Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Ice ❯ Reeve's Replacement ( Chapter 27 )

~~~~ meanwhile

****** indefinite amount of time has passed

 

Chapter 27: Reeve's Replacement

 

Rufus ShinRa slammed his hands palm downwards onto the table in the small conference room. Everyone's attention was quickly gathered onto him again. Satisfied, he leaned back more comfortably in his chair, running a hand through blond locks.

 

“As I was saying… Archer, it's your job to adjust the reactor's output.”

 

A dark-headed man with bright violet eyes nodded slightly from his position at the table. He was the one chosen to replace Reeve as head of Urban Development. He was well-suited for the job.

 

“Of course,” Archer responded.

 

Tifa giggled slightly and reached out a hand to run it along her lover's arm. He allowed her that small display but frowned when she tried to go lower… now was not the time.

 

“Hah, hah, hah!!” Scarlet laughed maniacally. “Don't worry about adjusting it, Archer. Once you open it up all the way everything will go full speed!!”

 

“Gya, ha ha!!” Heidegger added in that particular annoying horsy laugh. “The President's sure done it this time! If we can only defeat Sephiroth, the idea that Meteor will also disappear is based on different objectives.”

 

Rufus glared at the sycophant but did not say anything else. Inwardly his stomach roiled at the idiots that he was forced to work with. However, they did serve a purpose.

 

“Please remember, Mr. President…. It was my idea to fire Mako reactor powered shells,” Scarlet said, making sure that Rufus would not forget and give her the raise she had been desiring for some time now. There was this pretty little black number that she had been dying to get her hands on and…

 

“Will the shells really reach the far northern border?” the ShinRa head asked, musing aloud.

 

“Ah, hah, hah! Of course!” the blonde laughed; as if that was the craziest joke she had heard since quitting high school. “But, Mr. President, please do not call it a Mako cannon. This new weapon will be called….. The Sister Ray!” She smiled broadly at her ingenious name.

 

Tifa made a disgusted face. “The Sister Ray, how lame is that? Why not Destruction Beam or Death Ray or something with I don't know… fear maybe?” She shook her head at the voluptuous female muttering “dumbass” under her breath.

 

“Why you little-“ the other woman growled, furiously getting to her feet.

 

Rufus burst out into laughter, immediately causing her to freeze in her tracks. “Calm down, Scarlet. She would rip you limb to limb. Besides… Sister Ray will do for now.”

 

Muttering to herself, glaring at the dark-headed girl continuously, Scarlet sat back down.

 

“Gya, ha, ha!!” laughed Heidegger. “This plan is perfect! Nothing can stop us now!!”

 

The president just mused silently, idly staring past the ignorant employees and out the window, barely able to see the glow of Meteor.

 

* * *

 

As the group of heroes rushed from the City of the Ancients towards the Highwind, a sudden shaking of the ground caused them to nearly lose their footing. They stopped, trying to keep from tumbling to the ground.

 

After a moment the rumbling stopped and the distinct sound of Cloud's PHS ringing disturbed the eerie silence. He reached into his pocket to answer it even as he continued to run towards the Highwind.

 

“What the hell was that, Reeve?” Cloud questioned.

 

“Diamond Weapon has just appeared in the sea and seems to be heading straight for Midgar!!” explained the ex-executive in a frightened tone.

 

“Can't the cannon stop it?” the leader asked. They were nearly to the Highwind.

 

“I don't know if it's ready or not…” Reeve said slowly.

 

“Hey! What's gonna happen to Marlene?” asked Barret, a sudden fear striking his heart. His child, his dear daughter, she was still in Midgar!

 

Cloud didn't answer, instead putting on a burst of speed as the friends tried to keep up with him. Within minutes, they were all safely aboard the Highwind and slowly heading towards Midgar, despite the fact that a decision still hadn't been made. Everyone had gathered in the cockpit, even Cid and Vincent.

 

“What about Marlene!!” the gun-armed man demanded again, always trying to have the first word.

 

Reeve shook his head. “Do not worry, Barret. She is with Elmyra.”

 

A gasp alerted everyone to the presence of Aeris. In the confusion, Cloud had nearly forgotten that Cid, Vincent, and Reeve did not know of her returning.

”Then, she is alive?” the flower girl questioned happily.

 

Reeve blinked at her in confusion. “Yes. But you…?”

 

“Long story,” Cloud cut in. “We will explain later. But, right now, what's going on at ShinRa?”

 

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” said one of the nameless crewmen of the airship suddenly. He was sitting at a control panel, with a pair of headphones around his head. Immediately the Captain rushed over.

 

“What is it? What's wrong?”

 

“I am picking up on a strange signal…” the crewmen commented, pointing to a computer screen the displayed a sound wave. “And it's coming from…” He turned to look at Reeve at the very same moment that the ex-ShinRa's phone began to ring again with the humorous chicken dance.

 

The ex-executive glanced at it sheepishly before flipping it open. Instead of getting a call however, he had gotten a short e-mail. “It's from my informant,” he said simply. “It's going to be another twenty minutes or so before the cannon is ready. Weapon will be there way before then…”

 

“Hey! What's going to happen to Marlene!!” Barret argued again. Apparently the man had a one-track mind.

 

“I already told you,” Reeve said angrily. “She's in a safe place. So long as she is safe, who cares what else happens, right?”

 

Barret looked at the ex-executive in confusion. Indeed, so did the other members of the group. They had never seen Reeve so… angry.

 

“Wha?”

 

“I've been wanting to say this for a long time but… how many people do you think died when you blew up that first reactor, huh?”

 

“… That was for the life of the planet. You have to expect a few causalities,” the dark-skinned man argued in a defensive tone.

 

“A few?” demanded Reeve, storming up the dark-skinned man. “A few? Try several thousand innocent lives, who had no idea that was their day to die for a cause they knew nothing about!! What may be a few to you was everything to those who died.” He took small satisfaction in the guilty look that passed over Barret's face, instead continuing in his tirade. “Protect the planet?” Reeve snorted. “Hah! That sounded good in theory. But you didn't even give them a choice!”

 

“I don't want to hear that from no one in ShinRa,” Barret spewed venomously.

 

“Formerly in ShinRa, or have you forgotten that tiny bit of detail?”

 

“Stop it!!” their leader ordered, his voice rising above their petty argument.

 

“Cloud's right,” added Aeris, her soft voice instantly sending a calming presence throughout the entire airship. “What was done in Midgar can't be forgotten, no matter what the reason… but we can't give up because we are worried what will happen.”

 

“We will beat Weapon ourselves, then?” Vincent questioned, crimson gaze traveling over the members present. Was their strength strong enough to handle such a battle?

 

“You think we can win against that monster?” Cid mused aloud.

 

“We got a chance of winnin', right?” the little ninja questioned, glance darting from face to face. She was hoping someone… anyone would encourage her.

 

Cloud shrugged and tapped the hilt of his sword thoughtfully. “How would I know? But that's no reason for us to just let him go! We're going to Midgar and fight Weapon!”

 

“Setting course for the Midgar area,” intoned the crewmen in charge of navigation. He did so without being asked.

 

* * *

 

“Something's wrong.” Cloud frowned as he pulled back from his attack.

 

“What? Why did it stop fighting?” Aeris questioned generally confused as she knelt over Reeve's injured leg, healing it slowly.

 

The blond shook his head in confusion as he watched the actions of Diamond Weapon. The monster had suddenly pulled back from one of its more devastating attacks only to stand perfectly still, beginning a vigil on the still rather distant town of Midgar.

 

The PHS rang in Cloud's pocket, and he answered it, though one eye was firmly kept on the beast in front of him, as well as one hand tightly grip the hilt of his sword.

 

“You have to get out of there now!!” came Cid's voice suddenly.

 

“What?” the leader asked.

 

“It's ShinRa! The Sister Ray! They're going to fire!”

 

As if on cue, Diamond Weapon suddenly dropped to one knee, strange movements beginning to occur on its back as what appeared to be a few dozen missile launchers came out of nowhere.

 

“Shit!” The spiky-headed blond cursed aloud as he slammed the phone into his pocket, sheathed his sword, and grabbed onto the injured ex-executive all in one smooth move. With Aeris' help the two raced for the airship waiting nearby with the barrier still running strong.

 

The green-eyed woman turned back to look at Diamond Weapon and blanched noticeably. “It's going to fire on Midgar.”

 

“Then ShinRa better get their ass together and fire first!” Cloud muttered under his breath as they struggled to haul the injured Reeve up the ramp to the airship.

Vincent came out of the cargo bay and came down to help them. He had been helping in the attack from afar, using the powerful strength of his Winchester.

 

As they made their way into the Highwind, the ex-Turk slapped the button that would close the exit ramp and hit the intercom to let them know that they were all on. Almost immediately the four could feel the airship lift up off the ground. Sighing heavily, Cloud and Vincent laid Reeve down on the metal floor of the cargo bay and Aeris went back to work healing the ex-executive's leg.

 

“Go the cockpit, I'll stay here with him,” the gunman stated. Cloud nodded and took off running.

 

He made it just in time to see Diamond Weapon fire off a barrage of missiles in the very same moment that Midgar fired the Sister Ray. The two entirely different but just as deadly attacks passed right by each other.

 

The beam of power from the Sister Ray struck Diamond Weapon first, slamming into its chest and knocking the creature back several hundred feet. It left a big gaping hole in its wake as it passed through the creature and continued on heading straight for the North. Weapon was killed instantly.

 

“The crater!” Nanaki exclaimed, in sudden understanding. “They were aiming for the crater all along!”

 

“What?” the little ninja asked with confusion. “Then they're the good guys?”

 

“Oh, fuck,” breathed Cid in a horrified voice. He was looking at the missiles still heading towards Midgar. “They're going to hit straight on!”

 

“No!” screamed Barret, running towards the window as if he could stop them. “Marlene!”

 

The group gathered in the cockpit watched in horror as dozens of missiles slammed into Midgar, exploding in bright bursts of orange flame.

 

Cloud felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see the flower girl, also watching the horrific scene. Apparently she and Vincent had finished healing Reeve in time to see the missiles destroying what they had hoped to save.

 

Barret had slumped to the floor, eyes staring vacantly out the window. He had promised Dyne that he would protect her… the child he had come to love as his own daughter. He had failed.

 

“Oh, stop your moping!” the ex-Turk snapped from the back of the room. Every single eye in the cockpit turned towards the gunman. He wasn't at all fazed by their angry looks.

 

“If you weren't so blinded by your unreasonable grief, you might have actually noticed that most of the missiles missed Midgar entirely and hit ShinRa Corporation more than anything else. The city itself is relatively intact,” Vincent added in to his previous statement, gesturing towards the window.

 

Beside the gunman, Reeve stiffened with the sudden realization, his face going uncharacteristically pale. Unconsciously, his hand wrapped around the phone in his pocket. Damn, getting caught! He had to know!

 

“Val's right!” Cid declared. “For now we have to go to the crater and see what's happened to Sephiroth.”

 

The crew pilot changed the directions of the Highwind and headed full speed towards the Northern Crater. They noticed the change almost immediately. Sephiroth's barrier had been destroyed. Nothing stood between them and the murderous ex-General now.

 

“Damn ShinRa did something right for once,” the gun-armed man exclaimed in awe.

 

“Now we can get to Sephiroth,” intoned Cloud, his eyes gleaming.

 

There was a general nod of assent until Reeve's PHS rung yet again. They were really beginning to hate that ring tone!

 

The ex-executive pulled out the phone and glanced at the screen, gasping when he realized who it was and hurriedly answered it. “Archer, you're still alive! What's going on? Is `he' alright?” (pause) “What!?!”

 

~ ~ ~

 

“Strange,” Heidegger declared. He glanced at the phone in his hand. “I can't reach the President!”

 

“Rufus?” Tifa questioned. “Something's happened to Rufus?”

 

“Shut up, girl!” Scarlet snapped. “Archer! What's going on?”

 

“It must've been Weapon's attack,” the violet-eyed man commented. “But none of that matters right now! The reactor's input is increasing all by itself!”

 

“Ww, wait a minute!” exclaimed Scarlet, stammering. “That's not wise! It must cool for three hours or it won't work. Archer, go shut off the damn machine!”

 

“We can't do that.” Archer shook his head. “It's inoperable. We've been locked out from here. It's been switched to mainframe operation.”

 

“What about the mainframe? Who!?” the blonde stammered still unable to comprehend the fact that someone was messing with her cannon. “Hey, call the mainframe!” She pointed at Heidegger.

 

“Huh? Why are you giving orders?” the horsy-man questioned. “And why can't I reach Rufus?”

 

“I'll find him!!” Tifa gasped, running from the room. She had to find her lover… without him she had no power!!

 

“Who gives a damn about the details?” Archer questioned. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his own PHS, quickly dialing the number to the mainframe.

 

In the mainframe at the controls for the Sister Ray… a bespectacled man was laughing sadistically as he pressed at buttons.

 

“Ha, ha, ha…. Just you wait, Sephiroth. I'll give you all the Mako you want.”

 

Just then, the phone in the control panel rang. Hojo ignored it. However, the phone was equipped for such measures and answered itself, switching to speaker phone.

 

“Who's there? What's going on?” demanded the insistent voice.

 

Hojo snickered. “All you want…”

 

“Hojo? Dammit, you freak! Stop! The cannon, no, Midgar itself is in danger!”

 

“Ha, ha, ha… one or two Midgars?... It's a small price to pay.”

 

“Hojo! Hojo! Listen to me dammit!” But the scientist was far too gone in his own insanity to hear any bit of common sense.

 

“Show me… Sephiroth. It should be near… ha, ha, ha… go beyond the powers of science… Before your presence, science is powerless. I hate it, but I'll concede to it. Just let me see it. Ha, ha, ha… “

 

Back in ShinRa, Archer was still yelling into his phone as if that would help the situation.

 

“Archer! What's going on?” Scarlet demanded.

 

“It's Hojo, he's gone plum-fucking nuts! I've got to get down there and stop him!” Archer dashed from the room, hand still holding tightly to his phone.

 

“Ghaa, haa, hah! The President is dead! Now I'm doing things my way! You,” he declared pointing at two guards. “After him!”

 

“Ha, ha, ha!” Scarlet laughed. “Heidegger! Now's a chance to use the new weapon! You can bet that Archer's already called Reeve!”

 

“Damn fool thought we wouldn't notice he was always sneaking away on the phone.” Heidegger sneered.

 

The two ShinRa employees laughed evilly together, delighting in their cleverness.

 

~ ~ ~

 

“…No, get out of there!! I'm coming!! Archer?? Hey!!” The phone went dead in his hands. Reeve slammed it shut, his face growing even paler.

 

“What's going on, Reeve?” Aeris asked concern obvious in her features.

 

The ex-executive shook his head, anger causing his body to tremble all over. “It's Hojo. ShinRa's in an uproar, the whole place is a freaking disaster area. Rufus has disappeared, and Hojo is priming the Sister Ray for another attack but the cannon will explode with all the power he's pumping into it! Midgar may have survived Weapon's attack, but it can't survive this. In truth, the explosion could travel down into the mako reactors and then into the lifestream…” Reeve trailed off as if leaving it up to them to figure out what he was trying to say.

 

A wave of anger and hatred flooded the cockpit. It seemed everyone present had prior reason to hate Hojo.

 

“Can't your spy friend do something?” Barret accused.

 

“Will Midgar's suffering never end?” Nanaki murmured morosely.

 

“What! You think that call ended normally?” Reeve demanded. “He's in ShinRa's hands now.”

 

“The other fools won't do anything?” the ninja questioned.

 

Reeve shook his head. “Why would they? Undoubtedly they know that Archer has been my spy for a while now. They know we are coming.”

 

“We have to stop Hojo!” Nanaki declared.

 

Cloud nodded. “Into Midgar then.”

 

Cid ordered his pilot to change directions, and soon the Highwind was flying swiftly back towards Midgar.

 

“How are we going to get in?” the gun-armed man questioned. “The whole city's been under martial law since we escaped from Junon. There's no way we can slip in through the slums.”

 

“We got an airship don't we?” the Captain said gruffly. “Why not parachute in?”

 

“Jump out of an airplane?” Yuffie exclaimed, her face paling instantly. “You've got to be kidding me.”

 

“It's our only option,” Nanaki muttered.

 

“Oh, Gawd.” Yuffie gulped. “Please let us survive this!”

 

* * *