onge3rd POV: 'Excerpt from a failed 'round'':
Nox picked up the phone.
''Shelke?,'' he answered.
''I did what I could. Blocked the audio and all that, but they didn't use masks. And Barret talks TOO much. He was mostly trying to pitch AVALANCHE's purpoase and goals to Cloud. Even with what I did and his face and that of the others, Shinra will probably, most likely, have enough to find them,'' she explained.
Nox was slowing down in his walk, finally stopping. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
''Got it. I will handle it on my end. New orders,'' Nox said and began walking again,''Keep an eye out for people snooping around and asking...questions.''
''Gotcha, boss,'' Shelke replied,''But there is something more. Sending you a video.''
Then she hang up. Nox could call her if he had new orders based on that new information, But PHS' could not accept calls and play a recording at the same time.
Nox watched the video immediately and raised an eyebrow. The bomb was weak and just did minimal damage. It would still take some time to repair the reactor, but only a month probably. At least a month.
But then Shinra's own sentry bots and security system attacked the reactor on top of that and caused a massive explosion. Not at all inconspicuous. In his defense he was currently removed from society so he didn't catch the news.
Shinra did it themself? Well he was versed enough in these games to know why they did it immediately.
They were planning something and were building a case to justify said action they intend to take in their plan.
Which means they most likely will walk into a trap the next time AVALANCHE intends to bomb another Reactor.
...
Lovable idiots and good people.
His friends at that.
But holy shit was it frustrating that they made such a dumb mistake. What were they training for all this time while preparing to attack Shinra as an AVALANCHE cell?
Ok. Ok. Then he will have to interfere, especially since they will walk into a trap.
And it was clear to them that they were shit at being eco-'terrorists'. He will probably have to offer them a place in the Black Knights.
...Meh. Nox shrugged his shoulder.
There was no reason not to do that. The only reason he didn't already was because they were stubborn and set in their ways. They saw AVALANCHE as the only solution, both in ideology and their ways.
Actually...
He could let things play out and then end the 'round'.
Then he could either prevent Shinra's trap or, depending on what their trap was, turn it on themselves.
Nox hummed. Yes, he liked the sound of that.
He had time.
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The sound of flames crackling could be heard.
Screams.
Sirens in the distance.
Nox felt his nose be stuffed with dirt, soot and ash. He tried breathing through the mouth and immediately regretted that as the three got into his mouth a little.
He grunted as he tried to push himself up. All that debris and metal on top of him buckled a little, but he wouldn't get that shit of off him wit just his strength alone. He used his Mako Strands to lift the stone and metal up a little. Cracks and gaps formed between them and Noxc began crawling out.
He stumbled to his feet and leaned forward grasping his arm a little in pain as he took in the sights in front of him. Some blood was trickling down the side of his face. He cast a Full Cure and added with his own healing from the Mako Strands he got back to full health. Oh, there will be scars and he still felt the phantom pain from all those wounds. But this was a failed 'round' anyway.
He stumbled back, nearly falling back, as he leaned his head to stare upwards. A massive gap, where there previously was a plate, was missing, revealing the blue sky beyond.
In the distance some debris shifted, a dust cloud kicking up. Not that it would mean much with all the smoke around from the fires.
He blew his nose, black goo landing at his feet, allowing him to breathe again, then he spat out whatever got into his mouth.
He was...
Nox gritted his teeth.
Far be it for him to act all high and mighty or morally superior. He was no angel. And depending on how some things could have played out in his first life, he would have probably done much worse.
Nukes. And unlike the first time he used nukes, he would not have undone things.
They would have stuck.
But even then, it would have been a last resort. Or a tool for him to get some information and then undo the 'round'.
This?
This was...
...
''Fucking elitists. Everywhere I go you're all the same,'' Nox wheezed amused.
Not a bone not rotten in their body.
He leaned his head back again laughing. Sometimes when things get so absurd the brain no longer knows WHAT to do, sometimes it makes the body laugh.
He abruptly stopped and expelled a big sigh.
No.
It wasn't just Shinra at fault.
Once Shelke got information they began making their way back as soon as possible. Unfortunately the biggest fighters were occupied or far away so it took some time.
Jessie, Biggs and Wedge all died. He wasn't as close to them as he was Tifa and Barret, but they were still friends.
Afterwards, they had it in the bag and soon enough Reno and Rude laid dead at their feet.
(And for some reason Aerith let herself get captured.)
Shelke stopped the mechanism to disengage the support pillar in time and drop the plate. Or it would be more accurate to say, they never even got access to to the terminal.
But they were insistent and the choppers fired rockets at the pillars. Since it was a failed 'round' anyway, he had no misgivings about using his Mako Strands to stop the rockets.
Ergo. No.
''Jenova,'' Nox wheezed with a laugh.
Oh, he didn't forget about her.
He didn't forget how these black shadowy ghosts, Arbiters of Fate who where corrupted, interfered.
He did try and he did kill them,but they were too many, even more then when he rescued Zack and Cloud, and then instinct kind of kicked in and he tried, like a fool, to catch the plate.
Yeah. Not his proudest moment or his smartest, in hindsight, but at that point there was too much happening.
''MARLENE! JESSIE! BIGGS! WEDGE! ZACK! NOX! AHHHHH,'' he could hear in the distance.
Yeah, he recognized that voice.
...
Nox was curious what Barret and any other survivors had to say.
---
''Hold onto that anger. OK? Use it to teach Shinra that they don't get to do whatever they damn prissly ass wants,'' Barret held Tifa's hand in his own and told her.
Tifa looked conflicted for a bit, but then nodded choosing to buy his words.
The three of them heard a loud grunt and then Nox fell not far from them. He summoned a green sword and lifted himself up to his feet as they ran up to him.
''Nox! You are...alive. I'm glad,'' Tifa smiled with some relief. Another friend of theirs survived.
''What was that green thing? Actually how are you even alive right now?,'' Cloud asked him.
''Forget that. Nox, you don't think we are at fault too, do you? Tifa believes so,'' Barret explained and stepped forward.
Yes, he did say comforting words to her, but he admitted a small voice in his brain was agreeing with her.
He would have asked Cloud to agree with him, when he gave Tifa that speech, but nothing of this fazed him and he was keeping a distance between himself and them.
And he did need to assured himself that it wasn't his fault. If Marlene was...
''That is right,'' Nox agreed.
''Nox!,'' Tifa replied shocked and stepped forward. She already bought into Barrets reasoning.
''You mustn't think this way,'' Tifa explained to him.
''Oh, but I do. Shinra was destroying the world, so AVALANCHE formed in response. AVALANCHE was a thorn in their side and so they used any means to get rid of them,'' Nox chuckled. Not once did he try to make excuses about what he was doing. He was unapologetic about they way he went about it. Revolutions are almost always bloody and many innocents die in that crossfire.
He knew that, he tried minimizing the damage, but he still pushed forward. There was no excusing, dismissing or justifying that.
Even if it was for a good cause, it made no difference.
''Cause and effect don't happen in a vacuum. In this game of life we play we all carry SOME blame. We gave them a reason, but THEY pulled the trigger when they very well could have done something different,'' Nox explained calming her down somewhat.
Then this was more or less what Barret said. Only Barret didn't put any blame on them, even if he did acknowledge that they were the REASON for what happened. Both agreed that Shinra pulled the trigger.
Nox chuckled.
''What's so funny?,'' Barret snapped.
''They dropped an entire plate, killed both topsiders and slum dwellers in the tens of thousands and even then some of us are still alive. Doesn't seem like a worthwhile investment to me,'' Nox replied and stood straight some of the phantom pain subsiding.
The fact that they only succeeded because of Jenova and her ghosts made no difference. Shinra was still to blame.
''Nox...,'' Tifa said and then trailed off. Then she widened her eyes and turned to Barret.
''Barret! I asked Aerith to go get Marlene. If she succeeded then she may still be alive,'' Tifa optimistically told him.
''Well, where is she!?,'' Barret asked quickly.
''Probably her house,'' Cloud replied and departed. As far as he was concerned that was an invitation for them to follow him.
''Hey, where are you going!?,'' Barret didn't get the memo and chased after him.
Tifa stepped forward, but then stopped and turned around.
''Nox?,'' she asked him once she notices that he wasn't following after them. In fact he turned around to stare at the wreckage.
She stepped forward to be closer to him. Cloud seemed to know where Aerith's house was. A part of her a little embarrassed that she hadn't visited Aerith's house yet, despite them being friends. But that was fine, if she didn't follow them. Nox also knew where Aerith lived.
''I'm angry,'' Nox revealed.
''That is totally fine. We all are,'' Tifa reassured him with some worry.
He chuckled.
''You don't understand. It is pointless to feel angry since I'm the only one here who can do something about this,'' Nox said,''But I still am angry.''
''Nox?,'' she asked hims with some worry.
Oh. That is right. He was not really angry about THIS. Mostly.
He was angry because he did make some fond memories with Aerith ...and he supposed Cloud too, since he was there.
...An imitation could be just as good as the original, but it would ALWAYS be a downgrade. Humans.... had a strange fixation with something being 'original'. Which was strange considering the state his world was in before his revolution/ rebellion.
Or was it the fact that his memories were now tarnished since they would no longer be genuine. His frustrations, annoyances, exasperated fondness. He could act the exact same way, recreate all the words and sentences and actions he took with them. (Only up to a certain point, since they needed to stop the plate fall.)
But they would be missing all the small details. And no matter what, Aerith and him would have two slightly different memories of the events. He felt robbed. He wanted to share the exact same memory with her.
Nox chuckled, slowly descending into a cackle before giving a full blown laughter. Tifa stepped back with worry and even Barret and Cloud who came back when they noticed them missing tensed.
That is right. He was the keeper of non-existent memories. Up till now he only jokingly called himself that, but now he could feel their sting and how true the words ran.
Caring...hurts. It is both beautiful and horrifying.
Then again, it would be sad if it wouldn't be sad.
No?
''Shinra. Jenova,'' Nox stretched his hand into the sky and then called it into a fist. He now had an angle he could play. He was robbed of their shared moment, but he would recreate it as best as possible. He now knew what to do after a certain event.
''Nox...we will make them pay,'' Barret called out, promising him even if he didn't know who Jenova was. He stepped back when Nox turned back and he saw his eyes.
''That is right. I will,'' he replied.
''Nox?,'' Tifa asked him.
Blood splattered across her face making her scream.
(A.N.: 2176 words. I know. Shortest chapter yet, but there is a lot happening between Reactor 1 and the Plate fall and I was not about to waste time on it. Point is not so much how they got here, but to make Nox' actions make sense in the coming chapters.
I thought about it and the first act, everything that happened in Midgar, is too important for me to change things too much. There will be changes, yes, but by and large certain events need to take place so that the party is set on their path and has a motivation to save the world. Afterwards I will diverge more and more in the story from the 'original' since I don't want this to be just a retelling of the story with an OC. What is the point of inserting him if things will play out the same? They need to have a purpose, aka change the original story. That is the purpose of fanfiction after all, to imagine how else the story could have gone.
No fanfiction will never beat the original, but still. (Always hated those kind of stories. If you add an OC or SI (and I have my own issues with that, much more then anything else) then have fun and go ham.)
Also crashout inbound. So be ready for it.
That said, the next chapter will be longer again, so I will update in a few days, instead of so soon again.
Anyway.
Hope you enjoyed reading it. Cheers and stay safe out there.)