to contain it.
He began to craft a head from the metal, welding different scraps he found. When the head was complete, he activated the internal CPU by a remote he also crafted.
"Whoa…" the head stated, its lips moving in sync with its words.
"It worked…" Reeve stated. "It actually worked…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" the robot said. "Hey… where's my body? And where's Mog?"
"Just a minute…" Reeve said, grabbing a small, robot body he crafted. "I'm gonna shut you down for a little longer."
"Heeeey!! You can't tease me like th-"
Reeve deactivated it and began to attach the head to the body. It would take some time, hiding the work from the guards. But in the end, it would be worth it.
*****
{{ The target remains, sir. }}
"Dammit!" Rufus exclaimed, slamming the PHS on the ground. It instantly shattered. "Those bastards have more lives than a fucking ca-"
He stopped. The scent of smoke filled the air.
"Good evening, Mr. President."
Rufus turned in his chair. A man in a coat was standing there, holding a cigarette.
"Jesus, Frost," he stated. "How the hell did you get past security undetected?"
"I'm a Seido agent," Frost replied. "We pride ourselves on our subtlety."
"What do you want?"
"We helped you back into the seat of power," Frost replied. "Make sure you honor your part of the deal."
"Already on it," Rufus stated. "A majority of the people associated with Avalanche have been killed. Others have been captured. Seven remain at large."
"What of those seven?"
"We already tried dispatching them with Shin-Ra Combat Planes, but that damn pilot was able to destroy them."
"What else?"
"SOLDIER is on the look-out for them. And if Hojo completes his end of the bargain, we'll have the means to stop them."
"Don't get cocky."
"I won't."
"You DO realize what's at stake here, don't you?"
"Yes."
"See that you keep it in mind."
Frost walked out to the balcony of the Tower. Placing a hand on the railing, he jumped, pushing himself over the edge. Rufus darted to over and looked down.
Nothing.
"He IS good…"
*****
"S-Strife?"
"I'm gonna get you outta here," Cloud stated, drawing the Yoshiyuki given to him by Sal. "Hold still."
"Not much-much of a… choice…" Sephiroth muttered. Cloud lifted the blade above his head, then brought it crashing down on the manacle on Sephiroth's wrist. It split open instantly. He did the same to the other, and then to the ones which bound his feet.
"C'mon," Cloud said, extending his hand. Sephiroth grabbed it, and used Cloud as a brace as he pulled himself up. He stumbled a bit, but regained his balance.
Cloud grabbed onto the rope ladder and slowly began to climb. Sephiroth followed him, albeit at a much slower pace.
He reached up to grab the next rung, but slipped and fell back down. Cloud jumped off it once again.
"Go on…" Sephiroth stated. "Go without me…"
"No chance in Hell," Cloud said. He grabbed Sephiroth's arms, and flung them over his shoulders, so that Sephiroth was on his back.
"I'm not gonna let you die in this pit."
*****
The Highwind circled around Shin-Ra HQ, with Avalanche inside, contemplating the plan of action.
"Looks like this is the end of the line, kids," Cid stated. "I'll be flyin' around. Call me on the PHS when yer set ta be picked up."
"That Teleport Materia all ready, Yuffie?" Red asked.
"You betcha," Yuffie replied. "Awright, everyone get close-but watch the hands!"
"Ya won't hafta worry 'bout that," Barret stated. "No one's gonna grab yer bony ass."
"BONY?!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Ooooh… you are SO dead, Barret!!"
"Jes' get on wit' it."
Yuffie swallowed a curse before concentrating on the Materia.
"Teleport!"
Energy began to surround the team, blanketing them. It expanded and glowed brightly, before shrinking back down. When it was gone, so were they.
Cid pulled on the Highwind's stick, causing it to fly upwards. He then accelerated, heading south. He had a theory he wanted to put into play.
*****
Hojo sat in his lab, looking over the results of the break-out. It was horrible. The lab had been demolished. Although this time, it was from the outside.
"Kaine…" he muttered. "You weren't finished. Your programming wasn't complete. And unless I'm able to stop you beforehand, there won't be much of a future for any of us."
*****
"What do you have to report, Agent Frost?"
"How is young Rufus doing now that he's returned to his throne?"
"And how is he furthering our own goals?"
"Shin-Ra has already kicked off," Frost replied. "And so far, it looks good. All of his forces are searching for the remaining seven that comprise Avalanche. The Strifes and Sephiroth are currently incarcerated in Corel Prison. It won't be long now."
"Good."
"The Ascension is at hand."
"And then… we shall return."
"Return to where?" Frost asked.
The Tribunal looked at each other. Then, for the first time, they all spoke in unison.
"To Seido."
*****
"You KNOW I hate it when you shut me down!!"
"It was necessary," Reeve stated. "Would you rather I attached your head to your body while you were conscious? You may just be a robot, but you can still feel pain."
"…This better be worth it…" Cait stated.
Reeve placed him down on the ground.
"Move fast, hide in corners, and try and find the rest of Avalanche. I heard a rumor that they're in the building."
"Yeah, yeah yeah," Cait replied, easily sliding through the bars. He then scurried off.
It wasn't the finest model, but Cait Sith III would have to do for now. And he would make it up to the robot once he had the chance.
*****
Cloud reached over the edge and began to pull himself up.
"CLOUD!!" Tifa exclaimed.
"Help Sephiroth," he said.
Tifa reached over and grabbed the older man, pulling him off.
"Magnum, give me a hand."
Magnum helped her, gripping Sephiroth's arm and lifting him off of Cloud's back. He then laid him down on the ground as Cloud pulled himself out of the hole.
"How's he doing?"
"He'll be alright, lad," Magnum replied. "He's weakened, though. A Restore Materia would fix 'em right up."
"Where are we gonna get Materia down here?" Tifa asked.
Magnum sighed and rubbed his chin.
"That's a mighty good question, lass."
*****
The energy signature of the Teleport spell appeared right in the middle of the lobby of Shin-Ra HQ. When it passed, Avalanche was standing there. Yuffie had a grin on her face until she realized where they were.
"Oh shit!" she exclaimed.
"Yuffie, where exactly were you planning on teleporting us?" Aeris asked.
"Inside the building!" Yuffie replied. "But I wasn't-"
"Ya dumb bitch!!" Barret exclaimed. "Ya teleported us right inna center of the lobby!!"
"I was hoping we could avoid confrontation…" Red replied, as security began to charge in. "But it appears as if we have no choice."
He growled and leapt at one of the guards, claws and fangs bared.
"I thought this was gonna be a boring mission, but now things're picking up!" Reno exclaimed, using the electrified end of his nightstick to take down opponents.
The Conformer left Yuffie's hand, cutting through several of the guards, before returning to her. She threw it once more.
Aeris used her Princess Guard as best as possible. True, she was a bit more skilled with it now, but she still wasn't much of a fighter.
Barret, on the other hand, had no qualms with unloading round after round from the Missing Score on his opponents.
Zack used the Buster Sword in a defensive way, deflecting bullets and using it as a shield. When he got in close enough, he would impale a guard, but not sooner.
Shen was very speedy, and he displayed that as he moved, dodging bullets and cutting into guards with the Eternal Blade.
"Here come more…" Shen muttered.
"I'll handle this…" Barret stated, hitting something on his Missing Score. "Been waitin' t' try out dis new attachment. Get behind me."
"Barret, what're you doing?" Aeris asked.
Barret said nothing, just waited as they got close. Aeris was beginning to get impatient. She didn't want to take any chances, so she began to concentrate, muttering a prayer underneath her breath.
The team became surrounded by an energy signature. It was a Cetra spell that would keep them temporarily invulnerable.
Barret brought up his arm, and energy began to form at the barrel.
"EAT SHIT AND DIE!!!" he exclaimed, an enormous energy blast shooting forth, vaporizing everything in its path.
He shut off the blast, and the rest of the team just looked at him in shock.
"Thank Knolan," Barret replied. "Now, let's get t' th' stairway."
*DING*
The elevator door opened, and Barret lifted up his weapon once more, as Reno drew a handgun.
Inside, there was a small metal cat, which seemed to be thrown together with various parts.
"Umm… did I come at a bad time?"
"CAIT!" Aeris exclaimed, running into the elevator and picking him up.
"I never thought I'd be happy t' see that fucking cat…" Barret muttered. "Yo, how'd you get here?"
"Reeve," Cait replied. "He threw me together in his cell, and wanted me t' find you guys."
"Reeve's in the building?" Aeris asked. Cait nodded. "Then we have to save him!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Reno broke in. "I got nothing against Reeve, but let's face it, the guy's not much of a fighter. We've got a job to do, and he'd be too much of a liability. Rufus probably already knows we're here, what if he tries to run?"
"That's a risk we're going to take," Aeris replied.
"It's just too risky," Reno said. "Like I said, he's too much of a liabilit-"
"Like me?" Aeris asked. Reno sighed.
"Everyone just calm down…" Red stated. "I'm sorry to say it, but Reno's right. We can't do anything for Reeve right now."
"You can't just expect me to leave one of my friends behind!!" Aeris exclaimed. "Reeve would do the same for any one of us. And now we need to help him! So if you're not going to help me, I'll go alone."
"No you won't," Zack ordered, grabbing her arm. "We're low on people as it is. The last thing we need is for you to go running off."
"I'm only going to say this once, Zack," Aeris stated. "Let… go…"
Zack looked up at Aeris and sighed. He knew her well enough to know that once her mind was set on something, it couldn't be changed. Reluctantly, he released her, and she pulled away.
"Come on, Cait," Aeris said, looking down at her new companion. "Show me how to get to Reeve."
"Red, this is insane!" Reno exclaimed. "How the fuck do we know she won't get kidnapped as well?"
"No matter what happens, Aeris will take care of herself," Red noted. "She's done it in the past, and she'll do it again."
"I can't let her go alone…" Zack stated, about to follow her.
"No," Red ordered. "You're going to remain with us. Yuffie, I want you to accompany her."
"Just my luck…" Yuffie muttered. "Do I hafta?"
Red gave her a stern look and Yuffie just rolled her eyes before running down the corridor.
"Hey Aeris, wait up!!"
"You guys do have a way to operate the elevator, right?" Reno asked.
"Cid gave us his keycard," Shen replied. "It can take us to the 70th Floor."
"Sounds good," Reno stated. "But Rufus probably already knows we're inside."
"That's a risk we have to take," Red said.
*****
The Highwind rocketed down to the island where Helspont had previously occupied. Cid had a hunch. Was it possible that Helspont could be behind all of this? If that was true, then they were in for quite a fight.
He looked down at the radar to see approaching flyers. He switched to the Highwind's cameras and brought up a visual. Black combat choppers. He recognized them, saw them before. They belonged to Seido.
"Not again…" Cid muttered, switching to defense mechanisms. He accelerated, converting the ship's power to the shields. They weren't much, but the energy shields would at least protect the ship for a bit. And that was all the time he needed to charge up the main gun.
He flipped various toggle switches, and something slid over the nose. It was large, and he had taken the design from the Sister Ray, combined with some of his own engineering know-how, as well as Knolan's to create a nose that could also serve as a powerful weapon. All he needed was time to charge it up. The shields would keep the gun protected from fire while it was charging.
Warning alarms went off, and he looked down at the monitors to see that the choppers had fired missiles. He wasn't sure if the shields could take that much damage, so he pulled hard on the stick, sending the plane flying.
The choppers attempted to follow as best as possible, yet they weren't even close to the same speed.
"Gotta lay some cover down…" Cid muttered, flipping other switches. Rockets engaged, and he activated them quickly, shooting them off one-by-one.
They were only enough to take out one chopper as the other two followed in hot pursuit. He looked down at the display. The gun was only at 50% power.
"It'll hafta do…" he muttered. Flipping around, the Highwind II face the opponents. The shields dropped just as the main gun was prepared to fire. Before the beam could launch, some sort of energy from the ground struck the nose.
{{ WARNING!! WARNING!! }}
"SONNUVA BITCH!!" Cid exclaimed. He brought up status monitors. The nose had taken a bad hit.
The Highwind shook violently as it sustained another hit.
{{ HULL BREACH!! HULL BREACH!! }}
"GODDAMMIT!!" Cid exclaimed. "I'M GOIN' DOWN!!"
The Highwind II dove towards the jungles, striking them hard.
From the ground, a cloaked figure watched the events with a sinister grin.
*****
*DING*
"They're here…" Rufus stated, turning in his chair as Barret approached him. "Welcome to Shin-Ra Headquarters."
Barret gripped him by his shirt collar, and threw him across the room.
"You sonnuva bitch!!" he exclaimed, taking aim with his gun.
*CLICK*
"Oh no…" Zack muttered.
"I'm sorry," Rufus said. "I forgot to introduce my bodyguard."
He was a tall, black man dressed in a navy-blue suit. The top of his head was devoid of hair, the light shining off it. His eyes were concealed by a pair of dark sunglasses. In his hand, he held a simple handgun, standard-issue.
"…Rude…" Reno muttered.
*****
A hole in time and space appeared in the Tribunal's chamber. It expanded, and blue flames emerged. They coalesced into a form, all too familiar to the founders of Seido.
He stood firmly, grinning at them. They came down from their concealed perches and landed before him. One by one, they removed their hoods. Each one possessed a different deformity. Each one was hairless. Each one also seemed to be comprised of Jenova.
One by one, they knelt on the ground before their leader.
"The time for the Ascension has come, Lord."
"We, your faithful servants, have prepared for your return."
"Now, we await your commands."
He looked down at them, and grinned.
"You have served me well, Tribunal," he stated. "Now, I want you to all sit still. This will help us prepare for the coming."
"What of your enemies?"
"That is none of your concern," he replied. His eyes began to glow, energy seeping down to his fists.
The Tribunal looked on at this and experienced something they never knew existed.
Fear.
With but a thought, the creature extended his arms, the energy unleashed, blue flames eating away at the Tribunal. Each one of them screamed in pain as their lifeforce was drained back into him.
"I have been fooling you all this time," he stated to the skeletons that remained. "I never intended to grant you more power. In fact, I required your power and your resources to help me. Now, the Ascension has come and anything in my way shall be destroyed. Even if they are my children."
Frost looked on with horror at this, then slowly began to walk away.
"Step forward, Agent Frost."
He swallowed hard and took a step into the chamber, his eyes never leaving the smoking skeletons.
"You served my children well," he stated. "And now, you shall do the same for me. Understood?"
Frost slowly nodded.
"Do not fool yourself, you will die eventually. But if you serve me well, your death shall be painless."
"I-I understand…" Frost muttered.
"Good. Then it is time to begin the Ascension."
His hands began to glow brightly, illuminating the previously-darkened room. It revealed a large, metal room, with some sort of odd machine.
"HELSPONT HAS RETURNED!!"