It's another Norco Fanction!! That is, a fiction by Norco.
I own nothing, except for my computer, the clothes on my person, and my sanity. 
Sometimes not even that...
norco@fantasysquare.com

End of Battle; Start of War -- Chapter 4

  For an animal like Red, running, keeping up with, and attacking humans was a 
simple enough task. As he, Cloud and the others barrelled down through the 
sewers of Sector Four, Red reflected on how many of there missions took place in 
quiet or otherwise unknown or dark, dank or depressing locations. That 
particularly bothered him. As one of the heroes of the Sephiroth crisis, Red 
thought that having to operate in the sewers was pretty low. Obivously, nobody 
else in the group cared enough to mention it, or else they didn't want to be in 
the spotlight. Another group of ShinraBots came along, firing madly at the 
motley crew approaching. Picking up speed, Red galloped, and at the last second, 
leaped into a robot, the Limited Moon head dress he had been given by BugenHagen 
cutting the mackine to shreds. Skidding out, he saw Yuffie throw her shuriken 
with deadly accuracy, the weapon return to her hand, only to be thrown again a 
few seconds later. Cloud lanced out with that new sword of his, striking through 
a robot, then casually as you please, lifting the robot over his head on the 
blade, then slamming down hard against another. Meanwhile, Tifa, who was really 
mad now, was throwing robots around the room even more casually then Cloud was.

  With the robots defeated, the crew of the Highwind continued down the 
corridor, unmolested. About three minutes after they had defeated the robots in 
the corridor, Cid and Yuffie burst into the cannon targeting room, which had 
been empty, as the normal two crewers were on lunchbreak. Vincent and Barret 
followed them, with Yuffie moving off to the side, Barrett watching the door, 
and Vincent and Cid working the console, to determine the Firing settings for 
the cannon.  

  Meanwhile, Cloud, Tifa, Cait Sith, and Red headed towards the cannon artillery 
loading site. Before they had split up, Vincent informed Cloud of the type of 
shell that they needed to launch themselves into space. After quickly 
dispatching the meager security forces at the cannon, they quickly reprogrammed 
the loading robot to load a giant, squat looking shell, thick, however hollow. 
The computer opened the hatch, presumably to allow the cargo to be loaded in. 
Instead, the crew leaped in, and secured themselves with whatever they could 
find. And then, they waited. About three minutes after the doors closed, the 
occupants of the cannon felt themselves being lifted up. And with a deafening 
roar, they were shot up out of the cannon.

  Cloud felt a breif period of wanting to pick his gizzards off the floor and 
then the feeling intensified as their carriage penetrated the side of the Jenova 
ship. Peeling themselves of the floor, the Highwind crew stood up, and hit the 
emergency release hatch, after the sensors on the bullet/container confirmed 
that atmosphere had been restored. Taking the lead, Vincent and Barret raised 
their weapons and stepped out into the ship. A blast of lightning that spattered 
in front of Barret's feet was their only greeting. Cloud noted that the shot was 
probably a warning, with the power behind the magic being extremely low. 
Instantly, Barret and Vincent returned with a stuttering salvo of weapons fire. 
Forming an image in his minds eye, Cloud saw a hazy image of the attack. A man 
about Cloud's own age, holding a very familiar weapon. Concentrating on Comet 
materia attatched to his new sword, Cloud sent a small comet hurtling towards 
the attacker. The attacker, quite cleary saw the comet coming, and jumped out of 
the way, with plenty of time to spare. Taking the oppourtunity, Cloud unsheathed 
his sword, and stepped out into the hazy corridor, the smoke coming from damaged 
machinery. With a whirl of motion, the two metre-quaterstaff that his opponent 
weiled was thrust in his face. Old combat relflexes brought his sword up to en-
garde position. Just as the staff and blade were about to clash, the blue flame 
appeared around the sword, while at the same time, a bright, intense orange 
flame appeared, the two flames of the weapons causing a lightning like spark. 
Brining one end of the staff to rapidly bear on him, Cloud blocked the blow, 
sending more lightning around the room. Blow after blow was blocked by each of 
the combatants, neither seeming to have the upper hand. After what seemed like 
an eternity, Cloud and his assailant both fell back, drenched in sweat and 
breathing hard. The stranger was giving him an oddly amused expression, through 
the face that seemed slightly familiar. Now he could see him, he took note of 
the small, neat beard, and the pony tail at the rear of the man's head. 
  "Good. I hoped that you were as good as I was told you were," the stranger 
said, still smiling. Pressing a stud on the staff, it contracted into a small 
handle that latched onto his belt. The black-clad figure reminding Cloud of 
Sephiroth as he strode towards him. "My name is Arcturus. And I am Jenova. I am 
also a friend," he added, as a barrage of weapons and fists were raised at him. 
  "I'm Cloud," Cloud said, taking the outstretched hand. "So what can you tell 
us about what's going on here?" he asked, returning the sword to it's sheath. 
  "First of all, if you are here to destroy the malevolent Jenova, then I'm here 
to help." Arcturus said. A primal roar split the air. "But right now, we'd 
better get out of here. I'll explain what's happening on the way." The roar came 
again, even closer, and as they readied themselves, several large monsters that 
Cloud had never seen the likes of burst from a wall, sending debris everywhere. 
Immediately, the roar of the creatures was drowned out as Vincent and Barret 
opened fire on the creatures. Yuffie, Cid and Red, all leapt into the fray, 
taking a monster each, with Barret and Vincent laying down cover fire. That just 
left Cloud, Tifa, and their newest friend, Acturus. Acturus grinned at Cloud.
  "I love a good fight, shall we?", and raised his weapon, the staff 
inexplicably shooting out to it's full length. Cloud nodded, noting Tifa had her 
curative magic attached, and had started to heal those with wounds. Without 
waiting for a response, Acturus dived into a creature that had started to sneak 
up on Yuffie. Cloud broke into a dash, into the nearest monster, the Ultima 
weapon flashing, as it's deadly fire severed limbs, and cauterized flesh. 

  Death Weave. Spiral Slaughter. These were just some of the dozens of moves 
that Acturus had mastered during his life, as a servant of Jenova, the good, 
benevolent Jenova. As he moved towards the creature, his instincts kicked in, 
the weapon no longer an object, but an extension of his will, and his power. 
Spinning the quarterstaff overhead, noting the satisfying growl it made as he 
did so, he brought the weapon down through the creature's midsection. It roared, 
and swung at him, but by the time the massive claw arrived, Acturus was no 
longer there, having slid around the arm and lopped it off. The quarterstaff 
still spinning, he moved, and slashed again, and again, his mind, oddly clear, 
calm, and passive. The weapon never stopped spinning, each strike was smoothly 
transformed into a new attacking angle, from which to safely land more damaging 
blows. With the creature badly wounded, pieces of flesh and arms missing, 
Acturus decided to finish the job. Summersaulting backwards, he raised the 
weapon again, focusing his power through it even more then he had before, 
causing the fire to glow a more volcanic shade of orange. The infusion of power 
reached it's apex, and he leapt forward, and struck, faster and harder than he 
had previously. In the first three seconds, he noted that at least a dozen new 
wounds appeared on the creature. Spinning around smoothly, he removed the 
creature's head from it's neck, the wound being instantly sealed by the heat of 
the blade. A most clean and effecient weapon, he reflected, as he turned away 
from the creature's collapsing body. Looking at his companions, he realised that 
very little time had passed while he was battling the creature, even though it 
seemed like hours. 

  For the first time in many years, Cloud felt piece, battling the monster. 
There was no indecision about his moves, no second guessing. The creature was 
unable to land a hit on him, Cloud always dodging out of the way, and attacking 
again. The creature roared, and fell to the ground, just as Cloud was about to 
deliever the deathblow. He looked at it stupidly for a moment, and realised that 
Acturus had finished with his own creature, and speared Cloud's through the 
head. 
  "Tell me something Acturus," Cloud asked, realising the urgency of the moment, 
but needing his question answered. "During that battle, I can't explain it, but 
something changed in me. I was ... alive. Do you know what that's about? I find 
it hard to believe that our meeting and this change are a coincidence." Acturus 
smiled. 
  "Yes Cloud, it is no coincidence. You are realising the true extent of your 
power. The power of Jenova. You are Jenova, even if you came about differently. 
You have powers greater than anything afforded by this -" he pointed at the 
materia on Cloud's wrist "- bulky and clumsy parephinalia. Being in close 
contact with a friendly soul has released your powers, letting them out for 
fresh air. If you ever find yourself in immense danger, remember this moment, 
and your powers will save you." Cloud looked at him for a moment, shrugged, and 
then ran to join the others in their battle.

  A few minutes later, between Cloud and Acturus' weapons, they mopped up the 
rest of the opposition. The crew then ran through the bowels of the ship, 
unmolested.

END OF CHAPTER 4.