BOOK
1
Heir to the Throne
_____The
glowing blue eyes flashed open. Even whilst sleeping, his sense - heightened
by the Mako injection - sensed a disturbance around him. Cloud's head slowly
lifted and he looked straight ahead. The door was open. Leaning against the
cold wall, he pushed himself to his feet and stepped out into the narrow corridor.
There were six cells, three on each side. He had been in the second cell on
the right. Aeris was in the first and Barret and Red were in the third. As
far as he knew, the other three cells were empty.
_____He looked down to the end of the corridor.
To his horror, the guard was laying in a pool of blood. He ran over and knelt
down, placing his hands just above the body but not actually touching it to
avoid getting fingerprints on it. He felt warmth emanating from the corpse.
It was fresh.
_____'What's happened?' he thought to
himself. He ran back to his cell and shook Tifa violently, waking her up almost
instantly.
_____"What's wrong?" she asked.
_____"Look." Cloud said. "Outside
the cell."
_____They both went outside and Tifa turned away
after looking at the dead man.
_____"I wonder what happened..." she
said. Cloud noticed a set of keycards in a pouch attached to the guard's belt,
and he took them.
_____"Tifa, get Aeris." he said. "I'll
get Barret and Red."
_____He handed her the keycard labelled 'Cell
#1' and he took the one with 'Cell #3' written on it. The both swiped the
cards through the electronic locking devices and the doors slid open effortlessly.
Cloud beckoned Barret and Red XIII outside and they all gathered in the corridor.
_____"The hell's goin' on?!" Barret
asked, gazing at the guard.
_____"No human could have done this."
Red said. "I'll go on ahead."
_____He leaped over the corpse and disappeared
around the corner.
_____"I'll clean up back here." Barret
said. "So you guys go ahead. And don't get caught by Shinra!"
_____Barret slumped down and began to examine
the guard. Meanwhile, Cloud, Tifa and Aeris followed Red into the lower level
of the laboratory - on the 67th floor. The path was littered with more hideously
mutilated bodies of Shinra employees, some missing limbs, some bearing massive
wounds, none were breathing.
_____They eventually reached the lab area, where
Red had once been imprisoned. Cloud nervously turned his head to look at the
dome container. It was broken. The door had been completely ripped off its
hinges, leaving a wide trail of blood leading up to the next floor.
_____"Did it get away? Jenova...?"
Cloud said to himself.
_____"Jenova Specimen..." Red said.
"Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for the specimens."
_____They stood on the elevator and pressed the
button. It clicked and shook, then lifted them up to the next level. Sure
enough, the blood trail continued.
_____"It looks like it leads up..."
Red noticed. The ran over to the main elevator, the one encased in glass.
It hummed gently and moved up to the 69th floor. This was an office floor
for the President alone and was grandly decorated. There was only one more
floor above this, and that was the President's personal office.
_____Barret caught up with the group. They prepared
themselves to face what had come out of the tank. There was no way out of
the office unless the creature jumped over the balcony, but surely even a
beast of that power wouldn't survive a hundred-foot fall... Or would it?
_____The group made their way up the blood-stained
carpet and braced themselves. From a distance, they could see the President
behind his desk. He appeared to be alone in the room. They drew their weapons
and moved closer. Then they saw it. He was slumped over his desk, his face
pressed against the sheets of paper on it. A long sword had been inserted
into his back, coming out of his chest and pinning him down. There wasn't
even any blood in the wound, just a perfectly clean cut.
_____"He's dead..." Barret said softly,
not quite believing it. "The leader of Shinra Inc. is dead."
_____Tifa ran around to stand next to the body.
She examined the sword closely.
_____"Cloud..." she said in terror.
"This sword must be...?!"
_____"Sephiroth's!!" Cloud cried, also
feeling a wave of fear wash over him.
_____"Sephiroth is alive?" Tifa asked.
_____"Looks like it..." Cloud replied.
"Only Sephiroth can use that sword."
_____"Who cares who did it?!" Barret
cried. "This is the end of the Shinra now!"
_____With a grunt, Palmer appeared from behind
one of the marble columns and made a dash for the stairs. Cloud and Barret
stood in his way and grabbed one of his arms each. They lifted him off the
ground and his stumpy legs wriggled frantically, trying to escape.
_____"P, p, p, please, don't kill me!"
he cried, sweat pouring from his brow.
_____"What happened?" Cloud asked.
_____"Se, Sephiroth! Sephiroth came!"
Palmer whispered.
_____"Did you see him? Did you see Sephiroth?"
Cloud asked.
_____"Yeah, I saw him!!" Palmer yelled.
"I saw him with my own eyes!"
_____"You really saw him?" asked Cloud
again, making sure of it.
_____"Would I lie to you at a time like
this?!" Palmer cried. "And I heard his voice too! Um, he was saying
something about not letting us have the Promised Land!"
_____"Then what?" Tifa asked. "Does
that mean that the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to
save it from Shinra?"
_____"So he's a good guy then?" Barret
asked.
_____"No way!!" Cloud replied, shaking
his head. "It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"
_____Suddenly, a Shinra helicopter fell into
view through the large windows, just above the balcony outside. Palmer struggled
and broke free of his constraints and ran out through a small side door to
the balcony.
_____"Rufus!" Barret cried. "&*%$!!
I forgot about him! Vice President Rufus, the President's son!"
_____"I've heard that no one's ever seen
him bleed or cry." Aeris explained. Cloud headed after Palmer and the
rest followed, gathering again on the wide balcony. The wind up here was quite
strong and their hair flapped about like flags. Rufus and Palmer were standing
together as the helicopter flew around to the other side of the building.
_____Rufus was a fairly tall man with a white
suit and short, ginger hair. It had been swept back, all except for three
lost strands which hung down his forehead and over his eyes.
_____"So..." he said calmly. "So
Sephiroth was actually here."_Palmer nodded
and hurried away around the side of the building and out of sight. "Who
are you guys?"
_____"I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER First Class!"
_____"I'm from AVALANCHE!"
_____"Same here!"
_____"...A flower girl from the slums."
_____"A research specimen."
_____"What a crew..." Rufus said to
himself as he shrugged. He ran his right hand smoothly through his shiny hair
and then rested it at his side. "Well, I'm Rufus, the President of Shinra
Inc."
_____"You only President 'cause your old
man died!" Barret cried.
_____"That's right." Rufus nodded,
not even seeming to care that his father had been murdered. "I'll let
you hear my new appointment speech." He cleared his throat and prepared
to speak to the group. "...Old man tried to control the world with money.
It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect
them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army
will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently.
I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man."
He stepped over to the railings and placed his hands lightly on them, gently
rapping his fingers around the shiny bar that ran around the edge. "A
little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason
to waste money on them."
_____There was a long pause as Rufus gazed down
over his nightmarish kingdom. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it certainly was
breath-taking.
_____"Get outta this building with Aeris!"
Cloud ordered, suddenly turning to his companions.
_____"What?" Barret asked.
_____"I'll explain later!" Cloud cried.
"Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"
_____"The hell's that supposed to mean?!"
Barret said.
_____"I'll tell you later, just take my
word for it! I'll go after I take care of him!"
_____"Awright, Cloud!" Barret agreed.
He mustered up the group - all except for Cloud - and they all ran back down
to the 69th floor. The just got to the elevator doors when Aeris stopped.
The others turned around and gazed at her, wondering what she was doing.
_____"Cloud... I just thought of something."
she said.
_____"I'll wait for Cloud!" Tifa cried,
urging Aeris into the elevator with her hands, then she ran back to the bottom
of the stairs and sat down to wait. Barret, Aeris and Red all piled into the
elevator and hit the button for the ground floor.
_____Cloud
stood up straight, his muscles tensed, breathing heavily. Opposite him, Rufus
was in a relaxed position. The man annoyed Cloud. He was so calm and obnoxious,
even in the face of danger. Of course, there was the possibility that he had
no reason to fear Cloud.
_____"Why do you want to fight me?"
he asked.
_____"You seek the Promised Land and Sephiroth."
Cloud replied.
_____Rufus looked down at his feet, slid one
of them slightly so he was more comfortable, then looked back up.
_____"Did you know that Sephiroth is an
Ancient?" he asked.
_____"I can't let either of you have the
Promised Land!" Cloud cried, ignoring Rufus' attempts to distract him.
_____"I see." Rufus sighed. "I
guess this means we won't become friends."
_____As if from nowhere, a large black beast
pounced upon Cloud. It was shaped like a tiger, but its fur was as dark as
the night sky. Cloud smashed the animal in the side of the head with his fist
and it yelped in pain. It jumped back to its master's side and purred as he
stroked its head.
_____"Dark Nation..." Rufus smiled.
The creature roared and a materia orb embedded in its teeth shone green. A
magical barrier appeared around the new President. First there was semi-transparent
steel rods, then sheets of steel formed between them. There was a sudden flash
and the whole barrier disappeared. Rufus grinned and pointed at Cloud. Dark
Nation pounced again, its jaws wide open. Only a few feet from Cloud, the
man drew his mighty sword and swung it as hard as he could. The beast let
out a sorrowful cry as it was knocked aside and over the edge of the balcony.
It left a trail of blood which ran down the side of the entire building as
it fell to the plate far below.
_____Rufus shook his head in disgust.
_____"That was my pet..." he growled.
"You're going to pay!!"
_____He pulled a shotgun from his belt and fired
in Cloud's direction. Fortunately, he avoided the blast just in time and somersaulted
through the air and landed behind Rufus. He swung his blade again and caught
him in the back of the leg, slicing through material and flesh. Blood soaked
into the clean suit and Rufus spun around, aiming the shotgun at Cloud's head.
He darted aside moments before Rufus pulled the trigger a second time. This
repeated many times, until Cloud landed his sword's hilt on top of Rufus'
head. He fell into a crumpled heap on the floor, blood oozing from the wound.
_____"Get up!" Cloud ordered, nudging
Rufus with his foot. Rufus climbed up, but the helicopter from earlier emerged
from beside the building.
_____ "Heh... That's all for today!"
he chuckled as he grabbed the bottom of the vehicle and it carried him to
safety. Cloud looked away and ran back inside, hoping to finish the duel another
day.
_____He
ran downstairs and found Tifa waiting for him.
_____"Where's Rufus?" she asked.
_____"I couldn't finish him." Cloud
replied. "Looks like this's gonna get complicated."
_____Barret
rushed ahead through the reception area as Aeris and Red slowly walked across
from the elevator. The room was lined with notice boards and advertisement
screens. Barret disappeared through the front doors. Seconds later, machine
gun fire echoed throughout the entrance hall and he ran back in, smoke rising
from the barrels of his gun-arm.
_____"*&^%(* ...surrounded, huh?"
he cried.
_____"You all get out while you can."
Aeris said. "It's me they're after."
_____"Yeah, well, that ain't happenin'."
Barret replied. "You got caught up in this over Marlene, now it's my
turn to watch out for you!" He turned back to the door, where two Shinra
guards had entered the building. "Playtime's over for you jackasses!"
_____He fired twice, knocking them suddenly back
through the glass doors and hitting them with such a force that they were
killed instantly.
_____"Barret!" cried a voice. They
all spun round and saw Tifa running down a flight of steps.
_____ "Everyone, over here!" she cried
as she turned and ran into the Shinra Motors display area. This part was full
of cars and other automobiles with the brand new Mako Engine inside them.
They hopped into a light blue truck with an open back and a small two-seater
cabin. Aeris sat in the passenger seat whilst Tifa took the wheel. Barret
and Red jumped into the back and the engine roared into life.
_____ Nearby, Cloud rolled down the stairs on
a large motorcycle. He nodded to the others, and they started to move. They
drove back up the other staircase to the next level of the showroom. With
an almighty roar, the bike accelerated and sped towards a large window. The
glass shattered as the bike flew through the air, over a pair of Shinra guards,
and landed on the highway about twenty feet from the Shinra Building. He hit
the gas again and zoomed away into the distance, away from the tower.
_____The truck soon caught up with them, chugging
along the road behind Cloud. It was not as fast or mobile as the bike, and
it probably wasn't designed to carry three people and a large animal.
_____Cloud suddenly noticed there were two more
bikes behind the truck. They were similar to the one he was riding, and they
were piloted by Shinra guards. One of them headed for the truck whilst the
other turned to attack Cloud. The first biker came in line with the truck,
then jumped through the air in an attempt to land on the vehicle. He failed
miserably when Barret blasted him out of the air and the bike crashed and
exploded.
_____The second biker approached Cloud, a short
sword drawn. Having the advantage as his sword was longer, Cloud drew his
weapon and swiped at the attacker. He missed, and the biker swung his weapon.
It caught Cloud's arm and a deep cut opened up. Enraged, Cloud took another
swing and cut the biker's head clean off. The decapitated biker rode for a
few seconds, his head bouncing along the road behind them. Then he started
to shudder, and the bike fell sideways and smashed into the wall just beside
Cloud.
_____They
reached the end of the road about ten minutes later. It stuck out over the
outskirts of Midgar, high above the lush green grass below. The sky above
Midgar was black and polluted, but they could see that in the distance it
was clear and blue.
_____The bike and Shinra truck were parked about
one-hundred yards from the edge of the unfinished highway. The group of five
stood at the edge, gazing off towards the painted horizon.
_____"Well..." Barret said, not even
moving his head. "What do we do now?"
_____Cloud paused to think for a while before
speaking. His hair flickered in the wind, waving to and fro. His eyes watched
the inactivity of the landscape.
_____"Sephiroth is alive." he finally
said. "I... I have to settle the score."
_____"And that'll save the Planet?"
Barret asked, turning his head to look at Cloud.
_____"...Seems like it." he nodded.
_____"Awright, I'm going." Barret insisted.
Aeris brushed her beautiful hair with her hand.
_____"I'll go too." she said. "I
have things that I want to find out. Many things..."
_____Tifa wiped a dwelling tear from her eye,
wondering why she felt sad that she was leaving such an urban nightmare. But
then she supposed that it had been her home for the past few years and she
had become very attached to it, no matter how disgusting it was. She prayed
that Marlene was safe somewhere out there in that city. The child was so vulnerable.
She was only a little girl. Tifa looked back at the city one last time.
_____ "I guess this's good bye, Midgar."
she said.