Payback's a Bitch Chapter 10
By Joe L.
"What the hell is happening?" Cloud asked angrily as ten soldiers were escorting back to Kalm and to the custody of Gyver and Yegolar.
"Gyver and Yegolar requests to meet you, Cloud Strife." The solider grinned evily as he said that name. The bastard! Our cover is blown, Cloud said.
"What? How the hell did you know?" Cloud grunted. Could they have spotted the C-4?
"We saw what you and your little buddy were doing with the explosives. Don't worry though, we disarmed them." It appeared Cloud's plan had failed, and both he and Briggins would die.
After being marched, and being led down an elevator shaft, and through a military base, Cloud and Briggins were taken to a room, where Yegolar and Gyver along with other men were waiting for them.
"Ah, Cloud and Briggins! So glad that you could join us. Let's see, in about twenty minutes, all of my friends shall arrive! How do ya like that?" Yegolar called out to the companions, as he was seated in an old, rotting chair.
"Don't think this is the end you son of a bitch!" Briggins growled at the Ghiite.
"Threaten me will you? You need discipline now that you are talking to the soon to be Almighty High Emperor of Earth," Yegolar hissed back. He ordered the soldiers to hold Briggins by his arms, and then Yegolar solidly punched Briggins in the jaw. The fist did little more than draw blood, and barely affected him. Briggins broke out laughing.
"Ha! Is that your best shot?" He laughed harder than ever, but was cut off by one of the soldiers kneeing him in the stomach. This sent him gasping to the ground for air.
"What do you mean your friends will get here?" Cloud asked Yegolar.
"I have contacted my home planet of Kylos, and they are sending a ship to pick us up from this Planet, and from there will take all the missiles from this Planet. After which of course, we will obliterate all life on this Planet."
"Ya know, you keep saying, but how are you gonna live on this Planet if it's destroyed?"
"Cloud, you underestimate the adaptive nature of a Ghiite. A little radiation from this bomb won't hurt us."
"You know I'm not going to let you do this!" Cloud screamed defiantly.
"I'm afraid it's too late for your halfbaked threats. You will be executed in, let's see, two hours by my count. Your little friend on the other hand, well guards, you know what to do." Yegolar smiled and the guards walked over to Briggins, who had gotten up now. They then loaded and pointed their guns at him. Briggins made no move to run, considering he was close to the entrance. With a single command from Gyver, the soldiers unloaded on Briggins, shooting him in a dozen different places before he fell to the ground, a bloody mess. Part of his head was completely torn apart, spilling his brain on the floor. One of his arms was completely shot off, while the rest of the gunshot wounds had spilled his guts onto the floor. It was not a pretty sight.
Cloud could do nothing but look at the gruesome sight in horror. How could someone be so cruel?
"You maniac! I swear you'll never get away with this!" Cloud yelled at Yegolar, though it was too late. Guards were already taking Cloud to solitary confinement in a small room in the hangar. It wouldn't be too long before he was executed.
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While AVALANCHE had arrived only three miles from Kalm, it did them no good. As far as Vincent could tell, they would be shot hundreds of times over before they even had a clue as to where Cloud was.
"You're tellung me that there's no way to get in?" Tifa asked Vincent as he surveyed the landscape.
"Unless something short of a miracle happens, then yes. No way to enter." Vincent, without the slightest hint of emotion.
"How are we going to save Cloud then?" Tifa fumed. How can we sneak past an entire army?
"If only one of us could use this Sword other than Cloud...." Sephiroth whispered to himself as he rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
"Hey, maybe I could go right past all of them," Cait Sith interjected into the conversation. "I mean, I'm just a stuffed toy! I'm sure that they won't shoot me or anything."
"Hey, the cat's got a good idea. If Cait can just find out where Cloud is, maybe he can somehow give him the Sword!" Yuffie blurted out.
"Ah, but your logic fails my friends." Vincent replied, not even looking back at his companions he was talking to.
"What do you mean? I know it sounds a little crazy, but it's the only shot we-" Yuffie started when Vincent interrupted.
"Unfortunately, when they see our friend Cait here carrying the Sword of Life, I'm sure the military officers will either shoot Cait and take the Sword, take him directly to our Ghiite enemies, or a combination of the two."
"Dammit! I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" Yuffie screamed, and she plopped down to the grass, bitter in defeat.
"Shit....Well, we can't just stand around here like a bunch of jackasses. We have to figure out something, and we have to do it pretty damn quick! This whole damn Planet is in danger, and all of you are bickering like a bunch of little babies!" Barret yelled to AVALANCHE. At this, everyone turned their attention to Barret. He stared at all of them coldly.
"I have an idea," Sephiroth replied to Barret's outrage.
"What?" Barret grunted back.
"It's quite simple actually. I can't believe I didn't think of it before. I can shapeshift as you well know, therefore I could morph into a soldier, right? All I have to do is search for Cloud."
"Sounds good to me." Barret gruffly said. "Well, then if nobody has any better ideas, than let's do it." Sephiroth then closed his eyes, and seemed to be perfectly still. An aura of energy surrounded him, and suddenly his appearance changed to a soldier of Shinra, Inc.
"How do I look?" Sephiroth asked.
"Good enough to pass off for a soldier," Barret replied, as he surveyed Sephiroth.
"Tifa, give me the Sword," Sephiroth ordered. Tifa seemed hesitant, and looked at the others, as if for an answer.
"Tifa, we have no time to waste. Give me the Sword. This is one time that you will have to trust me on something," Sephiroth said, a hint of anger rising in his voice. Tifa slowly handed the Sword of Life to Sephiroth, who carefully slid it between his belt. Without a word, he left the group.
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"Where's Gyver?" Sephiroth asked a soldier as he walked the streets of Kalm.
"I dunno. Asked Colonel Sanders or something," the soldier replied and went back to talking with his compatriots. Damnnation, Sephiroth swore to himself. This escapade isn't helping our cause one bit. He kept questioning soldiers of the whereabouts of their leader when he heard a very faint engine in the distance. He looked around and looked up in the sky to see the cause of the commotion, but he saw nothing except a faint speck in the sky. The speck however was growing larger and larger and the engine's rumble also increased it's intensity.
"What is that?" Sephiroth asked. A spaceship perhaps? But from where?
Now, all the soldiers were looking up at the dot in the sky. Sephiroth could now see what it was. It was shaped like a cylinder almost, and at the front was a large window or a screen as to where the pilot could see where they were going. It was colored a dull gray, and at the back of the ship was a row of gigantic engines that roared and caused an extremem amount of heat. The size of the ship was enormous. At about 3,000 feet, the ship slowed down a great deal, and prepared to land. The engines seemed to relent, and it quietly glided down to the surface.
Every man's jaw was wide open. They could not beleive what they were seeing. This ship was so incredibly huge, that the tail end was only twenty yards away from AVALANCHE. Oh my God, Sephiroth thought. What the hell is going on?
The ship had landed on tiny "legs" that seemed to support the entire ship. From the belly of the ship opened up a sort of entrance, and a set of steps came out as well.
A creature walked out from the ship. He was green, scaly, and had a long tail. A Ghiite most definitely.
"Qui des carepa aue Gyver?" The Ghitte spoke in it's native tongue. Just then, Sephiroth noticed a man adorned in a black robe approach the Ghiite. Gyver, no doubt Sephiroth mused.
The two brethren conversed for a while, speaking in their own language. Then both of them walked into the spaceship.
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"You have come just in time my friend," Gyver said to the Ghiite named Kalor, which he was following through the Ghiite spaceship. It was quite a piece of work, Gyver had to admit to himself. Every corridor was filled with Ghiites working on computers and fixing things and quietly awaiting the arrival of the reinacarnated Yegolar.
"How many are aboard?"
"We have around 1,500 on this ship alone, while the rest wait patiently on Thor," Kalor answered.
"So, where are we going?" Gyver asked.
"To see the captain of the ship."
"Should I tell him I have the missiles in my possession and ready for firing?"
"Of course. I should tell you though, it might take a while to make the adjustments on the ship to perfectly hold the missiles and to discharge them. After all, we had very little time to prepare."
"I understand that," Gyver nodded," but you can take all the time you need. Any outside threats have been taken care of." With that, Gyver was taken to the hull of the ship, where the captain stood scanning the Earth through the window of the front of the ship.
The captain was told by a fellow officer that Gyver was here to see him.
"Gyver...It's been a while hasn't it? Fifteen years perhaps since you were sent to Earth?" the Captain said.
"Seventeen actually. But enough of that. Are your men ready to load the missiles?"
"I suppose so. How many did you say there were?"
"I'm not sure. I think around ten, though some may still not function."
"I see..."
"Don't worry about anything. Just tell your crew to load up the missiles."
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Sephiroth was entering the missile bay. He had eavesdropped on a few officers talking about the missile and it's location, giving Sephiroth now a chance to deliver the Sword of Life to Cloud. He waited patiently as the elevator slowly came to a stop, and opened. The missile bay appeared to be empty. No soliders, Sephiroth said to himself.
He walked aimlessly around for around ten minutes, searching for Cloud. As he peered into a room, he noticed Yegolar asleep on a bed. Bastard, Sephiroth thought, I should slit his throat in his sleep. But he decided he had better just find Cloud. Sephiroth took a set of stairs that led down deep into the hangar. When at last he had completed going down the stairs, he noticed the only object in the room was a door. He walked over and tried to open it, but it was locked. Damn, he thought, it's locked. Through brute force, he smashed the door with his shoulder, sending splinters everywhere.
Cloud was in the room, standing up, apparently waiting for something. Sephiroth quickly morphed into his real form.
"Sephiroth? What the hell are you doing here?" Cloud gasped. Sephiroth said nothing, only handed him the Sword of Life.
"Take it."
"What the hell is this all about? How did you get here?"
"Take the Sword, you fool! It's our only hope!" Cloud slowly reached for the Sword, gripped it with both hands and picked it up. He felt a giant surge of energy flwo through his veins.
"What is this sword? I feel so much stronger!" Cloud said, gripping the Sword tightly.
"Good, let's go! Gyver and the Ghiites have arrived!"
"Damn! That's means they are almost ready to launch those missiles. How can we stop them?" Cloud cursed himelf for letting himself get caught.
"That sword has unimaginable power. Trust me." Sephiroth said. Just then they both heard another person enter the room.
"Going somewhere Cloud?" Yegolar grinned, arms crossed.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" Cloud said, charging with the Sword. With a point of his finger, a giant ball of fire formed and hit Cloud in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall. Sephiroth then unsheathed Masamune, preparing to do battle with Yegolar by himself.
"Now you challenge me too Sephiroth? You realize you cannot possibly defeat me. My power is greater than even yours," Yegolar rasped. Sephiroth stood there, Masamune in both hands, awaiting Yegolar's move.
"I doubt that," Sephiroth growled," I don't care who you are or what you think your capable of. I am going to put you down, one way or another."
"Oh really, let's find out!!!" Yegolar screamed, hurling a ball of fire at Sephiroth. Sephiroth rolled out of the way, rolling in front of Yegolar. With lightning quickness, Sephiroth came up with a giant uppercut to Yegolar's chin, sending him crashing back into the room with the stairs, with happened to be quite small.
"Good shot...Hope that your best, because you won't be getting another!" Yegolar growled, and then shot a bolt of lightining from his palm. The lightning missed Sephiroth by inches, and exploded into fire on the wall.
"Enough of this," Yegolar cried out and unsheathed a broadsword from his cloak he was wearing. "Prepare and die."
Yegolar slowly circled Sephiroth, swatting at him with his sword. Yegolar then swung with his sword, which Sephiroth blocked high and kicked Yegolar in the stomach, sending him to his knees. As he was on his knees, Sephiroth held his sword up and was about to decapitate the Ghiite but he rolled out of the way just as Sephiroth swung his sword. Yegolar stood up and readied him self, getting into a defensive stance.
Sephiroth walked casually over to Yegolar and started a flurry of attacks, each backing Yegolar back farther into the corner of the room. While Yegolar appeared to be very skilled with a blade, Sephiroth was the best only to Cloud. It was likely that he would wear out Yegolar.
Soon it became apparent to Yegolar that he needed to do something drastic lest Sephiroth trap him into the corner and kill him. When Sephiroth brought his sword up from a crushing swoing, instead of blocking, Yegolar hit the warrior with the hilt of his blade squarely in the jaw of Sephiroth. The hit sent blood gushing from his mouth and he staggered back a few steps just enough so that Yegolar sliced Sephiroth's stomach, making a signifigant cut.
"Bastard! You truly are stupid thinking your pathetic attacks can stop me!" Sephiroth yelled vilely as he wiped the blood off his black shirt he was wearing. He shook his head, I have to be more careful. With that, he was upon Yegolar once again, but this time Yegolar parried each of his attacks and took stabs at Sephiroth which missed. Yegolar then took the opportunity once he was on the offensive and blasted Sephiroth with a bolt of lightning, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Ah, damn you!" Sephiroth groaned as he struggled to get up.
"Having a little trouble are you, eh?" Yegolar replied sarcastically.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Sephroth screamed maniacally as he rushed up from the remains of the wall and lashed out at Yegolar, scoring hits on the Ghiite. With a clean swipe, Sephiroth cut a huge gash in Yegolar's right arm.
"Ah, damn it!" Yegolar screamed as Sephiroth then drove his sword into Yegolar's side. Yegolar's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets in disbelief now that he was on the verge of the death. He had once last hope...
"Goodbye Yegolar. It's been fun, but now the game is over," Sephiroth said as he pulled his sword from Yegolar's side. Yegolar was on his stomach and Sephiroth brought Masamune to decapitate the Ghiite. However, Yegolar quickly grabbed Sephiroth's arm and sent a surge of electrical energy through him, electrocuting him.
"What the hell are you doing!!!!" Sephiroth cried out.
"If I'm going to hell, I'm taking to you with me! Ha ha ha ha!" Yegolar yelled, obviously insane. "Die you son of a-" Yegolar was cut off when he was decapitated, spilling his blood on the injured body of Sephiroth. He saw who had saved his life. It was Cloud, holding the gleaming Sword of Life.
"Cloud? You saved my life?" Sephiroth whispered in disbelief.
"Yeah...Let's go right now," Cloud replied as he helped Sephiroth up. Sephiroth however took the head of the Ghiite king Yegolar.
"Just a little present for Gyver," Sephiroth said evilly as he put Masamune away and held the head in one hand. He and Cloud quickly shuffled up the stairs, and spent awhile trying to figure out how to get out of the maze that was the Cetra missile bay. Then they saw the ominous elevator shaft that led up to ground and out of the hangar.
"Are you ready?" Sephiroth asked Cloud, as they started their descent upwards to ground level.
"Yeah...I'm ready. This is it," Cloud muttered.
"That Sword has unimaginable power in it. I don't know how it's activated, but....it is the only hope we have of defeating these Ghiites," Sephiroth pointed out.
"Power? What kind?"
"An aura of total protection. Nothing will be able to even touch you." The elevator doors opened. It was time.
"Let's go Cloud."
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"Have all the missile been loaded up?" Gyver asked impatiently.
"Almost. Just a few more minor adjustments and we should be ready," a Ghiite worker said to the leader of the Order.
Gyver wondered if he should contact Yegolar now. He decided it could wait right now. He was extremely busy with overseeing the loading of the missiles and decided it could wait.
In a matter of fifteen minutes, Gyver was informed that all the missiles had been loaded and that the ship could launch when he was ready. He decided now would be the time to tell Yegolar to get up and board the ship. He tried to communicate telepathically with Yegolar, but found that Yegolar apparently was not responding as he could not feel his presence. What is going on, Gyver thought. Why isn't Yegolar responding?
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"Do you really think Sephiroth completed his mission?" Cait Sith asked Yuffie, as they both waited for some sign that Cloud and Sephiroth were alive.
"I don't know. Do you suppose Sephiroth ran away?"
"I don't think so. He might be our enemy but he's not a coward. I think he would stay and find these guys then run."
The rest of the group had been waiting for what seemed like hours and by now where getting quite irritated.
"Why the hell don't we just go in? This sucks!" Barret grumbled as he paced around the grassland.
"Barret, just wait a little longer, alright?" Tifa tried to calm her aggitated friend down.
"How much longer? How do we know that both of 'em aren't dead right now?" Barret asked Tifa. She thought for a moment.
"We don't, but we have to wait. There's no point in trying to take out an entire army!" Just then Tifa saw a brilliant flash of light. It was green and appeared to be shaped like a sphere. It was gigantic and was so bright that AVALANCHE was almost blinded by it's fury.
"What the hell is it?" Yuffie asked, covering her eyes from the light.
"The Sword of Life. Cloud's alive," Vincent said. For the first time in years, a smile crossed his face. Cloud was truly alive.
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Cloud ripped through soldier after soldier as they tried desperately to shoot him. The bullets merely bounced off his aura and he easily cut them to pieces. Even the tank's powerful shells did nothing to him. He easily cut through the tanks armor as if they were butter. Soon, the entire army was in a state of panic as they all rushed to avoid the onslaught that was Cloud.
Gyver soon came out to see all the commotion.
"He has the Sword!" Gyver cried out in terror. How did he get it? Gyver tried to stop his army from retreating but they weren't listening. All the generals were ordering for everybody to fall back out of the area and away from Cloud and Sephiroth.
Cloud all the while continued marching to the spaceship, knowing fully well that was where Gyver was. The Sword somehow had changed him and Cloud was driven by only one goal: Kill Gyver and destroy the missiles. Sephiroth's talking to him seemed to have no effect him whatsoever. He was paying no attention to him at all.
Cloud soon came upon the spaceship and saw Gyver standing outside, waiting for him.
"Cloud....You're here." Gyver stared at Cloud. An aura of energy encircled him, and also saw that Sephiroth next to Cloud. "I see Sephiroth is with you."
"I have a present for you Gyver," Sephiroth called out as he tossed the head of Yegolar to Gyver. At first Gyver did not no what it was, but when he caught it, he knew immediately. He completely lossed it.
"YOU BASTARDS! YOU WILL ALL DIE!" Gyver screamed as he found that Yegolar was dead. Soon, an aura of fire encircled Gyver's being. He was summoning all his power and preparing to do battle with Sephiroth and Cloud. "DIEEEE!" He screamed as he flew threw the air, a streak of energy behind him as he flew towards his enemies.
The battle for the survival of the human race had begun.
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