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Final Fantasy VII: The First Crisis

About three hours passed before the pilot begrudgingly returned to the helicopter with the other soldiers. He slowly climbed up into the helicopter before releasing a loud yawn. he set down a paper bag near the seat before turning to face the team. "Alright gents. We're in for another long flight so settle in." He said as he began flipping switches to get ready for take off. "Oh! Before I forget, I packed some food along for the flight. It'll be well passed dinner time by the time we make it to Gongaga."
 
Chris had dozed off at some point, waking up when she heard movement inside the helicopter. Tightening her grip on her sword, she opened her eyes, only to see that her team and the pilot had returned. Letting go of her sword, she nodded at the pilot. "Did you get enough rest?" She wanted to get to Gongaga as quickly as possible, but not at the risk of the pilot falling asleep at the controls.
 
He gave her a thumbs up as the helicopter slowly rose off of the ground. "I'll be fine for the duration of the trip, Ma'am!" He said in a raised voice. The helicopter began moving in the direction of Gongaga. It was a long trip from Costa Del Sol to Gongaga, but the pilot was used to working with minimal sleep. He would have enough energy to make it to Gongaga, but he would be exhaused when they set down.
 
Chris watched out the window as they headed toward Gongaga. Depending on what they find when they land, she would see about staying there long enough for them all to get a proper night's rest.

Halfway through the flight, she reached for the paper bag, handing some of the food back to her men. Making sure they all had something to eat, she set the bag back down near the pilot's seat. She was too upset to eat, annoyed at being send on what was starting to seem like a wild goose chase immediately after being accepted into SOLDIER.
 
Surprisingly, Gongaga seemed to be in fine condition as the helicopter drew closer to the town. "We're here, Ma'am." The pilot announced as the helicopter began to descend. It was quite dark out, probably close to midnight. The inhabitants of the town were long since in bed, aside from a few Shin-Ra troops on patrol. With a reactor so close, they had to be on guard, just in case some rebels got out of hand.

The helicopter set down in a clearing outside of town. The pilot began shutting down the chopper so as not to wake the town. "Ma'am, it would be wise if we put up at the inn for the night. I don't think there's much investigating we can do while everyone's asleep."
 
"That sounds like a wise decision. You can just charge the rooms to Shin-Ra." She had no intention of sleeping, since it seemed that every time they stopped somewhere, Elochai had his clones waiting for them. Even though there were Shin-Ra troops stationed here, it was likely that something would happen here.
 
The soldiers nodded in response to Chris' command. They stepped down from the helicopter and began walking towards in to town. The pilot nodded quietly before climbing out himself. "You're the boss." He said with a loud yawn before stretching. He gave a tired wave before heading off towards the inn himself.
 
Chris stayed behind to watch the helicopter. With nothing going on, it didn't take too very long for her to succumb to boredom. Laying across some of the seats inside the helicopter, Chris dozed off, her sword within reach on the floor.
 
It was almost as if Elochai could sense her now vulnerable state. "You've come a long way in a very short time. I like that. But I'm growing bored of this game of cat and mouse." Elochai's voice was dripping with arrogance. "The reactor holds a powerful secret that I think you might find enjoyable." A hideously pompous laughter followed and slowly faded until his voice had vanished completely.
 
Shortly after the laughter faded from her mind, Chris awoke from her brief slumber. Sitting up, she looked around, unsure if she had actually heard Elochai's voice. Curiosity getting the better of her, Chris grabbed her sword and climbed out of the helicopter.

Passing by the inn as she headed for the reactor, she briefly considered waking up her team. In the end, she decided against it, since she didn't know what she would run into when she entered the reactor. Keeping her sword held tightly in her head, she entered the reactor, taking a look around. "Elochai, if you are here, show yourself!"
 
Large groups of Elochai clones moved from the shadows, each of them brandishing their blades. What looked to be Elochai himself was standing at the edge of the long catwalk that led to the core of the reactor. "Welcome..." He said aloud before turning around to face her. "I'm so glad you chose to accept my invitation." Several more clones fell onto the catwalk between Elochai and Chris. None of them moved but all of them watched and stood defensively as if awaiting orders.

Elochai himself looked ill. As if his body was deteriorating. "I'm not long for this world..." He admitted after a moment. Looking down at his hands. "But I'm not ready to give up my place here." He reached for his sheathed sword and drew it slowly. "This world still belongs to me..."
 
Chris glanced around at the large number of clones, looking up when she heard Elochai's voice. Mindful of the clones between her and Elochai, she took a couple steps forward. "Where is Xanatos, Elochai? What did you do with him?!" She was fearful of the answer to the question, but she had to know. It had been because of him that she made it into SOLDIER, and she wanted to see that he was alright.

She watched him draw his sword, shaking her head. "Why did you turn your back on your friend, Elochai? Why did you try to poison me? What is the reason for all of this?"
 
Elochai turned his eyes back to where Chris was standing at the mention of Xanatos. His eyes twitched in anger. "What do you care for that traitor!?" He roared. In his anger he cut one of his clones down before pointing his blade in her direction. "Why have I done this? My right to live was stripped from me! Look at me! My body has given up on life and begun decaying!" He turned to face her irritably. "Not that one of the perfect ones like you would know anything about that!"

Elochai stepped forward, the crowd of clones parting where he stepped. "Let's see what Xanatos' training and Mako energy have given you." He said as he took his battle ready stance.
 
Chris never took her eyes off Elochai, her eyes narrowing when he calls Xanatos a traitor. "Xanatos is not the traitor here! You are! Now tell me where he is!" She took a step toward him as well, pulling her sword from its sheath, which she then tossed to one side. Her step faltered, a look of confusion crossing her face when she was referred to as 'perfect'. "What do you mean by that? I'm hardly perfect, Elochai."

Gripping her sword tightly, she took a step backwards. "I will fight you, but only after I know you haven't harmed Xanatos. He was your friend, and he trusted you! Though looking at you now, I can't really understand why."
 
Elochai became enraged. As though his very existence hinged on the current battle. "Fool!" He roared as he lifted his hand above him. A green and blue glow coming from the materia slot on his weapon. His arm cackled with blue energy as he spoke. "If you want your precious friend back so badly than come and get him!" He released what looked to be large quantities of ice leaping forward from his hand. Each impaling any clones caught in the path, showing just how expendable they really were. "You'll freeze where you stand!" He shouted before expending further magic to empower the attack. Slowly the catwalk began to convert to ice, the effect slowly spreading to consume the entire reactor.

He turned his back sheathing his blade. He paused looking back over his shoulder. "If you want him. Come to Wutai. Assuming you survive." He said in a surprisingly calm voice before disappearing into a cloud of black feathers. Where he stood, a piece of red materia slowly rolled forward before stopping beside the ledge of the catwalk. A summon. The clones all leaped forward to assault Chris rather than escape as though their existences were truly worthless.
 
Moving quickly, Chris hurried toward the materia that Elochai had left behind, knowing it was for her. She barely had time to grab it though, before the clones attacked her. It was a huge effort on her part to fight through the numerous clones, yet she somehow managed to get out before the reactor was completely encased in ice. By the time she emerged, she had several cuts from her battle with the Elochai clones, but nothing too serious.

Heading back toward the helicopter, she contemplated placing another call to Midgar. She wasn't sure what time it was there, so she decided against it. She just hoped that she wasn't going straight into a trap by heading to Wutai. Still, she didn't have much of a choice, if she wanted to see Xanatos again.
 
The rest of the team were still asleep at the time of the incident. Though all of them trained soldiers, they were all up at the crack of dawn and ready for duty. The team quickly moved to the helicopter the next morning expecting orders as to the investigation in Gongaga. None of them were expecting to be leaving for Wutai.

The pilot approached the helicopter with a coffee in hand and a cigarette pinched between his lips. "Well." He spoke after removing the cigarette from his mouth. "What's the game plan for today, Ma'am?"
 
Chris was standing by the chopper when everyone returned. The cuts she'd received during the battle in the reactor had all since healed, so she didn't have to worry about any questions from the men.

She turned to look toward the pilot. "As soon as the helicopter is fueled up and ready to go, we'll be heading for Wutai, with a couple stops on the way if refueling will be required. With luck, that will be our final destination."
 
The pilot blinked a couple of times before shrugging. "You're the boss." He said as he climbed into the helicopter. The men followed suit, taking their usual seats around Chris. "I guess that means you found what you were looking for here, huh?" The pilot asked as he began flipping all the necessary switches.

"It'll be another long trip to get to Wutai." He said after a few minutes. "We'll have to stop in either Nibelheim or Rocket Town to refuel than it'll be a straight shot to Wutai."
 
Chris climbed into the chopper and buckled herself into a seat. "I was thinking we could stop in Nibelheim, then again in Rocket Town if we need to refuel again before crossing over to Wutai."
 
The pilot gave a nod at her suggestion. "It'll be late evening when we set down in Nibelheim. It wouldn't be wise for us to try to cross through those mountains after dark." The helicopter lifted off of the ground and headed in the direction of Nibelheim.
 
Chris nodded to him, looking out the window of the chopper as it took off. "Xanatos, please be safe..."
 
It was close to a twelve hour flight before the helicopter finally set down outside of Nibelheim. "Ma'am. We're here." The pilot said before shutting down the helicopter. He climbed down from the cockpit, stretching his tired limbs. He turned to look at the entrance to town. "This town gives me the creeps." The other soldiers, stirred from their sleep, also departed from the helicopter.
 
Chris stirred from a slumber she hadn't even been aware of falling into when she heard the pilot speak to her. "Thank you" She got out of the chopper, looking towards the town. She remembered the director saying that Hojo and his assistant were in this town. Maybe she should have suggested they go to Corel, which wasn't that far away, but they were already here. "Get some rooms at the inn. We'll be staying there instead of the manor." The scientist probably already knew about her, but she hoped not to run into him.
 
The men gave a nod, not questioning the SOLDIER's orders. Everyone, the pilot included, began walking into town towards the inn. None of them were complaining about staying at the inn. The manor was awfully creepy, only more so with Hojo staying there.

Hopefully the stay would be brief. None of them liked the rumors coming out of Nibelheim. Anyone who was sent here on a mission always came back a little quieter.
 
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