Reunion Chapter 21
By Janet Monstwillo
"If you weren't so trustworthy, Red, I'd swear that this whole 'Amber Weapon' thing was a figment of an overactive imagination," said Tifa.
"Look over there and see where it tore up the ground," said Barret, "it's real, all right."
"I wish it was a figment of my imagination. It would be one less thing to worry about." Red XIII sighed. "And we haven't seen the blasted thing in days."
Tifa smiled. "Don't let the third watch get you down."
"Midnight to 8 A.M. would get anyone down. Even though I'll live a lot longer than you, I hate to feel that any part of my life is a waste. I think it is a waste to wait for the Amber Weapon here. It's just simply moved on. And with all of us here, it's roaming unhindered..."
"What the hell are we supposed to do about it?" asked Barret. "It's not like we know where it is or anything."
"Maybe we should send someone to Kalm and see if there's been any news," said Tifa, "maybe see if we can catch a clue in the newspaper."
"No, if it's in the papers at Kalm, Junon would have heard about it by now. And if Junon's heard, Reeve would've called." Red XIII laid down in the grass. "The Weapon is biding its time while we wait. And the longer we wait, the closer it comes to being time for the Reunion. The Reunion can't wait forever."
Tifa sat down next to him. "Neither can we."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Dr. Shelding walked up and down the rows of his laboratory. One by one, he checked the pods in which his Soldiers had been developing in. He grimaced and turned one off, then he finished his check. (Of two-hundred and fifty, only one failure. That may be a better success rate then you, Hojo. But then, without you, Hojo, I would be nothing. This is only the products of your labors; the inevitable result you would have come to, if only you had not been taken away so long before your time...)
He walked over to his computer and began the final check. Finally, the time had come. The time that had been nearly five years in the making. The next generation of Soldier, far superior to the first, more powerful than their predecessors. (My Gens will do the hard work. The time is so close.)
"Lucas?"
He looked up from the moniter. "Yes, Laida?"
"The Turks quit."
He smiled. "It doesn't matter. The Gens will get her for me. Unfortunately, I fear the Turks would have been a little more gentle with her."
"Then, you're releasing them?"
"I just have to start the program to awaken them."
Laida frowned. "I still don't get it. What are you 'awakening?'"
"I've spliced parts of their DNA with that of Sephiroth's," said Lucas, "and by using a combination of Jenova and Mako energy, and some additional nucleic acids, I can awaken the memories of Sephiroth inside each and every one of them. It's more than cloning, for each Gen will have a distinct and separate personality from the other. But they will all have part of Sephiroth inside of them."
"What about the other Soldiers we still have in service?"
He shrugged. "Severence pay, maybe a small pension. Laida, this is the future. Didn't I promise you that we'd never have anything obsolete? If I could do this with some orphaned children nobody wanted, imagine what I could do if we...our child?"
"I will never have a child so you can experiment on it. You'll have to be satisfied with that Ancient when you get your hands on her. Besides, you're so brilliant, any offspring of yours couldn't be improved on."
He scrutinized the screen, typing in several passwords. "Maybe my precautions are a little excessive, but this is years of work. It shouldn't have been able to be destroyed with the click of a button. So here we are. With this, Shinra once more controls the planet."
The lights in the lab dimmed. The pods each had a low buzzing sound. Then suddenly, each on beeped. Lucas walked over to a panel on the wall. He gestured to a lever marked "Release All Pods." "Laida, would you have the honor?"
She smiled. "It would be a pleasure."
One by one, each pod cover blasted open. From each pod, a Gen stepped out. On the average, one was five feet eleven inches tall, and they were all muscular, mostly around 195 pounds. Each had the glow of Mako in their eyes. Finally, every Soldier had exited their pod.
Lucas smiled at them. "I know you all must feel like you've just been born, but I have job for most of you. I need you to go to Rocket Town. All of you except...you five. You come with me. Laida can explain the mission to the rest of you, right?"
She nodded.
He glanced at the five Gens. They were staring at him intensely. Lucas chuckled. "You guys should thank me. You have the easy job. I need you to find a girl for me."
"Why?" asked one of them.
"I need her. And don't worry, you'll find the job very rewarding," he said emphatically. "You can do whatever you want with her as long she comes here alive and fairly healthy."
"Anything?" asked another.
"Find her, that's all. I have a picture and some info to show you. Follow me. I think you'll appreciate the job more once you've seen her."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Reeve turned on the television, bored out of his mind. (Ah, the news. Bound to hear something cheerful here.) He opened a beer and took a sip. He was flipping through the TV Guide when he heard something interesting come on.
"It seems that these warriors are next-generation Soldiers sent by Shinra to reclaim the Highwind Airship. Most all of Rocket Town has given up, with a few rebels still holding on to the struggle."
The camera closed in on a shot of a woman with a rifle. Reeve studied the face. (Shera. Cid's gonna flip.) All of a sudden the view was obstructed by the smoke and debris of an explosion.
"In other news, a large monster similar to the Junon Weapon has been terrorizing Costa Del Sol ever since about dusk last night. With the Shinra forces in Rocket Town, things are beginning to look hopeless for that resort town."
Reeve took a deep breath. (Okay, I have to call everyone and tell them what's up. I have to stay here, so I can't do much...)
"We're going to leave you today with a shot of Fred, the water-skiing moogle."
He shook his head. "After all that, they end with a fucking moogle?" he muttered. "The media really must be the spawn of Satan." He pulled out the PHS. "Hello? Red?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Red XIII nodded. "You're right, Reeve. We have to do something. But just what that something should be is escaping me at this particular moment."
"You'll have to split up. Cid will have to go to Rocket Town, we both know that and we need somebody at Costa Del Sol. It's a resort town. It could not hold up at all under an attack by that Weapon, or any Weapon for that matter. And really, we wouldn't just be being nice...we have real estate there, remember?"
"Perhaps we could lure the Amber Weapon away... I'll call back once we've decided what to do. Good-bye, Reeve. And thank you." Red XIII turned to the group that had formed around him. "That was Reeve."
Barret groaned. "No shit, Ein--"
Tifa placed her hand over Barret's mouth. "Please Red, continue."
Red XIII gave her a small smile. "We have some serious problems. Problem #1: It seems Shelding has released his new Soldiers into the wild, per se. He's sent them to Rocket Town."
"Rocket Town?! You sure?" Cid looked worried. "But Sher--I mean, the Highwind's there all alone! The whole place is unprotected!"
Red XIII nodded. "Reeve said that he saw on the news a few of the residents making a last stand against the...the...Gens, I think they're called. Shera was one of them."
"Last stand?" whispered Cid.
Vincent put a hand on his shoulder.
"If those motherfucking Gens think that they're gonna lay on fucking hand on Shera, they've got another thing coming." Cid jumped up into his battle stance. He glanced around. "And they ain't gonna so much as touch that goddamn Airship, else I'll chop off their goddamn heads!" He swung his lance around. "Any questions?"
"Problem #2," said Red XIII, "the Amber Weapon has made its cheerful path of destruction and it leads to Costa Del Sol. So we need to go in two groups, one to fight the Gens, and one to fight the Weapon."
Barret glanced at Cid. "I'll go to Rocket Town. I'm sick of that damn Weapon."
Cloud shrugged. "I'll go with Cid."
Legolas began to open his mouth. "I guess I'll go too," said Tifa quickly. Legolas shut his mouth.
"The rest of us should go to Costa Del Sol, then," said Red XIII.
"Call Reeve back so he can keep us posted," said Yuffie.
.