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Ashen Skies	By : Cynthia Category: Final Fantasy VII > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1380 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all characters are the property of Square Enix. I do not profit from this fanfiction, it’s for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter List
- 36
- 37
- 38
"Ashen Skies"
Chapter 37
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Warnings: Graphic violence, character death
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Author's note: I have never found any official information concerning the actual name of Nanaki's tribe, so I simply refer to is as the "Cosmo tribe".
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*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.
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            After finishing off the creature that nearly tromped on Sephiroth, the four winged SOLDIER officers split off into two separate groups and adjusted their tactics. Now it was up to them to bring down as many of the large WEAPONS as possible while the ground and air missiles tore into the back ranks. The first line of SOLDIER and army operatives were to assist with the large enemies and engage any Alphas that threatened to get through to the ranged forces.
Sephiroth and Cloud finished bringing their first target large WEAPON opponent down with the aid of their men, and the General landed on top of the still body and spoke into his communication device. "Our target is down, Commander Hewley. What is your status?"
            There was a brief crackle of static before Angeal's deep voice answered. "Lt. Rhapsodos just finished ours off, General. We're prepared to engage in—"
            His response was interrupted by a roar that drowned out everything else, bouncing off the mountains. The sound drew the attention of both humans and WEAPONS and for a moment, everything seemed to pause. Sephiroth heard Cloud utter a curse in the Nibel tongue and he turned to look over his shoulder, following the blond's widened blue gaze. Cresting the hills to the west was a familiar sight—one that Sephiroth had dared to hope they wouldn't see in this conflict.
            Angeal and Genesis flew to his side from across the field and together, the four officers watched their worst nightmare approach with more WEAPONS flanking it. Taking down a beast like that would require more firepower than they had already expended on the more common-sized WEAPONS.
            Genesis took a slow breath, nodded, and ran a gloved hand over the fluid-stained blade of his crimson sword. Eldritch fires came to life along the length of the weapon and its owner gave his companions a cocky smirk.
            "I call dibs."
            Angeal stared at him with a frown. "This isn't a game, Genesis."
            Sephiroth lifted an elegant silver brow at the redhead before sizing the approaching menace up. "Care to set a wager, Rhapsodos?"
            Cloud's eyes were bugging out as he stared back and forth between the two of them. "You two aren't serious, are you?"
            Genesis didn't break Sephiroth's challenging stare and he shrugged. "If anyone's going to bring that monster down, it will be me."
            Sephiroth smirked. "Hmph. You can try."
            "You're both insane," Angeal stated, staggering a little as their forces continued to press the attack and a nearby explosion shook the ground. As if they hadn't even heard him, both Sephiroth and Genesis took to the air and flew purposefully toward the titanic WEAPON in the distance.
            "Ground forces, continue to press the attack on the front lines," Sephiroth ordered over the transmission. "All air units, follow in our wake and concentrate fire on the largest threat. We can't allow this creature to join the main battle."
            Angeal and Cloud were left staring after the two of them. Cloud looked up at the bigger man with an expression of disbelief on his fair, winter-blushed face. "They just...flew after it. They're really going to do this."
            Angeal briefly shut his eyes and begged the gods for patience. Cloud stating the obvious didn't help his frustration. "Yes, they're really doing it...and we should be helping them."
            Cloud checked his own weapon and nodded, looking none-too-happy with the present state of affairs, but resolved. "Yes, Sir."
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            Elena's mouth hung open as she stared at the two winged Soldiers ahead of them. Tseng dutifully piloted the chopper to follow them, as did the Highwind airship and the rest of the helicopters. While she agreed they didn't want that thing getting close to the forward base or their ground artillery, she wasn't comfortable with dividing their forces this much and she thought the General and the red-garbed Lieutenant were being awfully reckless.
            "Director, are we really going to focus all of our fire on one WEAPON?"
            "General Sephiroth knows what he's doing," Tseng insisted calmly. "His leadership has never failed us before and I agree with his logic. For now, the ranged fire and ground forces can hold the rest at bay. We need to deal with this newest threat immediately, before it can get out of control."
            Elena bit her lip and checked her targeting equipment. She still had her doubts, but she trusted Tseng's leadership, if nothing else. If he believed Sephiroth's order was a sound one, she had no choice but to go along with it. She whispered a prayer under her breath—not to any deities, but to Cissnei. She asked her deceased lover to watch over her and help her stay brave.
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            "Damn you, Sephiroth," snarled Rufus.
He coughed painfully, trying to clear the fluid in his lungs. Blood trickled out the corner of his mouth and though she was struggling for breath as well, Scarlet reached over to him and she grabbed a tissue from the supply box between them. Rufus tried to jerk his head away as she gripped his jaw and deftly wiped at the blood. She grabbed his oxygen mask from overhead for him and she urged it toward his mouth.
"We can't afford for you to lose concentration now, Rufus. Breathe."
He shut his eyes briefly and allowed her to hold the mask over his mouth and nose. He took a few much-needed breaths of the concentrated oxygen and his head cleared a bit. Beads of sweat glistened on his face and his lips were ashen. His eyes were sunken from his illness and though she wore makeup to hide most of it, Scarlet didn't fair much better. Beneath the concealing makeup, she sported the same dark circles under her eyes. She stared at him as he regained a measure of control and he thought she looked a bit...odd.
"What?" demanded the president, pulling the mask away from his mouth with annoyance.
Scarlet suddenly loomed in and kissed him on the lips. It lacked the same bruising force and aggression he'd come to associate with her kisses and it dawned on Rufus that this was a kiss of affection. He stared at her as she pulled away and looked at him, almost expectantly.
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that," he said truthfully. Never mind that any sort of kissing was utterly inappropriate at a time like this, their relationship had always been volatile on its best days. He and Scarlet saw eye to eye on many things and the sex was outstanding, but that was all they had together.
            She shrugged. "Relax, I won't do it twice. I thought since we're already dying, I might as well get it over with."
            Her response struck him as funny and he grinned before he could stop himself. He even laughed a little—which unfortunately made him cough. He pulled his oxygen mask down over his mouth and nose again and he strapped it into place, deciding he needed it to function for the rest of the battle.
            "Check your equipment," he advised when he caught his breath again. He began to move the aircraft into position to join the others. "Let's finish this."
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            Sephiroth scored a hit on the gigantic WEAPON'S shoulder, but it may as well have been a paper cut. The creature swatted at him as if he were an annoying insect and he was forced to dive away to avoid being hit. "Avoid grouping together," he advised his companions over the frequency. "The fewer and smaller the targets we give this creature, the better our chances of survival."
            His tactical logic made perfect sense and Cloud changed trajectories, choosing to strike at a different spot rather than go to his lover's side. Genesis and Angeal likewise split up and the latter made use of his Ultima materia to deal magical damage to the left side of the WEAPON'S body. It grabbed the beast's attention and the roar of pain and anger that came from it was deafening.
            Angeal wisely took evasive action when the enemy focused its attention on him. Some of the Alphas nearby took notice of the situation and they stopped their advance on the ground forces to assist their significantly larger companion. Genesis quickly dove at one of them and struck it with furious, rapid blows before it could take aim and fire at Angeal.
            "These Alphas are smarter than their big brothers," he announced through communication transmissions. "They'll team up on us, if we let them. Cloud, help me take care of them while the others keep the big one distracted."
            The blond wasted not time. He swooped away from the big target and converged on the smaller ones with Genesis, using both offensive and defensive tactics to strike without being stricken in return. The Alphas were quick, however. Cloud got the attention of two of them and they ganged up on him, just as Genesis warned they might. While deflecting one plasma shot with his blade, Cloud was unable to avoid the second and he cried out as it hit him in the left outer thigh. The sound distracted Sephiroth and despite his lectures on keeping focused and putting personal feelings on the back burner, the General ceased his attacks against the big WEAPON and flew to Cloud's side.
            "What happened to...not getting distracted?" Grunted Cloud through clenched teeth as Sephiroth stood between him and his opponents.
The general's flowing silver hair swayed in the cold air as he deflected the Alpha attacks with his masamune, buying Cloud some time. He spared an emerald glance over his shoulder at the blond and offered him a brief, ironic smirk.
"I've told you before Cloud; I'm not perfect."
Cloud smirked back as he activated his cure materia, deciding his injury was serious enough to warrant it. Only the high-ranking participants of this battle were given healing materia for the fight, as there was a limited supply. They had to be conservative with the cure spells, because once the materia was drained, that was it.
"I'm okay now," he said when the damage was healed.
It was a good thing, too. Another Alpha joined the attack and they now had three of them to deal with. One of the helicopters in the distance went down, sustaining too much damage to stay airborne. Cloud couldn't identify whose chopper it was and he winced when the flaming aircraft hit the mountainside and exploded. He hoped Tifa's boyfriend wasn't in it.
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          "Yo, we lost one of our birds," Reno announced over the frequency. "Stay lively, people! Next time it might be you!"
            "Identity report?" Coughed Rufus.
            "It was a SOLDIER chopper," Tseng confirmed. "One of the Modeoheim models. I don't know who the passengers were."
            "They could have ejected," Rude said, his jaw clenched grimly as he searched for a weakness in the massive WEAPON'S natural armor. So far, they had expended too much ammo on the damned thing and barely scratched it.
            "I didn't see anyone jump out," Reno answered dubiously. He shrugged. "But ya never know. Let's just try not to end up like them, partner."
            Rude nodded. "Right."
            "You locked in for another launch?" Reno looked at him sidelong, dividing his attention between talking to Rude and evading the projectile and plasma shots coming from the creatures below.
            "I've got a target," muttered Rude, "but it won't do much good, man."
            "We've just gotta keep the big guy distracted," reminded Reno, "we'll figure out how to bring him down later."
            Rude started to agree, but he got an idea. "Take us in closer, Red. I've got an idea."
            Reno grinned like a fox. "Does this idea have something to do with explosives?"
            Rude bent over and dug beneath his seat for the supply case under there. He put it on his lap and opened it, revealing rows of C-4 bombs with sticky clay attached to them. "Something like that, yeah."
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            No other pilot would have dared to fly so close to such a formidable WEAPON. Reno wasn't like other pilots, though. He flew in as close as he could get so that his partner could put his plan into action. Fortunately, the creature was sufficiently distracted by Angeal and the other aircrafts firing at it to pass Reno's chopper off as a minor nuisance. Rude's throwing arm was good. He opened his door and lobbed the explosives tactfully at the huge WEAPON as his partner circled around it. When he was satisfied that most of the bombs had stuck more or less where he'd aimed them, he ducked back inside and shut the hatch. He pulled his targeting visor down and prepared to add some missile fire to the equation, but first, they needed to be in position.
            "Let's give this punk something to think about. Bring us back around to the front, Red."
            "You got it." Reno obligingly piloted the craft around so that they were hovering right before the WEAPON'S face. The cold, empty eyes narrowed on them curiously, possessed of a primal intellect. Reno swallowed visibly but held his ground, his thumb hovering over the artillery button on his control stick. "Ready when you are, yo."
            Rude held a remote detonator in one hand and his control stick in the other. "Let's do it."
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"Fox twenty-four, what are you doing?" Tseng watched with a frown as the Turk chopper up ahead seemed to conduct a bazaar form of face-off against the huge WEAPON. "Stick to evasive action."
"Got a plan, boss," Reno answered. "One that might actually do some damage to this fucker."
Tseng exchanged a glance with Elena and his frown deepened. "Now isn't the time to get creative, Reno. Fall back and—"
It was too late. From their vantage point, Tseng and Elena watched explosions go off around the creature's shoulders and neck—just as it got a tactical rocket to the face. The creature staggered under the assault and its roar was as bewildered as it was angry. Reno was right: the move actually did some damage to it. One of its eyes went dark and its right arm seemed to lose some functionality.
"Um...boss...I think they got its attention," Elena announced in a dread-filled voice.
Indeed, the WEAPON now saw Reno's chopper as more than a mild annoyance and though it was injured, it was far from incapacitated. It retaliated with shocking speed, swinging out with its damaged arm like it was swatting at a bug. Tseng cursed as Reno failed to move in time to avoid the hit and the chopper began to spin.
Rufus evidently saw that one of his own was in trouble. "All Turk aircraft, weapons free. Focus fire on the primary target. Ammo conservation is temporarily lifted."
            In those moments, people finally got to see the side of Rufus Shinra that gave a damn—at least about his own people. They could say what they wanted about the Turk organization, but nobody witnessing what happened next could deny their loyalty to each other. The Turk helicopters converged on the biggest threat like a hive of angry wasps, unleashing a hail of bullet and missile fire on the WEAPON and distracting it from the hapless aircraft it had sent into a doomed spiral.
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Meanwhile, in the crater:

            They had to take a break so Aerith could catch her breath. Zack sat down on the sloping path and he motioned her to join him. She took his offer, grateful for the brief respite from strenuous activity. They had been forced to jump over one break in the path so far and they had to scale the wall because of another. Zack did most of the work but Aerith had to expend substantial effort as well.

"Here, have a drink."
Zack rested his back against the cold rock wall and he kept a supportive arm around his wife as he freed the canteen from his belt and offered it to her. Aerith leaned against him and she took the object gratefully. She uncapped it and tilted her head back as she took a few thirsty swallows. Despite the chill of the dank cavern, her forehead was beaded with sweat. Though she had tried to prepare for this journey with daily exercise and endurance training, she was no Soldier and she didn't have the biological enhancements her husband did.
"It's cold," she said when she drank her fill. She wiped her mouth and offered the canteen to Zack. "It's kind of refreshing."
He smiled at her, his good eye reflecting the glow of her white materia. "You're doing good, Aerith." He took a drink from the container before capping it and replacing it again. "Do you want to eat a little something? We haven't touched our rations yet."
She thought about the jerky and the dried fruit and nut mixture they'd brought and she grimaced, shaking her head. "I think if I try to eat right now, I'll just get sick."
The voices of the planet were as much to blame for her nausea as the physical strain she was under. More spirits had joined the Lifestream since they began this trek—some of which Aerith recognized. She kept bracing herself to hear the voice of one of her friends and the thought of that made her want to vomit up the water she'd just drank.
Attuned to her as he was, Zack seemed to guess what was on her mind and he rubbed her shoulder sympathetically. "Are they louder in here?"
She hesitated thoughtfully, her eyes going to the floating spirit of the girl who guided them. "It's hard to say. It feels like they are, but we're all alone in here and I think my senses are just amplified by my anxiety."
Zack nodded. He hesitated himself, a grimace passing over his mouth. "I'm afraid to ask, but...you haven't heard anyone we're close to...have you?"
She smiled at him, not because there was anything amusing about the prospect, but because she'd been thinking of the very same thing just seconds ago. "No—at least, not yet. So far, our friends are okay as far as I can tell."
He relaxed a little. "Good. I know those guys can take care of themselves but this situation is a lot worse than what we've all been through in the past. Can Shelke tell you how far we have to go?"
Aerith looked up at the hovering girl again. "Can you, Shelke?"
The girl floated away and hung eerily suspended over the drop beneath her. She looked down and her phantom lips moved as if counting. She nodded and floated back to the couple, her voice speaking in Aerith's mind more clearly than the garbled voices of the dead.
"We're close. There's one more area further down that you might have to jump, but after that it gets smooth again. If you don't stop again after this, you should make it to the bottom in twenty minutes or so."
Aerith nodded and relayed the information to her husband.
"Twenty minutes, eh?" Zack retracted his arm from around her shoulders and he grunted as he got back to his feet, wiping his hands off on his pants. He offered a hand down to Aerith and he smiled encouragingly at her. "You don't want to sit still like that for too long. You'll get stiff."
Aerith took his hand and allowed him to help her up, though her body wanted to rest for longer. She knew he was right and she wanted to end this as much as he did. The longer it took them to reach the core, the more people were going to die. There was no guarantee that she'd be able to speak with the planet as theorized, once they made it to the bottom. Even if she was right about that, Aerith couldn't predict whether Gaia would listen to what she had to say and agree to call off the attacks.
Still, it was their only real hope for a future. Aerith kept that in mind as she forced her tired body back into motion and followed Shelke further down the uneven ramp.
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            Another helicopter went down and two more were in trouble. Tifa recognized one of the imperiled choppers in the distance and her heart hammered in her chest as she peered through the binoculars. Under cover of the forest, she and the rest of the camp defenders were relatively safe from enemy fire. The same couldn't be said for her friends out on the combat field.
            "You just pay attention to camp security, girl," Barret encouraged gruffly when he happened upon her and saw the distressed look on her face. "Won't do you no good to worry about what people are doing out there."
            "My boyfriend's helicopter is hit," she announced in her defense. "How can I not worry?"
            Barret frowned at her and he placed a big, brown hand on her shoulder. "You ain't helping him this way. Those Turks know how to take care of themselves...trust me."
            She shut her eyes and lowered the binoculars, knowing he was right. Worrying about Reno wouldn't help and it did look like the chopper was beginning to pull out of its spin. She was assigned to protect the forward base for a reason and she'd already helped cover more than a hundred injured troops seeking medical aid.
            It was all well and good to tell herself not to get distracted with worry for her boyfriend and Cloud, but then something blew in Reno's chopper and black smoke began to trail from it. Tifa's eyes widened and she put the binoculars back to her eyes to assess how bad it was.
            "It's going down! I have to get out there!"
            Barret grabbed her arm as Tifa put her binoculars away and started to take off. "Whoa! Where you think you're going, girl? You can't go out there!"
            Tifa's adrenaline was pumping and she was focused on a sole purpose. She activated the claws on the left specialized gauntlet and she gazed at Barret warningly. "Let go of me, Commander Wallace. If this camp is going to fall, it's going to happen with or without me here."
            "What seems to be the problem?" The new voice interrupted Barret's rebuttal before he could speak it and they both looked at Nanaki, who had noticed the disturbance and padded over the snow to them.
            "She wants to go out there in that shit," Barret said with a gesture at the battlefield. "We ain't s'posed to let any women in the front lines and her job is to help defend this base!"
            "Some of the passengers in those helicopters are women," protested Tifa, wide-eyed. "And they're in the 'front lines'!"
            "But they ain't on the ground," countered Barret, "they're safer in the air than—"
            "We should let her go," Nanaki interrupted, seeing the determination in Tifa's eyes that Barret was missing or choosing to ignore. "As Miss Lockheart said a moment ago: her presence or absence isn't likely to make a difference in the outcome, if the enemy gets through to this base. Let her fight where she chooses, Commander. She may do more good out there than she can do here, behind the lines."
            Barret looked between the leonine creature and Tifa uncertainly for a moment, then he swore and released her arm. "You do what you think you have to, girl. Good luck."
            "Wait," Nanaki insisted when Tifa started to head off. "Climb onto my back. I can get you across the field faster and I can assist you with any attackers. Commander Wallace can take care of things here until I return."
            Barret grumbled something under his breath and frowned fiercely at the lion, but after giving Tifa a measuring look, he nodded. "Watch your shit. I can't drop my post, but I'll cover you best I can from a distance."
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            "Red...I can't fix this."
            Reno paused in his frantic adjustments of the controls and he looked at his partner's grimly frozen features. Rude looked a bit ashen—which was hard to do with his complexion. The propeller was making a horrible grinding noise as it spun and the popping mini-explosions warned that the aircraft couldn't take much more. The helicopter was steadily losing altitude and the controls were so sluggish, it would be a wonder if they managed to land without crashing into the mountainside.
            He came to a decision that he neither liked nor believed safe. There were dozens of WEAPONS beneath them and neither he nor Rude had the abilities to fend them off alone. There was no alternative, however.
"Then let's call it a day on this bird and bail while we still can."
            Rude's expression was like stone. "You sure about that, partner?"
            Reno looked at the control panel, took note of the steadily dropping altitude and nodded. "At this point it's try or die, man. Got your 'chute ready?"
            Rude checked the device he'd strapped on as a precaution before the event began. "Yeah, it's good to go. You?"
            Reno checked as well and he nodded before getting his EMR and a pair of handguns out of the weapons storage compartment. "Lock and load, big guy. We're gonna be in for a hell of a fight when we touch down."
            "Fox Twenty-four," Tseng's voice said over the transmission before Rude could answer, "You're still losing altitude. What is your status?"
            Reno sighed. "Not good, Director. We've taken too much damage and we're going down no matter what I do, yo. Think you guys can cut a path for us on the ground so we can make it to the main fighting force without getting stomped?"
            "Affirmative," Rufus answered with a cough, having heard the conversation. "Do your best to land as close to the ground forces as you can. We—" he broke off in a fit of coughing before continuing. "We'll provide you with cover."
Right now, the heat was off Reno and Rude's chopper, thanks to the efforts of the president and the other Turks. Captain Highwind was demanding to know what was going on, cussing up a storm at the Turks for breaking away from the target to go their own way.
            "What the hell are y'all doing back there?" Cid yelled over the frequency. "The fight's up this way! You turkeys need to get back over here with us!"
            "You mind your people, Captain," suggested Rufus, "and I'll mind mine. We'll return to the main fight when we've finished."
            "This is war, not office politics," argued Cid, "If y'all can't pull your shit together—"
            Cid's complaints abruptly stopped and when Reno looked in the direction of the airship and the other helicopters, he saw why. The huge WEAPON shot down another helicopter, right beside Highwind's aircraft. Whatever the captain was about to say took the back seat in his priorities as he was forced to evade more plasma fire aimed at his ship.
            "We've gotta move, Red," urged Rude. The control sensors began to beep, warning that they were descending too quickly.
            Reno struggled to get his door open and he swore vilely at it until it gave. "Ready, partner," he grunted. "See ya on the ground."
~************************************~

            With the help of their airborne associates, the two Turks landed in a relatively clear area on the snowy ground. They quickly helped each other detach their parachutes, simultaneously readying their weapons for the likely chance that they got attacked.
            "Fuck…your buckle is jammed, big guy," Reno grunted as he struggled to force the device open.
            "Then I'll run with my 'chute on," reasoned Rude impassively.
            "You try to run with that thing dragging behind you and you'll get caught up on something for sure," argued the redhead. "Or one of those fuckers will catch it and yank ya back like a toy on a string…pick one."
            "Whatever we're going to do, we'd better do it fast." Rude frowned and tried to help his partner, but his larger fingers just got in the way.
            "If I can pick a lock, I can pick this thing, yo." Reno poked his tongue out the side of his mouth and kept trying, purposely shutting out the sounds of battle raging around them. "Think I've almost got it."
            Rude felt more than saw the shadow falling over them and he twisted and pulled his gun, shouting a warning to his companion. "Company, Red!"
            Reno readied his EMR out of habit as he looked up to see a bronze Alpha bearing down on them. The weapon panel on the creature's palm lit up as it prepared to fire and it left them with two options: try to get their attacks off first or try to avoid being hit by the impending energy blast. Since past experiences proved that normal bullets had trouble penetrating the armor of even the smaller WEAPONS, evasive action seemed the more prudent choice.
            They were just about to split up and dive in opposite directions when a young woman came out of nowhere and laid into the creature. Her waist length brown hair was plated all the way down to keep it out of the way. Though her build was petite, she hit the Alpha like a ton of bricks, flying through the air with her chitin-booted feet leading the way. The hit knocked the creature off balance and she somersaulted away to land nimbly back on her feet and deliver a vicious strike to her opponent's midsection. She didn't give the WEAPON a chance to recover from her surprise attack; she dropped swiftly and treated its calves to a sweeping kick. A diamond-hard talon protruded from the toe of each of her boots and the striking one cut a jagged tear in the creature's calves, just above the ankles.
            "H-holy…" Rude stuttered, brows raising over his shades with obvious surprise.
            Reno tore his gaze off his girlfriend's breasts—which bounced with her attacks despite the bindings she wore beneath her shirt and jacket. His grin took to his ears and when Tifa spared a glance over her shoulder to reassure herself that he and Rude were in one piece, he blurted the first thought that sprang to mind.
            "I fucking love you!"
            Tifa faltered for just a second and a quick little smile tugged at her plush lips. "Say that again after we make it through this alive and I may believe it," she lectured, dodging a swinging attack from her opponent, "this isn't the time!"
            "Lookout!"
            Reno's warning came a second too late. The Alpha's second arm followed up behind the first and Tifa was too distracted to avoid it in time. She cried out as it struck her and sent her flying backwards—directly into Rude. The two of them went down, with the bald man breaking her fall. Reno yelled and activated his EMR, reacting on pure adrenaline and anger. He was just about to engage the WEAPON—if only to satisfy his desire to hit it for striking his girl—when a feline form leaped through the air, right over Reno's head. As the Turk ducked and swore, he recognized Nanaki. The last known member of the Cosmo tribe bowled the Alpha over and tore into it viciously.
            "You may want to save the declarations of affection for later," advised the lion in a growling voice. He jumped away as the Alpha righted itself and he yelped as it retaliated with a quick plasma shot that grazed his flank. Baring his teeth at the threat, he quickly circled around pounced again before it could follow up with another shot.
            Reno joined his efforts, trying not to worry about Tifa and Rude. He could hear his partner grunting and moving behind him as he jumped into the air and hit the Alpha on the side of its head with his electrified rod. Nanaki was clinging to its back and kicking with his back paws, gouging its armor and keeping it off balance.
            "You okay, Rude?"
            A shot fired from behind was his answer and Reno grinned. "How about my girl?"
            "I'm…fine."
            The Alpha started going down and Reno felt it was safe enough to leave the rest to Nanaki and his partner. He turned around to find Tifa pressing a hand against her right side, stubbornly limping toward the target. She'd already done most of the damage to the enemy, but she seemed determined to do more. The subtle light of anger in her brown eyes as she advanced gave her away. This was personal to her…as much as it had been to Reno when he saw the WEAPON knock her away.
            "Hold up, babe," Reno advised, blocking her from engaging the target further. "It's almost down and we're gonna have to make a run for it, before its buddies join in."
            "I can handle—"
            "Be smart," interrupted Reno seriously, holding her gaze with his own. "You're hurt. You kicked its ass and you probably saved ours, but now it's time to get the hell out of here."
            To prove his point, he pressed against the side she was favoring and he took no joy in the way she bit her lip on a cry of pain. "See? You could have a broken rib or something."
            She swallowed and looked past him at the Alpha, which finally lay still in the snow. In the distance, the other WEAPONS were still focused on the threat from the air, but that wouldn't last long. It only took one of them to notice their small group and then it would be all over.
            "Okay," Tifa agreed, grimacing painfully and nodding. "Let's get back to safety, if we can."
            "Hate to break it to you," Rude observed with a frowning look at the landscape, "but we've got a line of enemies between us and the ground forces."
            "Our chances of making it back to the safe zone aren't good," agreed Nanaki. He pawed at the communication equipment strapped to his head. It was broken. "Do any of you have a way to communicate with Base Camp or our friends in the sky?"
            They looked at each other and shook their heads. "Our comm. Units were in the chopper, man," Reno sighed.
            "Either way, we can't stay here," Tifa observed, keeping a sharp eye out for approaching threats.
            Reno looked around thoughtfully, seeking a way through or at least a place to hide until a better opportunity came up. Unfortunately, there was no cover on the open plains—except for the still bodies of the WEAPONS that had fallen thus far in the conflict. They could hide under one of them until help came or a better opportunity for escape presented itself. The thought of lying in the fluids of the dead creatures made him cringe, but it was preferable to staying out in the open and welcoming certain death.
            "Yo, here's what we're gonna do," Reno said to his companions, pointing at the nearest large WEAPON corpse. "We'll hide in one of those things until it's safe to move again."
            Rude looked up and he pointed. "Or, we could just climb that ladder into Tseng's chopper."
            Reno and the others looked up to see the Turk Director's chopper hovering overhead. Elena had opened the cabin hatch and dropped a ladder down. The blonde was shouting down at them and gesturing urgently, her voice lost in the noise of the explosions, screeching WEAPONS and shouts of battle.
            "I like that idea better," Reno said with relief. "Tifa first."
            "I think Nanaki should go first," she argued. "He weighs more than us and he might have a little trouble climbing the ladder."
            "You're injured," Nanaki said, "You should go first. If you falter, one of us can assist you."
            "Listen to the cat, yo," urged Reno while Rude grabbed the ladder. His anxiety overruled his common sense and he gave her a little swat on the butt. "We ain't got time to argue, Toots. Get that sweet ass up this ladder or I'll carry you up myself."
            "Now isn't the time for a lover's quarrel," warned Nanaki when Tifa's eyes blazed with indignation. "Please, start climbing while you can, Tifa."
            She gave Reno one last indignant glare before taking the ladder from Rude and beginning her ascent.
~**************************************~

            "Well? Are they okay or not?"
            Barret grumbled at Jessie when she tried to take his binoculars from him and he nudged her away with his gun arm. After a moment, he sighed with relief and handed the binoculars over to her. "They're in Tseng's chopper now. Looks like he's gonna swing around and bring 'em back here for a drop off. Tifa looked hurt but the Turks and Nanaki seemed okay to me."
            Jessie looked through the vision device and she visibly relaxed, though she was unable to see through the left lens due to the bandage covering her injured eye. "Thank goodness. When I heard that their chopper was going down and Tifa and Nanaki went to help them, I thought…well, you know."
            "You outta be lying down, girl," Barret said gruffly, understanding where she was going with her speech. "You've done your part."
            "I know," she admitted. "I just…had to see if Rude was…"
            Barret put a supportive arm around her as she staggered. Her bruised and swollen face looked slightly deformed as she gave him a sickly smile of gratitude. "Sorry, Sir. I'll go back to my cot now."
            Barret checked the frequency on his transmitter to listen in on how things were going on the battlefield as he helped Jessie back to the recovery tent. His frown returned when he heard Cid barking urgent commands over the frequency and he stopped Jessie and adjusted his transmitter.
            "Yo Highwind, what's happening up there?" asked Barret into the mic.
~**********************************~

"This thing took out two more choppers and I'm taking fire," obliged the captain. He flipped a few switches and glanced over his shoulder to check on his people. The crew was running around busily, frantically trying to put out fires and repair dangerous leaks. "I need some backup here!"
"We're giving it everything we've got, Sir," one of the choppers under his command answered.
Indeed, all sky forces except for the Turk Director's chopper were trying to defend the Highwind airship.   Cid could see Sephiroth and Angeal doing their best to distract the gigantic WEAPON, but even with the General's precise, razor slashes and the Commander's brutal, gouging hits, the creature's attention remained fixed on the airship. That was the way the larger WEAPONS operated; they stayed focused until their target was destroyed. The more humanized, evolved Alphas were capable of adapting, because they didn't have the sheer size and strength of their cousins to rely on.
The single operating eye seemed to glare right through the portal at Cid, promising the death he'd been bracing for since this all began. He knew with unshakable certainty that there was nothing else anyone could do. Anyone caught close to his ship when it went could get caught up in the plasma fire or hit by the shrapnel when she blew apart.
Cid made the only decision that made sense to him. He lifted the ship's mic to his lips and activated the speakers. "I want all personnel to clear out and equip parachutes now. Drop whatever you're doing and get the hell off this airship before she blows. You piddlefart around, it's your ass! Move it people, this ain't no drill!"
One of the crew rushed onto the bridge, lifting his protective eye goggles to look at Cid urgently. "Captain, are you coming?"
Cid forced a wild grin, his soot-smudged features locked in an expression of determination. His light blue eyes were steely beneath disheveled locks of straw-colored hair and he tugged his own goggles down over them to protect them as further micro-explosions made the deck shiver.
"I'm sticking around, kid. Auto-pilot's shot and if my ship's going down, I'm taking a chunk outta that monster's hide with it. Now, get out of here!"
"Sir, you can't just commit suicide! You can lock the steering controls to hover in place and get out of here with the rest of us!"
"That won't guarantee the ship will stay put," insisted Cid, "and the last thing this army needs is the Highwind plowing into what's left of the air convoy. I'll keep her steady 'till she's about to blow and then I'll jump ship. Now move it!"
The young crewman looked as though he wanted to argue, but a stern look from Cid changed his mind. He saluted the captain and his eyes shone with admiration. "Good luck, Sir."
"See you groundside, kid. Now get."
The crewman did as advised, joining the rest of the ship's crew in the emergency escape chamber below. Cid hung on grimly as another explosion rattled the ship and made it list to the side. There wasn't much time left and he looked down at the controls as he dug a cigar out of his breast pocket. He studied the big red button protected by the clear panel as he snipped the tip off his cigar and lit up. There was a targeting screen above the panel, with a control stick next to it. He took a few leisurely puffs while steering the vessel as best he could, unleashing his last remaining rockets on the big WEAPON while he was at it. No sense in conserving them now. The impact of the airship's larger missiles made the creature stagger a bit, buying a few precious seconds more.
Still eyeing the button, Cid tuned back into the transmission so he could give some final instructions to the air teams and send an important message to an old, trusted friend.
~******************************************~

            "I need y'all to get clear of my ship when I give the signal," Cid's voice said over the communication frequency.
            "What exactly do you intend to do, Highwind?" Scarlet asked suspiciously.
            "Captain, you should be abandoning your vessel with the rest of your crew," advised Reeve, "I have a pretty good view from here and your ship won't hold together for much longer."
            There was some static and some swearing as Cid struggled to control his ship. "No shit, Reeve! I'm about to cut loose...*crackle*...big guns we put on board...*crackle*...last resort. That means the rest of these guys...*crackle*...stay away from the Highwind! Circle 'em around behind the bastard and let me do my job!"
            "Those weapons are experimental," Reeve argued. "Captain Highwind, if you use those terrestrial cannons, it could tear your ship apart before you even make it off the deck! You would never make it to the escape hatch!"
            Cid didn't seem to hear him. "Wallace, you listening, buddy?"
            Barret had heard the entire exchange and he still stood with Jessie near the edge of the encampment, looking up at the sky where the Airship waveringly sputtered over the field. "Yeah, I hear you, man. Cid, think about what you're doin'. Reeve's right...get outta there!"
            "Never mind that," insisted Cid, "Just remember...*crackle*...we talked about. You take care of my Shera, alright?"
            Barret shut his eyes, barely feeling Jessie lay her head on his broad shoulder. "You don't even have to ask. Long as I'm breathin', I'll watch over her."
            "That's all I need to know," answered Cid's voice. "Tell her...nah...she knows. Just watch...*crackle*"
            "Cid, don't do it!," protested Barret. "You can still get out!"
            Cid had shut off his communications, however.
~***********************************~

            Satisfied that he'd gotten the most important messages out, Cid held his airship as steady as possible as the rest of the remaining air convoy followed his instructions and moved away from him. They continued the barrage of gunfire against the big WEAPON, carefully avoiding hitting the winged SOLDIER operatives that added their physical and materia attacks to the mix. The damage they caused distracted the creature just enough to slow down its impending attack against the airship and Cid took another puff of his cigar, appreciating the cherry-kuriel tinged flavor of the tobacco smoke before blowing a couple of rings into the already smoky air of the bridge.
            He jammed the cigar between his lips and bit down on it as he lifted the panel to the "button 'o destruction" and he manipulated the lever beside it. When he heard the beep and saw the triangle flashing over the digital image of the WEAPON's forehead, he hovered a gloved hand over the ignition device and took one more puff of his stogie.
            "Choke on this, Shit-face."
          He jammed his palm down on the button and closed his eyes as his ship unleashed massive firepower created from the energy of other WEAPONS on the creature. Cid heard a deafening explosion and the world went white-hot for him, before fading to black.
~*********************************~

            "Cid," Barret yelled, unaware that he was literally dragging poor Jessie behind him toward the field as she tried to hold him back. "Cid! Goddammit!"
            Shalua came running out of the control tent with Lazard close behind her. Cid's airship had released an energy blast directly into the main threat's face, practically melting it entirely. The WEAPON began to flail and collapse, but the victory was costly. The Highwind exploded from the inside as soon as it unleashed its final attack and as the enemy began to fall, the airship self-incinerated.
            "Wallace, stop this!" Lazard was hollering without meaning to as the guards tried to restrain Barret from charging onto the field.
Tseng's chopper had landed and disembarked moments ago and Tifa soon joined Jessie in pleading with the big, dark man. "Barret, stop it! You can't do anything for him! Think of Shera and Marlene! One of you has to make it home to them."
Barret finally broke down and allowed the guards to guide him to the resting tents. Jessie followed behind and she offered brief assurance to Tifa. "I'll go with him."
Tifa took a shaken breath and nodded. She approached Shalua before the woman could even begin to speak. "I need access to a Cure spell or potions. I want to join the ground forces on the field." She nodded toward the battlefield, where the ground troops were slowly losing the battle against the hoards of WEAPONS.
Shalua looked at Lazard. "It's your call, Director. We're losing fighters quickly."
Lazard's handsome, refined features were smudged with blood, dirt and bruises. Evidently, staying behind at the forward base wasn't free of risks—though most of the blood was probably from other people. He nodded at Tifa. "At this point, it can't hurt. If you really want to do this—"
"Wait a minute, yo," Reno called as he hurried over to Tifa's side. "I've got a problem with that."
Tifa stared at him with wide eyes. "You don't have any say in—"
"She goes out there, I'm going with her," interrupted the redhead with a wink at Tifa. "I ain't sitting on my ass while my girl goes out kicking theirs."
Tifa's angry look softened and she smiled at him. "Good."
Lazard noticed Reno's partner coming up behind him and he sighed. "I suppose you want to join the ground attacks too?"
The bald man shrugged and adjusted his shades. "Tseng and Elena are going back to the air to fight. Jessie's okay and Red's my partner."
Lazard conceded the point tiredly. "Get Miss Lockheart medical attention, stat. Are you two injured at all?" He looked at the two Turks.
"Nope, we're good," Reno answered, checking his guns. "Just get the lady here ready and we'll be rocking that field with the rest of 'em."
            Tifa looked out over the field as Shalua tended her injuries and she sighed with relief when she recognized Cloud, still alive and active. He seemed to be working with Genesis and some of the SOLDIER troops to keep the Alphas' near them distracted. She looked at the big WEAPON that Captain Highwind had given his life to bring down and she saw that one of the forelegs of its bottom leonine half was striking out in its death throes, heading straight for one of the winged SOLDIERS.
            "Oh, no!" There was no way she could give warning in time to prevent it.
~**********************************~

            "She made it back safely," Cloud announced with open relief.
            Genesis bit back his annoyance and finished off another enemy. "That's marvelous...superb, even. Now—if you don't mind—could you please stop worrying about your little milkmaid and focus more on our situation? We've already lost our only airship and the helicopter forces are down to a trickle."
            "Sorry." Cloud looked around. "Looks like we've finished these off. Maybe we should join the General and Commander."
            Genesis nodded and he turned to look where the biggest WEAPON was finally going down. "I agree, lets..." He then saw the threat and he immediately took off, cursing savagely.
~*******************************************~

            "Get back," Sephiroth warned as the massive creature's life force ebbed from it. He winced as the whine of feedback in his ear confirmed his suspicion that his transmitter was broken. He tore it off and yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping that anyone in the danger zone had the sense to move out of the way without his warnings. He waved his masamune over his head, allowing the light to glint on the blade as a signal.
            "Everyone, move back! Commander Hewley, get your people out of the way."
            Angeal gave him a puzzled look, having seen his motions but unable to hear his words. He made a gesture at his ear and shrugged at Sephiroth. The General made a quick gesture at the falling creature, then at his wrist and then at the troops on the ground before pointing at Angeal and making a shooing motion. The bigger man nodded in understanding and began to relay the order to his troops.
            That was when Sephiroth felt the chill of danger behind them and turned to see the WEAPON'S limb swinging out.
~********************************~

            "Everybody move!" Angeal bellowed the warning, realizing how close to danger his troops were, now that he'd seen Sephiroth's urgent gestures.
It was unusual to see the General so impatient and hurried and the haze of battle wore off immediately when Angeal assessed their position for himself. The Highwind had all but evaporated in the heat of its own, final blast, so the danger of falling shrapnel was minimal. The danger of this massive creature's flailing limbs, however, was quite real. There was no time to mourn Cid Highwind or admire his heroic efforts; survival of the living came first.
            The events that occurred next were therefore ironic, in the sense that there was nearly a second martyr that day, who could have joined the first in the effort to save thousands. Instead, the would-be second martyr's childhood friend and lover came out of nowhere in a blur of red and black, shoving Angeal away in mid-air.
            "Angeal!"
            He heard the familiar shout and he had time to catch a glimpse of narrowed, determined aqua eyes before he was rudely and violently knocked away. He didn't get the chance to yell an inquiry at Genesis. He righted himself in the air just as the giant paw he hadn't seen coming hit Genesis like a bug, striking him so hard that he flew backwards into the distant cliff side.
            Angeal stared with wide, bewildered eyes as the love of his life fell unmoving from the icy barrier into the snow.
~**************************************~

            Zack caught Aerith as her knees buckled and he helplessly tried to sooth her as she cried out and sobbed. "Aerith...what is it?"
            "Th-they're dying, Zack," she whimpered, covering her ears as if they pained her. "They're DYING!"
            His heart felt like it was being crushed under the weight of those words, yet he knew his pain was nothing compared to the pain of a woman who could literally feel it as it happened. He blinked hard and he leaned over the suffering Ancient, struggling against his own anger, fear and pain. He didn't even want to know whom she had felt slip into the Lifestream.   Knowing would just make it harder to help her through this.
            "Aerith, look at me."
            She didn't do it immediately and he winced when she banged her head against the side of the cavern wall. "Baby, please. Look at me."
            With agonizing slowness, her tortured green eyes lifted to gaze up at him. The tearful gaze was highlighted by the phosphorescent glow from mists beneath them. Zack put everything he had into a confident, encouraging smile as he offered her his hand.
            "Come on, Aerith. We can put a stop to this. We can do it. Just take my hand and trust me."
            She stared at him for a few seconds, before slowly reaching up and putting her pale, slender hand into his. Her other hand clutched at something hard and square in her satchel but he didn't question what it was, figuring anything that gave her comfort was worth it. Zack kissed her tear-salted lips when he got her to her feet and he held her close for a moment.
            "Only a little more to go, Aerith. We can make it."
            She heaved another shaking breath and she nodded. "Okay."
~*********************************~

            They made it down the last torturous yards to the bottom of the crater. There were no WEAPONS waiting for them; only a still pool of clear water, lit from beneath by the primal glow of the world's life force. More water spiraled around it like little water funnels, but these sparkled and glowed and whispered.
            "Lifestream," Aerith explained to her husband when Zack stared at the funnels suspiciously. He swatted at one that came to close and she blurted a tired, hysterical giggle. "Don't do that, Zack. It won't hurt you. We're at the core, now."
            "This is where I heard the woman's voice," Shelke said to Aerith. The transparent girl was hovering over the glowing pool with a frown on her face. "I don't hear her now, though."

            Aerith could hear, and knew what she had to do. Her white materia was pulsing with a different rhythm now, as if by a life of its own. She could hear more clearly than ever and above all voices, she could hear that sad, otherworldly voice. She gasped when she felt the planet's pain keenly and she realized that Gaia was mourning her own actions. She now had her conformation that the planet didn't actually want to destroy humanity, yet believed it was the only choice.
            "Zack," Aerith said, staring into the pool as she began to walk towards it, "I know what I need to do."
            He looked like he was going to follow her into the water and she made a ceasing gesture at him, shaking her head. "It's okay. There's nothing to defend me from here. I need to concentrate, okay?"
            He frowned suspiciously at the glowing pond. "Aerith, I don't like you going in there alone." His eye followed the whirls of Lifestream dancing around the pool.
            "I know." Her eyes blurred with tears of love for him. "But this part is up to me. You've done yours and gotten me here. What I need most from you is your trust and faith."
            Zack stared at her, looking for all the world like a wolf unfairly tethered against his will. "You call me if you need me, Aerith."
            She smiled at him. "I will."
~**********************************~

-To be continued
- 36
- 37
- 38
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Ashen Skies