Bizarre Occurances Chapter 13
Remnants From A Forgotten Past
By Dino Pollard
The Highwind raced to the area outside of Junon. There they would find the
truth behind Hojo and the Zodiac Stones.
“My God...” Baakusa said after he had been told about Hojo’s
previous escapades. “That man is not even human. He’s a monster!!
If he harnasses the power of the Zodiac Stones, we are doomed!!”
“Exactly,” Knolan said. “That’s we gotta stop him.”
“Heads up shitheads!” Cid said. “We’re here!”
*****
“Hmm,” Hojo said, overseeing the operation. “Splendid. Simply
splendid.”
“Professor Hojo,” a large man with short black hair and a massive
sword strapped to his back said. “We found some type of device.”
“Thank you, Garrison,” Hojo replied. He walked over to the strange
device. “You are to be commended.”
“Thank you Professor,” Garrison replied.
“SIR!!” a SOLDIER officer exclaimed, running up to Garrison.
“Yes?” Garrison asked.
“We’ve just picked up a large airship on radar!”
“Perfect,” Garrison said with a grin. “Mobilize all the forces.
We won’t let Avalanche get away this time.”
“Yes sir!” he replied, running off.
“Professor, you may want to get somewhere safe,” Garrison said
to Hojo. “This isn’t gonna be pretty.”
Hojo nodded.
“Make sure you kill them all, Garrison,” he said.
*****
“MOVE OUT!!” Cloud ordered, deflecting as many bullets as possible.
“I’M GONNA ENJOY THIS!!” Barret exclaimed, letting off a hail
of bullets.
The battle raged on between SOLDIER and Avalanche, with Avalanche gaining
the upper hand. With the combined might of Knolan and Baakusa, they were
nearly unstoppable!!
“Something’s not right…” Sephiroth said, finishing off
a SOLDIER.
“What do you mean?” Red asked.
“I don’t see their leader anywhere,” Sephiroth replied.
“With a job this big, there should be a commander.”
“Maybe Hojo is the leader?” Red asked.
“Impossible,” Sephiroth replied. “That’s not the way
SOLDIER operates.”
“Very good, Sephiroth,” a man said. “It seems that even in
your time away, you haven’t forgotten how we operate.”
“You…” Sephiroth cursed.
“Who is that?” Aeris asked, looking at the man.
“Garrison,” Sephiroth replied.
“Very good,” Garrison said. “I really must thank you, Sephiroth.
If you hadn’t snapped, I would never have become General of SOLDIER.”
“I’ll handle Garrison!!” Sephiroth shouted to the team. “The
rest of you stop Hojo and the rest of the SOLDIER force!!”
“Hell no!!” Barret protested. “We in dis toge—“
“GO!!” Sephiroth ordered, cutting him off.
“He’s right,” Baakusa said. “If Hojo unleashes the power
of the Zodiac Stones, it’s all over.”
“Sephiroth,” Aeris said. “Good luck!” She then followed
the others.
“Thank you, Aeris,” Sephiroth replied in a very low tone, that
no one could hear.
*****
Knolan weaved some quick spells to keep the SOLDIERS at bay.
“Outta my way, you worms!!” he shouted. He spoke no more words,
only actions. Knolan was as fierce as ever. He was determined that Hojo
wouldn’t get his slimy hands on the Zodiac Stones.
“Stop right there, Hojo!” Knolan ordered.
“Hmm?” Hojo asked. He turned to face Avalanche. “Ahh Knolan.
I see you have returned. And with some friends no doubt. Tell me, whatever
happened to that friend of yours, Jonah?”
“Enough of that!” Cloud ordered. He brandished his sword menacingly.
“You’ve done enough harm, Hojo,” Baakusa said. “Do not
attempt to use the Zodiac Stones. You do not know the power that you meddle
with. It was not meant for human interference.”
“It’s not as if you have much choice,” Hojo said. “You
see, all it requires is a simple matter of picking up the Stone and accepting
the power. And using it on this device which is from ancient technology.”
“What is it?” Cloud asked.
Hojo grinned. “A time machine.”
*****
“So,” Sephiroth said.
“So,” Garrison repeated.
“Shall we finish this?” Sephiroth asked, drawing the Masamune.
“Yes,” Garrison replied, readying his broad sword.
“Let’s.”
They ran at each other. Their blades clanged. Two fierce warriors, each with
only one goal: the destruction of the other.
Sephiroth’s skill with the eight-foot sword was incredible to say the
least. Despite its weight, the way he wielded it made it seem as light as
a feather. It was as if the blade was an extension of his own body.
Garrison swung again. His sword was fairly large, perhaps even larger than
Cloud’s. It certainly weighed more. But perhaps less than the Masamune.
Still, it didn’t matter. Garrison had a trick up his sleeve. One that
would ensure that his insane opponent, the one who he hated for years, would
fall. And he won’t be getting up.
“I must admit,” Sephiroth said, glaring at Garrison as they held
their swords against each other. “You have improved since the last time
I beat you.”
“Asshole,” Garrison replied, swinging again. Sephiroth barely defended
himself. He was out of practice. Slow. He would need to recondition himself
later.
“Freak of nature,” Garrison taunted. “Not even human. Born
from Jenova cells. But look at me? I was born human. I had to start with
nothing. I was able to mold myself into the perfect warrior. And now, my
skill is equal to yours. The only difference between you and me? I’m
not insane.”
Sephiroth clenched his teeth. That was the final straw. Now he was full of
rage, attacking Garrison savagely. It was a sloppy tactic.
“Now, for the finishing touch,” Garrison said with a grin.
*****
Avalanche was racing against the clock. Hojo now had the Zodiac Stones and
was prepared to use them!!
“Why do you need a time machine?” Baakusa asked.
“When it interacts with the Zodiac Stones, it will open a wormhole or
time portal,” Hojo explained. “I shall go through the portal and
enter the past. Once there, I can use my superior intellect to take it over.
They will think of me as a God. And with the help of the Zodiac Stones, I
will become one.”
“You’re insane!!” Knolan exclaimed.
“The Zodiac Stones will control you!” Baakusa said. “You are
nothing more than a vessel. True, you will have power. But you won’t
be in control of the power.”
“With the aide of Jenova, I will be in complete control,” Hojo
replied. “Everything you say will not come to pass. You are uneducated
in this subject.”
“The extent of my knowledge would amaze you, madman,” Baakusa said.
“Of course it will,” Hojo replied with a snicker. He looked around.
“Well, it seems you will have to deal with them.” He pointed to
an MP Attack Squad.
“Shit!” Cid cursed. “Again?!?”
“Quit yer whinin, old man!!” Yuffie exclaimed. “Let’s
just go kick some ass!!”
*****
Garrison’s sword began to make strange whirring noises. As if some type
of device was being activated. His sword began to take on a light blue tint,
replacing the reflective silver.
“What do you think, Sephiroth?” he asked. “After you were
lost to us, I searched for a way to increase my destructive power. And I
found it. Now, my sword can disintegrate anything it touches. Not bad for
‘sloppy seconds’ eh?”
“No matter your power, I will still destroy you,” Sephiroth replied,
getting in a fighting stance.
“Sure thing,” Garrison replied. “Let’s just see how well
you fare against my blade now!!” He swung. Sephiroth blocked with his
own sword. Sparks flew. Sephiroth was astonished to see a small indent where
Garrison’s sword had struck!! Sephiroth knew now that Garrison did grow
more powerful. And as such, that would mean he would have to push himself
to the limit in order to defeat SOLDIER’S new General. Another slash.
Sephiroth avoided it this time. This couldn’t go on forever and he knew
it. His only hope was that the sword had some type of power source that he
could knock out. There was none. At least not one he could attack without
putting himself in considerable peril. There was only one option. Materia.
And although it went against the code of honor, he felt Garrison had already
dishonored himself by using that power in his sword. Sephiroth looked up
at his rival. His eyes appeared to glow bright red... almost orange.
“Bolt3!” Sephiroth exclaimed. The green orb on his armlet flared
to life as lightning came down from the heavens on Garrison. He barely guarded
with his sword.
“What’s that all about?” Garrison asked. “Have you lost
your honor as well as your sanity?”
“You already forfeited your honor,” Sephiroth said. “Now comes
the time to end this! BREAK!”
The ground began to rumble. Garrison found it coming up from beneath him,
trapping him between the rocks!! He cried out.
“This is your end, Garrison,” Sephiroth said. He picked up his
fallen sword and ran over to the others.
*****
“Damn!” Barret exclaimed. “How many o’ these bastards
do we gotta waste?!?”
“Looks like we’ll never be rid of them,” Tifa noted.
“Oh shit!!” Cid cursed. “At first I thought that Hojo bastard
just insane. But it looks like the crazy fuck’s gonna actually pull
it off!!”
“What?” Cloud asked. He looked over to Hojo. There was a Zodiac
Stone in his hand and it was glowing. As was the device. “Shit!! We’ve
gotta stop him!!”
“I’ll handle it Cloud!!” Red said, running over to the device.
Knolan and Baakusa followed.
*****
Hojo grinned from ear to ear. This was it. The moment he had been waiting
for. His ascension into Godhood.
“MONSTER!!” someone cried out. Hojo turned just in time to catch
an arrow in his chest!!
“You missed the heart,” Knolan noted.
“I know,” Baakusa replied. “I meant to. This way he will have
to live with the agony of defeat.”
“Not bad,” Knolan said. “Now let’s see if we can close
that portal up!!”
Red slowly approached the Zodiac Stone. However, he had no idea how to stop
it.
“I’ll handle this,” Knolan said.
“Are you sure you know how to use the Zodiacs?” Baakusa asked.
“Well now let’s see…” Knolan began. “…I don’t
quite remember…”
“Perfect,” Red said. Baakusa took the stone from Knolan and chanted
a strange incantation in some foreign tongue that was unknown to both Knolan
and Red. The portal began to close up, and the yellow aura around it vanished.
“How did you…” Red began.
“There will be time for that later,” Baakusa replied. “Now
let’s see what we can do about this machine.” He slowly approached
it. As Baakusa bent down to examine it, a pendant of his fell to the ground.
“What’s that?” Knolan asked.
“A pendant containing a chunk of huge Materia,” he replied. It
began to glow.
“Should it be glowing like that?” Red asked.
“Strange…” Baakusa said. “Very strange indeed.”
The device whirred to life. Instead of a simple portal, a vortex opened.
“I think we should go now!!” Knolan exclaimed.
“I agree!” Red said. The three of them began to run, but the pull
of the vortex was too strong. Baakusa jammed his sword into the ground and
used it as an anchor for his body. Knolan weaved a spell to keep him in place.
“Hang on, Red!!” Knolan said. “I’m trying to cast the
same spell on you!!”
“AHH!!!” Red screamed. He digged his claws into the ground, but
it was no use. The vortex
sucked him in. Then, just as fast as it had opened, it closed.
“RED!!!” Knolan cried out.
“Why didn’t you cast the spell?” Baakusa asked, sheathing
his sword.
“I couldn’t,” Knolan replied. “I just couldn’t.
I wasn’t able to cast the spell on him without dropping the one on myself.
There was some type of interference.”
“Knolan! Baakusa!” Cloud exclaimed, running towards them.
“Where’s Red?” Aeris asked.
“At least you took down Hojo,” Sephiroth noted. “Now what
happened to Red?”
“Well…” Knolan began.
“The device reacted with my Materia pendant,” Baakusa finished.
“It opened a vortex that sucked Red in. He’s gone, Cloud.”
_____________________________________________________________________________
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I finally finished Chapter 13. As you can see, things
are really different now. I’ve gone far from the game already. And I
brought in a new character! I mean, SOMEONE had to have been appointed as
the General of SOLDIER after Sephiroth disappeared. And as you already know
I’m a fan of Joe Maduirera’s Battle Chasers comic. So who better
to be the General of SOLDIER than Garrison? He’s already a skilled swordsman
in the comic, and his uniform is similar to that of someone in SOLDIER. Oh,
and don’t go bitching about how I’m using stuff from FFT. It was
the best way to have Red go through that portal. Speaking of Red, I have
plans for him in some other dimension. But in Chapter 14, we have Part One
of Mega-Time. Curious? Check back soon to see when it’s up.
.