Touching Immortality : Meteorfall (Also known as Ded Fic 1) Part 1 They watched as the Meteor drew closer and closer to the city, to the planet. Cait Sith made a strange electronic squeal before going off line. The rest of the group spared a look form the Meteor to look at the robot. Was Reeve dead? Or had his connection to the robot cat just been cut off?
“Look!” Yuffie shouted.
The energy from the lifestream, which was merging with Holy was now creeping upwards onto the meteor. The red glow faded becoming green for a few seconds before shining the brightest white causing everyone to shield their eyes or risk being blinded. Then the Meteor exploded. Most of the force of the explosion was focused upwards and to the side sparing the city below from much more damage.
But not the Highwind.
The shockwave buffeted the airship around Cid and his crew valiantly fought to regain control.
Barret grabbed hold of the rail with his good hand, Tifa grabbed hold of his gun hand. Cloud's grip on the rail slipped and he fell side wards against the sidewall. That dazed him for a few seconds and fell to his knees.
Vincent took a hold on the Pilots control consol he had been standing by his claws dug into the metal. Even as his feet slipped on the deck, his metal claw held firm. There was a screech of non-metal claws from behind him and Vincent grabbed Nanaki by the scruff of the neck, better that than have the lion go flying to the wall like Cait Sith just did.
The Moogle smashed into bits. The Cat robot itself seemed to be intact. The airship suddenly tilted the other way.
Yuffie who was holding onto the same rail as Barret tried to grab the dazed Cloud as he was thrown again her fingers just missed him. Cloud hit the other wall with a sickening crutch and was knocked out cold.
“God-fucking-Damn it! Nida! Take her down!” Cid shouted. “Below the bloody shock wave!”
The Highwind nose-dived below the shockwave and stared to level out a little, but not enough.
“I need help!” The pilot shouted. “I can't get her even!”
Cid helped the pilot pull on the control yoke. Tifa let go of Barret's gun hand and knelt by Cloud. The Highwind jolted as it hit the ground skidding along on its undercarriage. It hit an outcropping of stone and spun until the front faced Midgar causing those few still on their feet to fall. As the dust settled Tifa could be heard casting cure spells on Cloud.
“It's...beautiful...”
“Yuffie what are you on a...?” Barret trailed off as he pulled his eyes from Cloud to see what Yuffie was looking at.
Everyone but Tifa and Cloud were looking out the broken glass front of the Highwind.
It looked like the stars were falling. Thousands and thousands of little motes of light were drifting slowly to the ground. No one spoke as they fell. A few moments later a rough looking Cloud being supported by Tifa joined the group. At the back of the group no one noticed Vincent's normal hand brush Cid's. Cid looked up.
“What is it?” Cid whispered not wanting to break the silence of the magical moment.
“It's a message from the planet.” Cloud said.
“A promise.” Vincent added.
“Yes.” Cloud agreed still looking at the light show. “Life will out.”
Tifa held Cloud a little tighter.
Everyone was silent after that, thinking of what they had fought for, what they had to return to as they stared at the falling stars. Cid scratched the back of his head. He didn’t have anywhere to return to. Shera had looked after him because she felt guilty. Cid had fought so Shera would live and would be able to live the rest of her life without trying to make up for forcing Cid to abort that launch so long ago, when Cid should be the one grateful to her.
He had fought for the memory of Aerith who had died for all of them. He had fought for the little ragtag group of heroes who had gotten him out of that old moss covered rocket and given him is life back but after everything they had gone though, everything they had done, all he could think was...
What now?
“Enough with all the deep thought's shit.” Cid said shattering the silence and turning everyone’s attention to him. “We should see if anyone is still fucking alive over there.”
*****
The first thing she noticed was that her head left like it had been hit by a Choco/Mog deathblow. Next thing she noticed was that her throat was raw. She opened her eyes and they started streaming with tears from all the dust that assaulted them. Her legs had been partly pinned by derbies from the sector plate above her.
The second thing she noticed was that the Plate wasn’t there anymore, none of the plates were in the air anymore. Her head hurt more and she brought her hand up to her forehead brushing away a few blond strands of hair, her hand came away covered in blood. Rude did you really have to push me so hard. Rude? Where was he?
Everything was red, the light form the meteor that was going to kill us all stained everything the colour of blood. But they still had their jobs to do.
They were after all the Turks of Shinra, and although Shinra was dead Reeve and Reno had agreed that they still had a service to fulfil. They owed Midgar. Reno for following orders and bringing down the Seventh sector plate, and Reeve for being unable to stop it.
And so they followed Reeves orders.
“If anyone is going to survive it’s going to be in the slums, get as many people as you can there, I don’t care how, just get them there, enough people have died because of us.”
So they had followed orders getting as many men women and children into the slums as close to the core of the city as possible. It was ironic, the upper class from the plates and the people from the Slums holding each other in the darkness for comfort. It was so hot too. The air between the ground and the Meteor was being heated until it was as if they were in a burning desert not a heartless city. Reno led the woman and children into the sewers, not the best place to be but it was the safest. He had tried to get her to lead them down there. She had threatened to knock his block off.
So they had been checking around in the heat of the blood red City seeing if there were people they had missed. Of course there were despite their efforts they could never save everyone, they were people who refused to leave there were people who ran from them not heeding their warning.
Rude had taken her hand and told her to give it up, they had done all they could for as many as they could, now it was time to save themselves. That was when they heard the horrible creaking and groaning from above. The Sector plates were not only supported by the city core and their own support pillars they also supported each other. Without the Sector Seven plate, and all the stress from Meteor the Sector Eight plate was starting to fall. The plate from Sector Six was probably falling too. She and Rude had starting running for their lives. 'Faster, faster, faster, not going to make it, I don't want to die like this.` Something struck her from behind pushing her forward.
Elena looked up at the sky and saw blue energy shoot though the sky towards the city it flowed though the city streets in and out of the buildings. It flowed over the her as she tried to pull her self out of the rubble. Having pulled herself out of the rubble of Sector Eight Elena started digging back thought it looking for Rude.
“Don’t be dead, don’t be dead.”
Getting more and more panicked the more she dug.
“Can’t be dead.”
He had to be dead, he just had a sector plate land on him.
“You can't be dead...!" She cried. "YOU CAN'T!”
Elena moved a large metal...something doing her best not to pay any heed to the tingling the blue light was causing all over her body. Rude's head shoulders and one arm were visible. There was blood everywhere but there was a slight groan. Elena almost collapsed with relief. Rude was alive. For now.
Elena had given her curative materia to Reno, many of the woman and children had been hurt, she had told him that Rude materia would have been enough if they got into trouble.
They hadn't expected this.
“Yeah a huge rock from the sky is falling to crush us all to death but we hadn’t counted on the plates doing the job for it.” Elena kept moving what rubble she could. “Talk about irony, A Turk bought down the Sector seven plate and now the Sector Eight plate takes out a Turk...what should I do...”
Elena was babbling she knew she was as she checked to see if Rude had any Materia in the jacket pocket that she could reach.
“Someone help...I don't know what to do to save him...”
She didn't notice as Holy pulled the remaining Sector plates away from the city as the magic swirled around the city and carried them like paper in the wind until they were ether smashed against Meteor or plummeted back to the ground. She didn't notice the wisps of green lifestream coming out of the ground. Until she heard him.
“Don't forget the Enemy Skill Matria I gave you Elena.”
“Sis?” Elena gasped.
“Come on now Elena Tensig chose you as a Turk because we knew you were right for the Job just like Reno and Rude. Now prove us right.”
Elena dug our her Enemy Skill Materia quickly looking though her available skills suddenly one of the wisps of Lifestream flowed though her. It was so...the feeling it ...was just...weird.
She could see herself from outside her body, she could feel the weakening life of Rude, she could feel other souls nearby, some dying, some hiding, and all scared. She felt like she was floating, as if her sprit was being pulled from her body. It probably was.
“Elena! Fight it!”
She could almost feel her sister’s support even as his voice faded. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused.
The yellow Materia vanished yet Elena could still feel the abilities within her. I'll worry about it later, Rude is the important one right now. Finally she found the ability she had been looking for.
“White wind!” Elena cast.
It worked, partly; Rude moaned and twisted his head enough to look at her though his broken sunglasses.
“Elena...?” Rude gasped. “I thought I could hear...”
“I heard her too Rude.” Elena smiled with tears steaming down her face.
“Look...”
Elena looked up and saw the Meteor start glowing white She closed her eyes and shielding the uncovered part of Rude's body with her own as the Meteor ceased to be. Yet all that assaulted them was a bitter wind. She looked up in disbelief.
“Rude it's so beautiful.”
“Yeah...but Elena.”
Elena looked down at Rude, and saw the fear in his eyes. “What's wrong?”
“I....I can't feel my legs.”
Part 2
Cid had sent a couple of his crew to Kalm to get help for the city, there were going to many wounded, many dead, far more than the group could handle. The seven heroes, Cat Sith was still off line in a bag that Tifa was carrying, made their way to the city ahead of any help from Kalm hoping to find out how bad the situation was and organise the help sending it to where it was needed most. Once inside the city they split into groups. Cid and Vincent were going to check Sector Eight, Barret, Red and Yuffie were going to check Sector Six and then they were going to work their way around and meet in Sector Three. Cloud and Tifa were going to head for the centre of the city, where Reeve had told everyone to hide.
*****
“There.” Vincent said pointing his claw to their left.
Cid looked and saw a unconscious Elena slumped over the likewise unconscious and half buried Rude. Vincent took off his cloak and laid it on the ground. He then carefully picked up Elena and laid her down on it. Cid rose an eyebrow. Vincent had never given his cloak to anyone else to sleep on. Not even Tifa or Yuffie. As if reading Cid’s mind Vincent spoke.
“She’s a Turk, I was a Turk.”
Cid shrugged. He guess that made sense but actually no, it didn’t.
“Besides Tifa and Yuffie were never in need of my help.”
There was a moan from Rude and Cid moved to his side.
“No!” Rude growled.
“What...?” Cid asked. “Why the hell do you want to stay like this for?”
“It would do more harm than good.”
Vincent having made sure there was nothing wrong with Elena other than exhaustion joined the Captain and the Turk. Vincent looked over what he could see of Rude and then used his Sense Materia.
“Elena used a lot of Healing magic on you.” He said. “But you are right, you still can’t be moved.”
“How bad?” Rude asked.
“The Bones have been healed but it looks like, among other bones, your pelvis and some of your lower vertebra were broken, they had probably pressing down on the Spinal Cord, it would explain the damage I can sense there.” Rude nodded slowly. He was the healer out of the Turks He understood what Vincent had told him.
He was paralysed, for how long no one knew. But unless a lot of care was taken when getting him out of here he probably wasn’t going to be able to walk again. Elena had done her best but now it was down to luck.
Vincent nodded to Cid who used the PHS to talk to the Crew members who was getting help from Klam, hopefully someone who knew what they were doing would arrive pretty soon and finish what Elena had started.
As Cid spoke, trying to keep his voice and curses down out of respect of Rude who must have still been in a lot of pain and scared no matter how well he hid it, Vincent turned back to Elena and pored an Elixir down her throat. She coughed and sputtered but opened her eyes. Vincent blinked. The were glowing yellow.
“Elena help is coming from Kalm, You just have to watch over Rude a little longer and then they can look after him.”
“The Turks look out for their own.” She said tiredly trying to get to her feet.
“And you did a good job.”
“I did?”
Vincent nodded. Cid was looking at Rude. Rude returned the look the best he could with out moving to much. Showing that, yes, he did know there was something wrong with Elena. Cid dug into his pockets finding a Hyper waving it in front of Rude, before pointing it at the still odd Elena.
“Might help.”
“Vincent catch.” Cid tossed the Hyper to his companion who used it on the Turk half laying on his cloak.
“Look after him until help arrives, then you can rest.”
Elena nodded the Hyper giving her the strength to find her feet, but also made her eyes shine more. Vincent picked up his cloak and started brushing it down.
“Vincent? You were a Turk once weren’t you?” Rude said.
“Yes.” Vincent pulled the cloak back on redoing the fastenings.
“A Damn good one I bet.”
“I tried.” Vincent said and started walking it took Cid a few seconds before realising that Vincent was Leaving.
“Hey we can’t Fucking leave them like that!”
“We’ve done what we can, there’s a whole city of people here we have to help.” Save for muttered cure spells or soothing whispers to the newly orphaned Vincent said almost nothing else for the rest of the day, leaving Cid to do all the talking. Needless to day that if any of those far to numerous orphans didn’t know any good curses before Vincent and Cid helped them they did now.
*****
Red Yuffie and Barret hadn’t found many people. Most had ether already fled or were dead. Red had found a child who had been buried in rubble, she had been saved by her mother, who had shielded her. A final act that had cost the woman her life, her cooling body had still been cradling her unconscious child. Barret pulled the child out from her morbid resting place and handed the child to Yuffie to be healed.
He used a Phoenix down on the mother but it was to late the mother had been dead too long and could not be brought back. There was a bracelet on the woman’s arm it bore her name, he took it off. To let the little girl have something of her mother.
He was about to turn to the girl who was waking up in Yuffie’s arms when Nanaki called to him.
“There’s more...under this I can hear them knocking.”
Barret listened he could hear the knocking very faintly.
“I’ll pull and you push?” Barret asked.
Nanaki nodded. It took some doing but they finally moved the rubble revealing a manhole.
“YOU!”
“YOU!”
Barret and Reno stared at each other.
*****
Cloud and Tifa hadn’t found anybody yet but they hadn’t expected to, they had decided that the easiest way to get to the centre of the City was to climb over the rubble and hope there was some kind of opening for them to climb down. They were looking around for just such a gap in the rubble when the PSH rang.
“Cloud here.” Cloud nodded and answered whoever had phoned him while Tifa kept an eye out.
“Who was it?” She asked when Cloud had rung off.
“Barret he found Reno and a group of refugees, no sign of Reeve though.” Tifa nodded. Rearranging the bag that the little cat robot was in, moving it from one shoulder to the other.
“So do we keep looking or..?”
Cloud shook his head. “I’m sure that if anyone is going to survive this it will be Reeve.”
“What are we going to do then?”
Cloud looked towards what was left of the Shinra building. If they had evacuated the plates would they have evacuated the building too? Sure the order would have given out but would everyone had followed it, considering what kind of people worked for Shinra probably not.
“I say we give the Shinra building the once over check there’s no idiots tried to get everyone else’s secrets while the planet was going to hell.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Tifa agreed.
They started walking passing the remains of a Train station as they did. Cloud held up his hand motioning Tifa to stop.
“Do you feel that?” Cloud asked.
“What?”
The ground lurched under their feet and Tifa fell, Cloud caught her.
“That.” Cloud answered.
The ground shook again even harder and both Cloud and Tifa ended up on their hands and knees. Suddenly something burst out of the ground.
“A Train?” Tifa asked
Cloud shook his head. “Some kind of monster.”
Indeed the front of the train was a bone white skull it’s body which seemed to be made up of train carriages trailed though the hole that the monster had made when it had broken though the surface. The sound of a train’s horn broke though the air. Tifa raised her guard ready to fight. Cloud reached for his sense materia.
“What? The materia says it’s a train too.”
Tifa opened her mouth to say something when suddenly she covered her mouth with her hand falling to her knees.
“Tifa!” Cloud was instantly at her side. She had been poisoned, He pressed a antidote into her hand to use and then charged at the Monster Train. There was a inhuman screech of pain as cloud sliced Uiltma Weapon down it’s face. Suddenly everything went dark.
“Crap! Tifa you got any eye drops?”
“No, wait a sec I’ve got a remedy.” Tifa said.
Cloud tried a summon, just because he couldn’t see didn’t mean that he couldn’t attack the thing some how.
“Ramuh, strike him down!”
Nothing happened. Cloud bit back a moan as he was poisoned and a wave of nausea flowed over him. Tifa placed the Remedy in Clouds hand for him to swallow. Cloud could hear her cast a level three lightening spell. The Train monster roared and withdrew back into the hole, only to shoot back out, it’s brakes screeching to a halt a few feet of them. Again Cloud tried to summon Ramuh, and again the summon would not come.
“I will not strike down the new guardian!”
Cloud looked around but he could not hear where the voice had come from, Tifa hadn’t reacted, she hadn’t heard the voice.
Was the Voice Ramuh? None of the Summons had ever spoken before...
Clouds eyes caught on something, The train tracks, they were broken a mangled and imposable for a train to run on yet, that was what the monster was running on. Cloud and Tifa was standing in it’s way.
Tifa cursed. She had just tried a summon of her own.
“Come on!” Cloud grabbed Tifa’s wrist and ran off the tracks.
The train followed the tracks, leaving two small trails of fire in its wake. Passing by them harmlessly.
“It...wasn’t trying to hurt us?” Tifa asked.
Cloud nodded. “It just wanted us to get out of it’s way.”
“But...what...?”
“I don’t know, maybe...the Mako reactors...could it be possible that the radiation from the Mako turned a Train into that or something.” Cloud said thinking out loud. “If it was exposed to some leaked Mako long enough... it could have happened.”
“I don’t see how Mako could bring a machine to life.”
“And what is Alexander?” Cloud asked.
Tifa sighed. “Well what ever it is it’s gone now.”
*****
Vincent thought he heard something moving over the rubble. Cid stopped listening too. “Vincent do you-”
“I hear it too Cid.”
Cid looked over his shoulder to see that Vincent wasn’t looking at him but off to the right. He was holding his gun ready.
Vincent rose an eyebow at that, or who would shoot? As if Cid knew what Vincent was thinking the pilot shot him a grin and shrugged. There was more sounds of rubble shifting, as if someone was trying to climb out of it.
“I’m bloody warning you!” Cid shouted again.
There was still no answer as what ever was making the noise didn’t react. Vincent let a warning shot off into the air and still no reaction. Finally a dirty blond head appeared over the mound of rubble. He looked up and looked surprised. Then he saw Vincent’s gun and started waving his arms before covering his head with them.
“No hurt, no hurt!” The voice sounded male, and very thick, yet it didn’t seem to have any kind of accent.
Cid and Vincent looked at each other confused Vincent lowered his gun.
“I’m not going to shoot you.” Vincent said.
The person didn’t react. Cid frowned and made his way up the rubble towards him.
“Be careful Highwind.” Vincent said as he watched Cid climb, his slipped once or twice as the rubble shifted under him, but that wasn’t what Vincent was worried about.
Cid waved a hand behind him waving off Vincent’s concerns. He reached the top and touched the person’s arm. The young man looked up surprised and scared as if Cid had come from no where.
“Sorry about that.” Cid spoke slowly. “We heard you coming, but you didn’t answer our calls, we thought you could be a monster coming to attack us.”
The man shook his head.
“Help...you help?”
Cid nodded he first hunch on seeing the man was right, they kept talking, now having a much easier time understanding one another but this time no words were spoken. Vincent had been watching from the bottom of the rubble, confused. he had been listening to cid talking to the man and now neather one was speaking, and he couldn’t see anything because Cid’s body blocked his view.
Vincent started up the mound himself, stopping at Cid’s side, Cid was now helping the young man to his feet, his boots had been torn on something, and his leg looked as if it had been mualed by some kind of beast.
“Cid?”
Cid waved his hand distractedly at Vincent as he looked at the boy’s rapidly moving hands. Cid nodded and the young man tried to walk away but started to fall Cid caught him.
“We have to do something about that leg before we do anything else.”
The boy was holding his leg and didn’t even look at Vincent as he spoke. Vincent metaly shrugged it off, the teenager probably found Vincent disterbing. The boy looked at Cid.
“Don’t worry.” Cid said is that same slow voice. “My friend is just going to help you with your leg; carrying you everywhere isn’t going to do my back any good.”
Now the boy looked at Vincent, and shivered when he saw the claw. Returning the claw back to his side he used his natural hand to cast the cure magic on the boys leg. The boy stood slowly and turned back to Vincent. “Thank, you.”
The boy started tugging on Cid’s arm as he started walking back the way he came, without question Cid started to follow and then looked back over his shoulder at Vincent.
“Well? what are you waiting for?”
Confused Vincent followed Cid and the strange teenager. And found more children, younger than the boy, these were mostly pre-teens. Some were paired off, there seemed to be no order to the pairings, a couple of boys a couple of girls, some were mixed, the ages varied.
“Well I guess that makes sense...” Cid said as he started to slide down the slope of rubble towards the children. “Smart kids here.”
“Cid. I don’t understand.”
Cid looked up at Vincent.
“Oh right...sorry kind of left you out there didn’t I.” Cid apologized. “Come with me and I’ll explain on the way.”
Having reached the other children Mark started signing to him again. Cid nodded and then turned to Vincent to explain.
“Their teacher is stuck under the rubble, he doesn’t know if she is alive or not and doesn’t want to send any of the children who can hear down to see.”
“Understandable, Do you wish for me to check?”
Cid rubbed the back of his neck. “Well you are slimmer than me. I’d probably get stuck under there.” Vincent knelt down and looked at the hole.
“It is a tight squeze, is the teacher disabled too?”
“Good question...Hey!” Most of the class looked at him. “Your teacher disabled in anyway?”
The children that had heard him shook their head.
“And what’s her name?”
“Maria Wishton.”
Vincent nodded, and then to Cid’s eyes almost melded into the dark hole. Vincent dragged himself though the whole and found himself in a wide passage in the rubble. Then he saw the dust covered, once brightly coloured pictures and realised where he was.
A School, Why hadn’t the children been evacuated from the school long before now? Vincent moved carefully and yet every movement caused dust to fall around him.
“Miss Wishton?” He called and heard nothing but the ticking and creaking of settling rubble.
"Miss Maria Wishton?"
Suddenly a cupboard swung open, Vincent levelled his gun only to see a cat jump out followed by a small landslide of pens and pencils. Vincent fought the urge to roll his eyes, as the cat escaped the same way Vincent had entered, he could easily imagin the kind of things he'd be hearing from Cid or Yuffie or any of the others if they had seen him right now.
He almost missed the whimper . It was too his right, there was a door partly blocked by fallen rubble, he tried pushing it open only to see that it was jammed, and wouldn't budge until he rammed it with his shoulder.
As soon as he stepped though he had to duck a weak ice spell. The quick glance he had gotten told him that he was in a cloak room, the children's coats and low stools offering little cover.
Luckly he quickly realised that he didn't need it. Not with his would be attack cowering in the corner of the room. Looking for all the world like a frightened mouse.
However even mice will bite if cornered and Vincent was forced to dodge another spell. It seemed that Vincent would not have the chance until the woman ran out of magic and the gunman found himself wishing he hadn't traded his seal materia with Yuffie for her sense materia.
"Miss Wishton! I'm not here to hurt you!"
But it seemed that the teacher was too panicked to be reasoned with.
Faced with no other choice Vincent pulled his gun and shot the ceiling above the womans head. A lump of plaster broke free and hit the woman on the head, knocking her out.
Shaking his head, Vincent picked the woman up had headed out the way he had entered.
"You found her then? Was she okay?" Cid asked as he helped Vincent and Miss Wishton out of the hole. "I thought I heard gunfire."