Episode IV. Don’t mind me Edge, for using your ‘Cold Fusion’ idea. 
Back to school again, another long term.
forceflow@fantasysquare.com
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First and Last Pt. IV

Chapter 7:In Pursuit of The Enemy
Another direct hit shook the Highwind II,
throwing people about like rag dolls.
The Weapon roared and flapped its wings,
putting more distance between itself and the Highwind.

Cid gritted his teeth.
“Don’t let that Weapon get away!”
The Highwind’s rocket engines blowtorched and blasted off.
Out on the deck, the three anti-aircraft guns opened up with armor piercing rounds.
The Weapon roared and ducked beneath the deadly hail.
The Highwind followed close on its tail.

Cloud Strife stood ready on the deck,
watching the air battle unfold.
He, Tifa and Barret were preparing to engage the Weapon.
Yuffie and Red XIII had already been knocked out,
Cat Sith was badly damaged and in no condition to fight.
Cid was commanding the Highwind,
trying to get as much power out of the damaged craft.
Vincent was commanding one of the gun pods,
directing weapon fire to box the Weapon in.
That left the three of them left to defeat the Weapon.
The new Silver Weapon.
The same Weapon which destroyed the Neo-Jenova Research Facility.

The Highwind quickly closed the gap between the both parties.
Cloud double-checked his Materia was lifted his Buster Sword.
“Heads up guys, here it come!”
The Silver Weapon roared and charged.

A large swipe meant to cause confusion 
and inspire panic was easily avoided.
With anyone else, it might have worked.
But the Silver Weapon was pressing its luck with this team.
They had been through too many battles.
They would not panic.

Cloud jumped above the swipe and landed on the arm.
“Hyaaa!” he charged, raising his Buster Sword to deliver a crushing blow.
If it connected.
The tip missed the giant beast face by an inch.
Cloud looked on in disbelieve, “It’s not possible.”
“Cloud look out!” Tifa warned.
He finally noticed the surface of the arm.
It was growing and changing shape,
the reason why he had missed.
He watched on as tentacles grew out of the arm…
Tentacles?
“Shit!” He leapt above the tiny failing arms…
And yet they managed to catch him. 

“Cloud!” Tifa could only look on as the tentacles enfolded him.
It was all they could do fend off the assault on the Highwind.
Let alone launch an offensive on the Weapon.
“Damn your freaking ass!” Barret directed another 
stream of fire in several tentacles attempting to get on board.
The guns were now on defensive mode.

“Our Number 2 thruster has been damaged Sir!”
Cid cursed, it was going to get worse.
Much Worse.
Reeve was in the sickbay with Red XIII and Yuffie.
Without Cat Sith he could do nothing.
He slammed his fist down on the table.
There was nothing he could do…
Or was there?
He slapped his head and ran out.

“Cid!” 
Cid turned around.
It was Reeve.
“What is it!” he snapped.
There was no time for idle talk.
“Is the ‘M.O.D.’ system still functional?”
Cid barked an order to his bridge crew.
“It will still function Sir.”
Cid nodded. He turned around to Reeve.
“What the hell do you wanna do with that system?”
Reeve quickly outlined his plan.
Cid clamped down on his cigarette. “That’s crazy, it hasn’t even been tested.”
“It’s the only chance we have.”
“Right…get that ^%$&^&$&^* Weapon for me!”

The ‘M.O.D.’ system was a newly developed system by Shina’s crack R&D Team.
It was what its named said, ‘Microdrone Offence/Defense’ System.
Each drone was armed with a small but powerful Plasma Gun.
Capable of reaching speeds of 20miles/minute,
it was a very dangerous and powerful system.
Unfortunately the automated program had not been perfected yet.
Reeve had a different plan instead.

It was a simple matter to tune the Cat Sith control unit 
to the control frequency of the ‘M.O.D.’ units.
Reeve quickly activated the system.
At his command hundreds of Microdrones activated in the bay.
They flew out towards the Weapon.

Cloud slashed another tentacle.
It had been an uphill battle to 
get out of the cocoon of tentacles.
Then again he was still stuck on the arm.
Nowhere to go, up or down.
He hated to be stuck somewhere without anywhere to go.
So he fought his way up.
He slashed yet another of the ever growing number of tentacles.
Damn this Weapon.
This was much worse than any other they had fought.
Jenova had already been defeated,
why was this one still operational?
He cleared his mind of such thoughts.
He had to fight now, not wonder why…

Vincent let loose another hail of bullets,
He pivoted his gun turret to acquire another target…
and promptly found a tentacle in his face.
It reared back and shattered the turret.
Vincent had to shield himself from the flying shards.
When he looked up the tentacle was still there.
It reared up again to deliver the final blow…
BANG!
What remained of the tentacle reared back in agony.
Smoke wisped out of Vincent’s Death Penalty.
Ten more came forward to take their fallen comrades place.
There was no way he could shoot down so many in
such a short time…

He took out another spare gun from his cloak.
“You want me, you come and get me.”
They charged, Vincent opened fire…
The ‘M.O.D.’ units blew apart the other eight tentacles.
He let out a rare smile as the small drones flew by in a mock salute.
The tide of the battle changed once more…

Barret had been an active participant in the fight.
That is until he ran out of ammunition.
He had no time to switch to another arm.
So he ran forward and pummeled them with his gun arm.
But now he had been cut off from Tifa,
he had no intention of dying here,
he still had to take care of Marlene…
A sharp crack to his neck brought him to his knees.
A tentacle loomed in front of him in victory.
Defeat…
His dictionary held no such word.
“Die!” He charged…
and was blown back by the force of the explosion.
Explosion?
More of the ‘Omega Wing’ drones flew past.
A bunch of them dropped a fresh arm into his lap.
He smiled, they just might live after all…

Deep within the Weapon, 
liquids flowed about and gurgled.
The team had played their ‘Final Hand’.
It was time for the Weapon’s ‘Ace Card’…

One moment Cloud was standing on the 
Weapon’s arm slashing away at tentacles,
the next moment he was falling through what seemed to be a swarm of bees.
He had enough presence of mind to grab onto a navigation pole on the Highwind.
He looked up into the mother of all dogfights.
Plasma bolts flew indiscriminately,
explosions lit up the sky.
Microdrones and Weapon flew about in the sky.
The tide of the battle had changed again. 

The ‘M.O.D.’ technician looked onto his monitor in increasing despair.
Of the Two Wings of Microdrones on the Highwind, Alpha and Omega Wings,
Alpha Wing had been completely destroyed. 
Omega Wing was down to half of its original strength.
He slammed his fist down in frustration.
“DAMN!”
Somehow this Weapon had the ability to 
evolve according to its enemies.
There was no other explanation how it had 
turned into hundreds of Microdrone size attack craft.
The Microdrones were being slaughtered. 
Reports of downed craft continuously poured in.
[BLEEP!] 
[OMEGA WING MICRODRONE UNITS: A-45, W-27, M-69 & Z-01 DESTROYED!]
[ALL MICRODRONE FORCES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED!]
[AUTOMATED DEFENSE SYSTEM OFF!]
[BLEEP!]
Automated defense system?
Wasn’t President Reeve controlling the Microdrones? 
The Highwind tipped and brought its bow up towards the Weapon Attack Craft…

A large hatch swung back and locked into place.
A beam as hot as the heart of any star blowtorched 
to encompass the swarm of Weapon Attack Craft.
Every single one was blown apart.

Cid wiped his brow, “Great shot Reeve.”
“My pleasure Cid.”
Reeve’s diversionary plan had worked.
Forcing the Weapon to engage the Microdrones,
the Weapon had been lured away from the Highwind,
until the Cold Fusion Cannon had finished charging to fire.

The dust cleared, Cloud jumped back onto the deck.
He turned to look, all that was left were the destructive forces of the Cold Fusion Beam…
and a glowing silver orb?
“What the hell…”

*THE TEAM HERE IS STRONGER THAN EXPECTED*
*BRING THEM TO THE MOTHERSHIP FOR THEIR TOTAL DESTRUCTION*
^AS ORDERED, ALPHA^

The orb grew and swelled.
It encompassed the Highwind II and everyone on it.
Time seemed to stand still…
Until the now giant silver sphere winked out of existence,
taking with it the Highwind and its crew…


To Be Continued…