Square Wars: The Shinra Strikes Back Chapter 5
A Dark Secret
By WarChild
Cecil and Robo went through the hallways of Cloud's City, still no sightings
of his friends. As Cecil came upon an intersection, he instantly hid because
of approaching footsteps. What he saw come by was a floating freezer case
guarded by the three Turks and some SOLDIERs. A SOLDIER noticed Cecil and
promptly fired as he walked. The boy retaliated with a few good Fire spells
from his materia. Reno also noticed the boy, and unleashed an electric shock
from his nightstick. Cecil dodged the threads of electricity. Now that convoy
has moved down the hallway, Cecil started to pursue them. But he was forced
back into his hiding place when more footsteps were heard. Now coming out
of the hallway were a blond man with spiky hair, Aeris, Cait Sith, Red XIII,
and Umaro, all surrounded by many SOLDIERs. After given them time to move
down the hallway, Cecil motioned Robo to go on and start chasing them. He
finally caught up to them when the group approached a doorway. The SOLDIERs
then started firing on him. Aeris called out to Cecil. "Don't follow us!
It's a trap!" Red XIII did the same.
"She's right Cecil! Don't try to get to us." But the group then disappeared
through the doorway. Cecil, ignoring Aeris' warning, went through the doorway.
What he found was a locked door and a set of stairways heading up. The doorway
behind him suddenly closed, forcing Robo to find another path. Cecil left
with little choice, headed up the stairs.
On the other side of the locked door Cloud and the others were escorted down
the hallway by SOLDIERs. Now being fed up, he pressed a button that would
contact his friends. In time, Zack and Tifa arrived, with several city guards.
The guards aimed their blasters at the SOLDIERs. Cloud, Tifa, and Zack took
the guns that each SOLDIER has. Zack then took the guns from Cloud and Tifa.
"Men, escort our prisoners to the holding cells. Zack take care of these
weapons, and meet us at platform 64DD. Do it quietly." Cecil instructed.
The city guards and Zack led the SOLDIERs in another direction. Cloud and
Tifa then promptly started to undo everybody's bindings. Aeris is perplexed.
"What are you doing?"
Cloud looked at her. "What do you think? We are getting out of here."
Aeris was a bit skeptical. But Cait Sith accepted the explanation.
"Finally, you have come your senses Cloud. What they do to you? Mind Control?"
"Shut up!" Cloud told Cait Sith.
"What is it with me? I am always told to shut up." Cait Sith moaned.
"Just calm down, we don't want to gain any attention." Cloud now worked on
Umaro's binds. After he undid them, Umaro turned on Cloud, choking him. "Ack!"
he gasped.
"Umaro, I don't think that'll help us." Tifa noted.
"Look, you're always on Cloud's side, even what he has done to Cecil and
Cid?" Aeris retorted.
"Look, not only we have you guys to worry about, but a city too." explained
Tifa.
"Tifa's right. Let's think rationally." Red XIII agreed.
"Look," Cloud gasped, "I know where the Turks are taking Cid." Aeris motioned
Umaro to let go of Cecil. After Cecil got his breath, he quickly said. "Platform
PSX, Platform PSX! If can get there quickly, we might get Cid back. Everybody
then rushed over towards that platform, almost trampling Cait Sith.
"Hey, you guys really don't care for me, do you?" Cait Sith yelled.
The Turks looked at their newfound prize, the famous pilot Cid Highwind,
frozen in a huge ice cube.
"Okay, load him up, carefully." Reno instructed the SOLDIERs. The SOLDIERs
placed the freezer containing the frozen Cid Highwind into the Gelinka. The
Turks then walked into their craft.
Robo has been wandering the area for a while until he came upon a frantic
Aeris, Red XIII, and Umaro rushing down the hall with a blond man with a
spiky hairdo, and the bartender from the first adventure? He wasn't sure
what to make of this until Cait Sith hopped by.
"Robo, get your bucket of bolts here! We're trying to rescue Cid!" Cait Sith
shouted to Robo. Robo then joined in the chase. But it was too late. As they
arrived at the landing platform, the Gelinka has already started its engines.
Cloud unleashed a Meteorain on the craft, but it managed to escape. Suddenly
there were under fire from SOLDIERs. Tifa punched them, while Red XIII cut
them with his comb. Aeris did the curing, and Umaro did the throwing. Cloud
used the Big Guard enemy skill. Now everybody decided to charge through the
hallway.
Cecil looked at the area. It looked like some sort of freezing facility.
In the midst of the fog, he saw him.
The Dark Knight. The warrior who killed his brother. He went toward his enemy,
and ignited his Mana Saber. His opponent did the same.
"The Lifestream does guard you, young Darkheart, but you are not a full fledged
Mana Knight." the evil warrior hissed. The two started swinging their sabers
at each other, blocking the others blow. While the warrior taunted Cecil,
the platform used in the freezing system has lowered. Then the Dark Knight
has started forcing him towards the hole.
"Bugenhagen has taught you very well." the dark warrior spoke. Then with
a few quick swings, he forced Cecil into the hole. "Maybe you haven't learned
much. I wonder what the emperor sees in you." Using his powers he turned
the machine on. Mist begins to rise from the hole. A figure jumped from out
of the mist. The warrior looked up to see what happened. Cecil was hanging
from the hoses connected to the machine. "That's why." Cecil looked down
at his enemy. "You have underestimated me, haven't you?" The Dark Warrior
then took a swing at Cecil, but he jumped off and the hose was hit instead.
The hose bursts out with water, and it blasted the warrior with great pressure.
The warrior then quickly retreated into a jump tube. Deciding to pursue him,
Cecil also entered the jump tube.
He found himself in some sort of storage room. All it contained was antiquated
game machines. He looked around, trying to find his opponent. As soon as
he spotted him, he reignited his saber. The evil warrior ignited his. As
he got closer, the Dark Knight laughed.
"Foolish boy, always wants to play. How about a game of skeeball?" With that
nine skeeballs flew towards Cecil. He enacted a Barrier just in time to reduce
damage. "Maybe basketball's your game." the warrior mocked. Two basketballs
went through the air. Cecil knocked them down with his saber, and proceeded
to swing at the evil warrior. "By the way, Asteroid are coming through."
With that an Asteroid arcade machine was hurled at him. He stopped it with
Ice magic. "Look out, Mario's going for your head!" Now a Mario Brothers
arcade was aimed at Cecil. Cecil ducked it, but more arcade machines were
pulled up and aimed at Cecil. Cecil unsuccessfully tried to dodge all the
machines, but there were too many. Then one machine hit a window. The sudden
vacuum of wind pulled Cecil out the room. The Dark Knight held firm behind
a change machine.
Cloud kept leading the group through the hallways of Cloud's City. They kept
pushing aside opposing SOLDIERs until they came upon a locked door. As the
others held off the SOLDIERs, Cloud plugged in the code.
"Hey, the code's been changed!" Robo looked at the console.
"Don't worry, I think I can access the main computers." A probe extended
from Robo's stomach. It was inserted into a socket, but what he received
was an electrical shock. "Hey, this is a plug!" Cloud was busy using the
intercom.
"Citizens of Cloud's City, this is Cloud Strife. We hope that this day will
never come, but it has. The Shinra has discovered us. I urge you to evacuate
now!" he announced. Cait Sith looked at the now sizzled Robo.
"Gee, you would think there would be a standardized plug for the entire
universe." They hustled down another hallway, going past the many residents
that are fleeing. Cait Sith took note at the items they carried. "Ice cream
maker. Bread maker. Juice maker."
"Cait, it's not the time to figure out what they are carrying." muttered
Tifa. They finally reached the door to the Highwind, and Zack was waiting
there. Robo extended his probe again, this time checking for the right port.
He accessed all the data in the main computer. He came upon some interesting
info.
"Hey, would you like to know about the Highwind's hyperdrive?" Robo asked.
"Never mind that. I saw it fixed. Just open the door! I've been waiting here
too long." Zack whined.
"As you wish." Robo finally got the door opened, just as a bunch of SOLDIERs
fired on them. "Don't worry! I have a Smoke Bomb." With the Smoke Bomb, they
sneaked in the Highwind without problems. The engines powered up and the
Highwind quickly left.
Cecil got up. His head started to hurt. He used Cure on it a few times. Then
he got a look around his surroundings. It was the Battle Arena. He tried
to exit. The adjoining room was empty of people. Except the Dark Knight.
The warrior lunged at Cecil, forcing him back to the arena. After igniting
his saber, he again challenged the Dark Knight. The warrior looked at the
boy.
"You'll only get yourself killed. Don't end up like Bugenhagen did." Despite
valiant moves by Cecil, the Dark Knight forced Cecil into the room behind
the arena. A large deep shaft was in that other room. With Cecil distracted
by the view of the shaft, swung his saber at Cecil's right hand. Cecil then
cried in pain as his hand was cut off, falling into the deep shaft. His saber
was in that hand. With his right arm in pain, and his saber gone, all he
could do was crawl on a thin ledge that surrounded the shaft. The Dark Knight
only motioned Cecil to come to him. "There is no escape now. There is none
at all. You now have two choices. You can either fall to your doom. Or you
can join me, and end the great conflict that we are surrounded with."
Cecil only got angry. "Why should I join you? Especially you, the murderer
of by brother."
The warrior remained confident. "You really don't know the powers of darkness,
do you? What Bugenhagen has told you is all wrong. I am your older brother."
Cecil stared in disbelief. "No! No! That ain't true. That ain't true. Great
SPOONY it ain't true." Cecil knew what he had to do. He fell into the shaft.
The Dark Knight looked down, searching for any sign for Cecil. Then he departed
the room.
Cecil found himself to be in the middle of the sky. The he finally grasped onto something, the Gondola line. Hanging on with only his legs and left hand, he cried out, "Bugenhagen! Bugenhagen!" Then without reason he also cried out, "Aeris! Aeris!"
Aeris was in the cockpit with Zack, Umaro, and Cloud. She seemed a bit focused
on something. She felt a voice in her head, Cecil's voice. Then she saw it.
An image of Cecil hanging from the Gondola wire.
"Cecil!" she blurted out.
"Pardon?" Zack inquired.
"Cecil's still out there. We have to save him!" she explained. Robo entered
the cockpit.
"Yes, he's out there. I forgot about him." Robo added.
"If that's so, we have to go there. Umaro, turn this thing around." Cloud
ordered. With a turn the Highwind redirected its course towards where Aeris
felt Cecil was. Then they all saw it. A person hanging on the Gondola wire.
Cloud jumped out. "Zack, bring me over him." He approached Red XIII. "Get
the harness ready!" he instructed. Soon he was on the outdoor platform. After
Red XIII placed the harness on Cloud, he lowered himself to Cecil. After
he got a good grasp on Cecil, Red XIII pulled up the harness. With Cecil
finally onboard, the Highwind returned to its normal course. Only this time
ISFs pursued them.
The ship finally entered space, with enemy craft on its tails and a Mana
Fortress ahead of it. The Dark Knight was in that ship. He looked to Rufus
Shinra.
"Did you have your men deactivate the hyperdrive and did you prepare the
boarding party?" the warrior inquired Rufus.
"Yes. We did all what you asked. The ship will now be in range." Rufus answered,
reassuring the menacing figure.
"Good." He motioned Rufus to leave. Then he concentrated on tracking Cecil.
"Cecil, you know who I am."
Cecil's was in the ship infirmary, where Aeris and Tifa worked endlessly
to make him feel better, despite the cut hand. He felt the Dark Knight's
word flooding his mind. "Buge, what is the truth, I must know." he muttered.
In the cockpit, Cloud, Zack and Umaro prepared the ship for hyperspace. Robo,
realizing what will happen, rushed over to Cait Sith.
"Cait Sith, no time to explain, but we must head to the engine room, fast."
Robo darted towards the engine room.
"Hey, what's going on?" Cait Sith followed the robot, just as Cloud tried
to make the jump to lightspeed. It failed again.
Cait Sith and Robo entered the engine room. Robo dragged Cait Sith towards
the Crystal Chamber. "I read on the Cloud City's computer that the Flight
Crystal has been disconnected. We must reconnect it." Robo explained.
"So what? We don't know how they..." Cait Sith tried to say, as he tripped
over a wire. Robo inspected the wire. It was really a plug that seemed to
be recently unplugged.
"I think you just found it." Robo took the wire and plugged it in. The ship
finally went into hyperspace.
Rufus gulped. He was sure that his men deactivated the hyperspace systems.
"Please, Dark Knight. Don't kill me." he pleaded.
Dark Knight looked at Rufus square in the eye. "I won't kill you now. You're
just not worthy of it. Maybe in another story."
Cecil looked at his hand. It was a product of robotic technology. It almost
felt like a real hand. He looks at his doctor.
"Thanks for the new hand." he thanked the doctor.
"Told you I was the best. I did worked on Barret's hand you know." the doctor
bragged. Cecil chuckled. Aeris, Tifa, Robo, and Cait Sith were at the room.
Cecil took out a PHS, and called up Cloud, who, with Umaro, Red XIII, and
Zack, was in the Highwind. The Highwind was currently docked on the medical
spaceship that Cecil was in.
"Cloud, remember our plan. If you find the Turks and Jenova, you will contact
me." he spoke into the PHS.
"Right. Then we meet at the rendezvous point on your home planet Corel. Guys,
don't worry. We'll get Cid back." Cloud responded. With his treatment done,
Cecil and the others went to the hanger to wave goodbye. The Highwind appeared
into view, then jumped into hyperspace. Outside, Big Whales, Epochs, and
FF8 jets surrounded the medical ship, patrolling the area. Despite their
losses, they have found a new sense of hope.
Fanfic completed on August 21, 1998
Revised on March 9, 1999
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