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Chapter Five After so many years, the smog that had always hung in the skies of Midgar had vanished almost completely, the three former AVALANCHE members discovered as they drew near. The sky ahead was only a bit darker than the sky behind, and it was a good thing, because the day was hazy enough as it was. Even after the morning fog had been blown away, the sun was still hidden behind a blanket of grey clouds as Kit and Cloud dismounted from their chocobos at the edge of the city, and tied the reins to a decrepit old wire fence so that they wouldn't stray while they went in further. Cait Sith, of course, could not ride a chocobo, but Reeve had apparently upgraded him over the last several years. As amusing as it was to picture the oversized stuffed moogle on chocoboback, it was almost as funny to see it tearing along on foot at the same speed as the large birds Kit and Cloud had rented. Though they were all worried, Cait Sith was the same casual wisecracker he'd always been, and managed to make the trip less tense.
But now, it was time to get serious, Reeve acknowledged, looking through the eyes of his creation into the ruins of the biggest project of his life. Shinra had been so paranoid about rebellion and terrorism that they'd insisted on placing defense mechanisms nearly everywhere in the city. Their technology, aided by Professor Hojo's studies of Mako energy, had created weapons that could lie dormant for centuries and still be activated again if necessary. And just as Kit had feared, there had apparently been reports from near the city of ferocious mutated beasts - it was natural after such a concentrated shot of the Lifestream, considering what had happened to the humans Hojo had placed in the capsules in Nibelheim's reactor.
It was about noon when they arrived, and in the next hour or so, it became apparent that their task was not going to be an easy one. Midgar was even more massive than they'd remembered, and after all this time and so much destruction, not even Reeve could think of where they might find a way to track down the children. It would have been simple enough to pinpoint the location of any Midgar citizen to within a block with Shinra's old tracking devices, but even if the machines weren't lost in the rubble, none of the children had ID cards.
With all the possible dangers, it wouldn't be wise to split up and search, they decided, so the best way to find them was the old-fashioned way of finding a high vantage point from which to look around. Cloud volunteered to climb up what was left of a support pillar, and so Cait and Kit were left at its base, waiting for his report.
"Stop pacing," Cait urged Kit, who was walking back and forth between some rusted-out cars. "You're making me dizzy, and it won't do any good. Sit down and rest, while you have the chance, this may be a long day on our feet."
"I know, and I haven't done this much walking in years," Kit replied. "That's why I'm pacing - aside from being worried about the kids, I'm also a little worried that if I sit down and rest, I might not be able to get back up."
"Well, then I'll make you get back up," Cait said with mock firmness, and Kit smirked.
"Is that a threat, kitty?"
"Only if you intend to resist, Kitty," Cait teased her in return. "Seriously, Cloud's only about halfway up now, and unless he sees something immediately, he's got a lot of looking around to do. And after that, well... he could come down awfully quickly, but from that height, we don't really want him to, hmm?"
Kit couldn't help but chuckle. "Cait, you're awful," she told him as she sat down on the hood of one of the cars. "I suppose you're right though, it's not as if-"
In the tiniest fraction of a second, Kit saw Cait's glass eyes widen in shock, and threw herself to the ground, drawing her gun from its holster on her leg. Years of SOLDIER training had taught her to react instinctively to the first hint of danger, and so the beast that leapt from the broken windshield of the car got a bullet in the chest before Cait had even had time to shout his warning. It let out a vicious roar, and despite the wound, turned to pounce at her again. This time two more bullets found their mark in the creature's skull, and its glowing red eyes became black and dull as if turned off by a light switch. With a whimper, the twisted body fell to the pavement.
Cait stared at the creature in stunned disbelief. "Incredible... are you all right?"
"Yeah, just a little startled," Kit answered. Her heart felt like it was going to pound its way out of her chest. "This must be one of those mutants that have been reported in the area, huh?"
"Hey, what just happened down there?" Cloud's voice called from above.
"Just a little monster," Kit replied. "Nothing to worry about, it's dead and we're both fine." Actually, now that it was dead, she could see traces of the creature's origins - thick fur and large, floppy ears made her suspect it was descended from someone's pet dog. If not for the mako poisoning, it probably would have been more likely to greet her with a wagging tail than claws and fangs.
"Good." Cloud had reached the top now, and they could see him shading his mako-enhanced eyes as he surveyed the city. "You know, as bad as it looks from down there, it looks worse from up here." Turning to the north, he paused. "Something's moving over that way, but there's no way that's the kids. The movement's spread out over too large of an area. I can't tell from here exactly what it is, but it might be a fire or something... No, wait..." He paused again, continuing to stare off into the north. "That's not fire. It's a swarm of some kind of creature," he said grimly. "They're all headed in the same direction."
Kit could only faintly hear his voice now, but she picked up on what he meant. "If they're following the kids, that means they're still alive and moving, you know," she called up to him.
"Yeah, which means we'd better get moving too," he called down, starting his climb down from the pillar. Luckily, a metal pole had been exposed when the pillar had been torn apart, and he slid down it easily. As he turned to meet her eyes, Kit saw that his were filled with urgency that he didn't know how to express. "Kit, there are hundreds of those creatures, whatever they are."
Kit nodded. "It doesn't matter to me either," she told him. "If they think they're going to get a single claw into my son, I'll kill a hundred of them with my bare hands. We've faced worse, Cloud."
He nodded in return, and gave a slight smile of gratitude for the reassurance. "Then let's go." Though he'd been a competant leader in AVALANCHE, he'd never had much confidence, but Kit and the others had learned to give him the support he unconsciously needed.
Moving north through the ruins, past the center of the city, they were surprised to see that nature had begun to reclaim it. Patches of green grass had sprouted between the broken concrete, which sometimes was covered with moss, and in a few places, vines were clinging to the blasted-out shell of the Shinra complex. In any other situation it might have seemed reassuring or peaceful to see such a thoroughly corrupted place being renewed in such a way, but the three of them had no time for reflection. They were moving too quickly, running when they could, with their weapons at the ready in anticipation of encountering the numerous monsters ahead.
Occasionally, Cloud would take a detour to climb a pile of rubble to see a bit further ahead, to make sure they were on the right course; the grey sky hadn't cleared enough to allow the sun to guide them, and it was hard to keep a sense of direction with all the collapsed buildings and fallen beams making half the roads impassable. Still, as they got further away from the city's center, the destruction was less severe, and they were able to pick up their pace. Soon they were close enough that they encountered the occasional straggling monster. Strangely enough, the creatures didn't seem to be interested in attacking, but instead ignored the party as they crept or flew towards the north. It was as if they were drawn towards something, Cait suggested, but they couldn't think of what that might be until they were so close that they could hear a large pack of the monsters snarling on the other side of a mostly-intact barrier.
Crouched against the wall, Kit and Cloud were trading ideas of the best way to go about destroying them - they were vastly outnumbered, and armed only with a sword, a gun, and Cait's fists - when a strange sensation made Kit shiver. From the look on Cloud's face, he'd felt the same thing. "What is it?" Cait asked curiously. "You two look like you just saw a ghost."
"I... I'm trying to remember," Kit said, frowning. Despite her unease, it had felt soothing somehow, and extremely familiar.
She couldn't recall where she recognized it from, though, until she felt it again, and looked up to see a blast of fire rising to the sky in the distance, and the sound of creatures in that vicinity shrieking and howling in pain. "Magic!" she exclaimed. "Someone's using materia!" She'd become so accustomed to it as a SOLDIER that she'd never realized that the spells they cast gave off a tangible energy like that.
Cloud didn't seem relieved at the realization. "Yeah, but no one uses materia anymore," he reminded her. "All of ours is with Yuffie, and few outside of SOLDIER ever learned how to use it. Unless some SOLDIER survived..."
"Dad!"
Cloud's pondering was interrupted by the sudden shout, and they turned to see Aaron standing across the street, his clothes blood-stained, with Lisa's arm around his neck as he supported her. Bili stood beside them with similarly blood-stained clothes, his sword in hand and a look of weary relief on his face.
"Aaron! Lisa!" Cloud dashed across the street to his children, Cait and Kit following quickly behind, and took Aaron into his arms as the boy began to sob. "What happened to you?"
"Thank goodness you came," Lisa breathed, sounding as if she were on the verge of exhaustion. "We weren't sure how we'd get out."
Aaron tried to wipe the tears from his eyes - as hard as he was trying to be brave, he was only twelve years old. "Dad... we're sorry..."
"We'll talk about it later," Cloud said firmly. "Are you all right? Lisa?"
Kit was getting more anxious by the second. "Where's Gabriel?"
Bili sighed, unusually serious. "Lise'll be fine, once we can get her to a doctor - I think there's still a bullet in her ankle. Probably one or two in me, too, but-"
"Bullets?" Kit gasped. "You can't mean that-"
"No, it's okay," Lisa interjected quickly. "Gabe's still alive... well, last we knew. And from the look of that flame we saw just a minute ago, I think he still is."
"What?!" Kit and Cloud exclaimed in unison.
"That was Gabriel?" Cait asked dubiously.
"He might not be if we don't hurry, though," Bili muttered, shaking his head. "I can't believe he's made it this long."
"Okay, let's start at the beginning," Cloud said firmly. "I'll reserve any judgements for when we get home - just tell us exactly what happened."
Bili started off, explaining about the sunken artillery platforms and how he'd accidentally triggered them and been shot. "Point blank, in the face and chest," he told them. "I - uh... well, this will sound strange, but I was dead before I hit the ground." Cait's head shot up in shock, and Cloud looked thoughtful, but no one said a word. "Uhm... after that, things get a little fuzzy, seeing as I wasn't exactly alive or anything. One of you two want to cut in?"
"I will," Aaron volunteered. "I didn't know if Bili was alive or not, but Lisa was trying to stop the machines. Gabriel was still down the hall, and so when Lisa started yelling at me to run, I went to find him and bring him back so we could help her, and get Bili out of there. But when we got there..." He paused, shivering. "...She was..."
"Well, I'd been shot too," Lisa spoke up. "It's okay, kiddo - you don't have to talk about that..."
Aaron shook his head, swallowing hard. "I'm okay. ...Anyway, Lisa was hurt badly, Bili was dead. Then two lightning bolts came out of the sky and fried the machines. I looked back and saw that Gabriel was the only person around, so he must have cast the spells. He looked kind of out of it, and then he started yelling something, and some monsters started attacking us-"
"Wait a second," Cloud interrupted, his eyes narrowing. "Gabriel cast spells? Kit, did you give him any materia?"
She shook her head, as confused as he was. "No, of course not. I haven't even seen any except for the ones in the Masamune for years, since we gave all of ours to Yuffie."
"That's what he used," Bili informed her. "Heh... I guess he was right then, and you really didn't notice the old switcheroo."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh man... I hope I'm not going to get him in trouble for this, but... he wanted to bring his father's sword, maybe get a chance to use it for real," Bili explained. "So he left his own sword in its place."
Kit was so angry, proud, and ashamed all at once, that she couldn't even respond. To think that her son had taken such a precious item without asking for permission, and completely duped her in the process... but could use it as it was intended...
"Anyway, go on," Cloud prompted Aaron. "Monsters started attacking, and then what?"
"I couldn't do a thing against them, and they kept ripping at me and biting me," Aaron said, his face paling at the memory. "I was almost killed, but Gabriel drove them off... then he used some magic on me and Lisa and Bili, and our wounds started to heal. Then he told us that we needed to rest and get better, and then get out of Midgar. He said that the monsters were drawn to the magic he used, and he'd go off on his own to draw them away from us, to give us time to heal up."
"That was almost two whole days ago," Lisa said. "We rested for most of that time, like he said - only because we couldn't do anything else," she added quickly, with a glance at Kit. "We wanted to help him, but Bili and I couldn't even walk... So we did as he said and stayed put. This morning, Aaron was pretty much okay, and Bili was a lot better, but I still couldn't walk. They were going to take me out of the city, then come back and look for Gabriel, but we sort of got lost..."
"Then we saw the explosions from Gabe's magic just a little while ago," Bili continued, "so Aaron and I thought we'd find somewhere safe for Lisa to hang out while we went to see what we could do for him. None of the monsters we've seen today were interested in attacking us, so we figure they're all intent on going after that magic of Gabe's. We could probably surprise 'em from behind, or something, we were thinking - but then we came across you. And thank goodness we did, because I lied, Aaron - I'm not sure I'm up to something like that yet at all. Your dad's way better than I am though, so you should have an even easier go of it."
Cloud shook his head, frowning at his son sternly. "Aaron, you're going to get out of town with Lisa and Bili. All three of you have been through too much, and even if you hadn't, I wouldn't risk you that way." Unsurprisingly, none of them protested.
"I'll take them," Cait volunteered cheerfully, turning to Kit and Cloud. "I'm just a fortunetelling machine, and you two are the fighters, so it'll be better if you go after Gabriel. And besides, if the monsters really are intent on Gabriel and his magic, then the kids won't really need any protection."
"Plus, I'm okay," Aaron added. "If a monster does come along, I could probably take out a few."
Cloud paused, then nodded reluctantly. "I hope it won't come to that, but I can't think of a better idea. Cait'll know the quickest way out, besides. Kit, how does that sound to you? Are you up for a battle?"
Kit had listened in astonished silence to the last half of the children's story, with so many questions and feelings and anxieties that she had no idea what to think. But one thing was certain - her son had been fighting off monsters for two days, likely with no chance for sleep, and they were closing in on him now. He needed her help, and she would do anything she could and more to make sure he came out of this safely. "Definitely."
After Cloud had helped Lisa climb on top of the stuffed moogle - Cait insisted that it could carry the extra weight, and that they'd move faster if Aaron wasn't supporting her - Cait agreed that he'd get in touch with Tifa by way of Reeve and let her know the situation, and then the four of them took off to the west. During the time they'd been talking, the monsters had gotten further north, and Kit and Cloud hurried to catch up. They passed countless corpses of the mutated creatures, cut to shreds or burnt and still smoking. Every few minutes, they would see another fire or lightning spell illuminate the sky, and hear the cries of the monsters in the distance telling them that Gabriel had encountered another pack of them.
As they drew closer, though, eliminating any stragglers they came across, the bursts of magic grew more frequent, until they were coming one after another. It sounded as if Gabriel was being overwhelmed, and Kit climbed up to the top of a wall to see if she could actually see what was happening. What she saw made her blood run cold - less than a quarter-mile away, dozens of monsters formed a nearly complete circle, with a lone figure at the center as they closed in. Flashes of lightning struck down the innermost monsters here and there, as her son tried to make an escape route, but more closed in to take the place of those who had fallen.
In desperation, Kit fired a shot at the monsters that were closest to her, the ones in the rear, and was rewarded with a howl of pain as the pack turned to see their new enemy. She fired again, and again met her mark. She hadn't been SOLDIER First Class, specializing in assassinations, for nothing. The monsters in the rear began to head back towards them, and looking out across the mostly intact rooftops in the area, she got an idea. "They're coming your way!" she shouted down to Cloud. "I'm going to go to him - see if I can stir things up."
Cloud nodded, and dropped to his battle stance as the first monsters approached. "I'll follow you, taking the low route," he called back. "Good luck!"
"You too!"
Kit jumped from the wall to the sloped roof of the nearest house, ran up it and down the other side, using the extra speed she picked up to make the longer jump to the next house. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she fired down into the packs of monsters, who roared and howled at her, but could do nothing to reach her. She paused briefly to put a new clip of ammo into her gun, and looked back to see that Cloud was advancing as well, waiting for the monsters to approach him and taking them out one by one, rather than diving into the midst of them.
After a few more jumps, she'd come to a house at the edge of the wide open area where Gabriel had made his stand. Looking down, she could now see Gabriel clearly - backed against a wall and concentrating so hard that he apparently hadn't even noticed that there were others now fighting with him. His father's sword was held high as he sent bolt after bolt at the closest monsters, then lowered to slash at the half dozen or so that dared to rush at him. Each swift motion sent one of them to the ground instantly, and then another bolt of lightning struck at the remaining creatures before they regrouped.
Kit began to fire down into the monsters as well, each bullet hitting its target in the skull of one of the beasts, and from somewhere behind her, balls of flame began to streak down from the sky as Cloud used his Meteorain attack. Little by little, the monsters' number dwindled to almost nothing, and only then did Gabriel look up to see her.
Breathing heavily, he staggered back against the wall as she leapt down from the rooftop, but drew himself up again to meet her eyes. "Mother..." he murmured faintly. Through his long, unkempt bangs, his luminous eyes showed astonishment for just an instant before they closed. The Masamune dropped from his hand as he fainted.
Kit rushed forward to catch him as he fell, then knelt to lay him gently down. Turning him onto his back, she looked him over carefully, but found no serious wounds. His face was pale, but his pulse was steady, if a bit quick, and his breathing was already slowing to a normal rate.
Behind her, there was a shriek as the last of the monsters was dispatched, and Cloud ran to join her. "Is he hurt?"
She shook her head. "Just a few cuts and bruises. I think he's just exhausted," she said, relieved. "It's no surprise, considering how hard he was fighting, and for how long. I'll have to thank you, by the way - you trained him incredibly well. The way he was fighting just now... well, I've never seen him fight like that while sparring with Bili or the others."
"That's not too surprising - most people do unconsciously hold back in practice matches. In a life or death situation, though..." Cloud shrugged. "I took out all the monsters that headed my way. Since we haven't been attacked again yet, I think we've got a clear path out, but they may just be regrouping. We'd better hurry, just in case."
He needn't have worried, they soon discovered. Kit kept her gun in her hand to cover Cloud as he carried Gabriel's limp body through the outskirts of the city to the gates in the north, but if any monsters remained, they didn't show themselves. Following the outer walls to the southwest, they met up with Cait Sith and his charges at the place they'd agreed upon earlier.
Gabriel still hadn't regained consciousness by the time they'd returned to the place where Cloud and Kit had left their chocobos tied, and so she settled him on hers, propping him against her back as she rode with one hand holding the reins, the other holding his arms around her so that he wouldn't slip. Cloud walked his own chocobo, leading it along as Bili, Aaron, and Lisa rode. The slower pace they had to keep meant that the trip home took much longer than their trip to Midgar had taken, and it was long past midnight before they arrived at Kalm's clinic. Thanks to Reeve calling ahead as they were about to arrive, both Tifa and Bili's mother were there to meet them, and the doctors were already informed as to what had happened. Bili was whisked away to be checked for any serious internal injuries, and Lisa was taken to have her ankle examined, to see if there was still a bullet lodged there as Bili suspected. It appeared that neither Gabriel or Aaron would need much attention, but they checked the two of them over just in case. The doctors confirmed what Kit had suspected - Gabriel was merely suffering from exhaustion, and would be fine after a couple days of rest - and so after thanking Cloud and Cait, she once more propped Gabriel against her on the back of her chocobo and headed for their home.
He began to wake up a little just before they arrived, stirring restlessly and murmuring something in a daze. "Shh, you're almost home now," she whispered. "Just rest."
At the sound of her voice, though, he bolted upright, causing their mount to let out a startled wark. "Where's the sword?" he demanded. "Where is it?"
Taken aback, Kit hesitated before answering. "It's in the sheath on your back, Gabriel. Please, just calm down and relax."
To her surprise, he didn't seem to take her word for it, for he jerked his right arm from around her waist to touch the hilt himself. "Honestly, Gabriel," Kit admonished him. "You know that your father's sword means as much to me as it does to you - I'd never have left it behind." Looking back, she saw that his eyes were filled with suspicion, and she sighed. "Don't worry. I'm naturally a bit upset with you, but it's not as if I don't understand why you did it. We'll talk about it later, but for now I'd rather you just rested. You've had a rough couple of days."
He took a breath as if he were about to say something, but then she felt him sigh softly and lean forward against her again. She smiled softly, squeezing his hand as she recalled him sleeping in her arms when he was still small. "I'm so glad you're all right."
He was still only half awake when they reached their house, but even so, he pushed her away roughly when she tried to give him a hand down from the chocobo, insisting he didn't need her help. Kit was slightly hurt by that, but she said nothing as she followed him inside, not wishing to upset him further, even if he did sense that emotion in her anyway. "You go on to bed now," she told him gently, "and I'll take your father's sword and put it back where it belongs, okay?"
His head hung low as he reached up behind him to draw the sword from the sheath, then he paused, gripping it tightly. His eyes hidden by his bangs, Kit couldn't read his expression. "Gabriel?"
After a moment, he looked up at her with undisguised bitterness in his eyes, so intense it made her flinch - he looked like his father. But in an instant, the look was gone, replaced by weariness and confusion. He reluctantly handed over the sword, then headed for his room, slamming the door behind him.
Kit sighed. Gabriel had always been so strong and capable, it was no wonder he was so upset now. It would take some time to heal his pride after he'd come so close to defeat, and she was just a convenient target for the anger that otherwise would have been directed inward, that was all.
Taking her chances, she knocked lightly on his door, but received no answer. Opening it just a crack, she peeked inside to see that he'd barely made it to his bed before collapsing, still fully clothed. Even though she knew he'd be even angrier with her if he woke, she couldn't help herself; sitting at the foot of his bed, she removed the boots he'd been wearing, then pulled his blanket up over him before leaving.
She still was carrying the Masamune, she realized, and so she went to the shelf above the fireplace to replace it. As was often the case, the feel of it in her hand made her think of Sephiroth. After placing the sword back on the shelf, she stood there looking up at it for awhile longer, thinking about the day, when it suddenly occurred to her how close she'd come to losing Gabriel. Her eyes filled with tears. I know it's silly, but... seeing Gabriel defending himself with this sword of yours, somehow I almost feel like you were watching over your son.
She hadn't expected an answer, and she didn't receive one. After one last lingering look, she turned off the light and went off to bed.
To Chapter Four. To Chapter Six. To the intro. That means it's mine, not yours! |
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