The Good Life: Raising Hell (ch. 110)

“Scalpel,” I intoned, appearing behind Yamato as she sent Sephiroth flying through a number of buildings with Haki crackling around her and a roar spilling from her lips. Even before I said the word she was reacting, a burning hatred in her eyes that was too intense to be anything less than personal. Yet, I hadn't slacked in my training this past decade. While pushing my limits was thoroughly out of the question, refining what I was already capable of was the natural path for my progression. 

Haki battles were a little weird. Or, rather, Observation Haki battles were weird. Armament and Conquerors Haki were more… tangible, for lack of a better word. There was a give and take, a clash, to see whose will was stronger. But with Observation, the only way to know if you had the better Haki was whether you got punched in the face or not. The result of this was that it was the hardest to reliably train. 

The serum that enhanced Yamato was playing against her, I think, because even as she nearly took my head off with a back swing, she failed to dodge the two-finger poke that I delivered to her sternum. With that touch, I created a Room inside her body, allowing me to categorize and sort her every cell. And, more relevantly, the serum that had bonded to her cells. With a push, all of the serum was ejected from her body and into one of the squares that I used to keep my hearts in.

The effect was immediate. Yamato wavered, the gas that was being poured onto her rage was cut off, and with a quick Shambles, I vanished and took the serum with me. Just before Sephiroth emerged from the buildings he had knocked over like bowling pins and started attacking Yamato with slashes from his long-ass sword. 

“That's mean,” Yoruichi noted, watching the two fight. Naturally, Yamato was a far less eager participant in the clash than before, but her apologies and protests fell on deaf ears. Sephiroth was a man on a mission, not knowing what was going on or who he was fighting, but she had hit him harder than he had probably ever been hit in his life and started a fight that he intended to finish. 

“I'm a mean person,” I pointed out with a grin. “It's set dressing. Gotta warm them up to the idea of a whole multiverse out there. Plus, Asami wrecked our stores of Compound V and the serum that Shaun was working on.” I Shambled the serum into a bloodbag, seeing the dark purple fluid pulse with an eerie pink light. Meanwhile, we watched as the fight unfolded below. 

Without the serum Sephiroth had the edge in speed, but that just let him keep up against Yamato's Haki. Yamato, to her credit, realized she had to finish what she’d started and fought back with what strength she could muster. 

It had been about ten years for me, but mere minutes ago she had been fighting Yoruichi, and even with the serum she hadn't escaped that fight unscathed. Her body was a patchwork of burn marks, blackened clothing, and bone deep bruises. Yet, she powered through the damage with what I could only call practiced ease, which really raised some questions on where Asami had found her. 

“Oh?” Yoruichi perked up, a considering look on her face. I saw something clock into place behind her eyes and her lips twisted into a smile that reminded me of a cat that just cornered a mouse. It made a smile bloom on my face to match hers -- I had missed Yoruichi. “My, my. You're playing an entirely different game now, hm?” 

“Asami is going to regret not killing me when she had the chance,” I agreed. 

“Whats the play?” 

I told her and she laughed at the deviousness of it. I’d had a long time to plan how this moment would go, when it finally came time to leave this world. For nearly a decade, I had been putting all the pieces together and ready to get the ball rolling -- for the first time, I would be grafting a  functioning civilized world onto my empire, which currently consisted of a post-apocalyptic hellscape, a pre-industrial revolution world, and a world that hadn't realized it belonged to me yet. 

So, a little finesse was required. 

And by that, I meant lies. 

Yoruichi leaned in, pressing her lips to my cheek and offering a wink before she vanished with a Flash Step. When she reappeared, it was to deliver a powerful kick to the side of Yamato's head. Yamato slammed through the streets, the power to match Yoruichi stolen from her along with the serum, and as a result she found herself entirely outgunned. 

Something she didn't seem to mind at all as she simply picked herself back up and threw herself at them both. 

Sephiroth was visibly surprised when Yoruichi joined him, but didn't ask any questions when it was clear that she was on his side. Though, I did sense his confusion rising as he watched what she could do, outperforming him even without Mako enhancements. Yamato roared in defiance, attacking them both, but she was thoroughly outmatched. She had the edge on Sephiroth, but with Yoruichi there? The fight was decided the moment she joined it. But it seemed Yamato was nothing if not stubborn. 

She fought desperately, enduring blows that would make me wince, getting cut to ribbons with more of her blood outside than inside. There really wasn't an ounce of quit in her heart, even as she fought well beyond her limits. Steadily, she got weaker and weaker until she was knocked unconscious with a final blow from Yoruichi. The horned woman collapsed in a heap, more dead than alive, and it was that moment when I chose to come running up. 

Something that made Sephiroth jump between me and Yoruichi, pointing his long katana at her. “You have my gratitude for your aid,” he began, “But who are you?” 

“Oh, boy -- that's a story and a half,” Yoruichi began, amusement dancing in her eyes as she saw me go to Yamato's side, playing the part of the dutiful doctor. “It starts with a dastardly villain named Asami and a portal to another world…” 

Sephiroth lowered his blade a touch, absolutely baffled, and that would only grow with every word that Yoruichi continued with. 

…

With the giant monster dead, our part was done. The… Mega Materia would be extracted from the WEAPON’s corpse for my use down the line, but that was going to be a days long job. As were the repairs to Junon. While the city had been saved from total annihilation, it had taken a couple of hard knocks. Nothing that it couldn't bounce back from with a little elbow grease and funding though. Which left us free to return to Midgar. 

The ride back was a solemn affair for Sephiroth -- the plane was a lot emptier than it had been when we first arrived. I'm not even sure how most of the SOLDIERs had died, only that apparently half of them did. A loss, sure, but not for me. In their place, Yoruichi kicked her feet up, chatted with Sephiroth and the other surviving SOLDIERs, pretending not to know me while I played the part of monitoring Yamato. The oni woman was bound in a series of restraints designed for monsters, but just in case, I kept her consciousness below the surface using my powers under the guise of a sedative. 

The trip back was longer than the one to Junon since there was less of a need to rush, so about eight hours later, we approached Midgar. And I was immediately disappointed by what I didn't see. 

‘Aw. Did they actually stop the Plate from falling?’ I thought with some disappointment. But I was immediately mollified by the fact that I could just drop the Plate myself and see it fall whenever. That might even be worse for Tifa. My mind was alight with possibilities as the plane landed at Shinra Tower, though that train of thought came to a halt when I saw who was waiting for us at the landing pad. 

Zack Fair. 

‘Did he kill Cloud?’ That would be a pretty massive deviation from my plans, and I couldn’t imagine what else would have him look so openly miserable. He could barely look Sephiroth in the eyes when we approached, and even as socially stunted as Sephiroth was, he sensed something was wrong. 

“Zack?” He prompted, coming to a stop before the young SOLDIER. “What happened?” 

Zack couldn't even bring himself to say it for a long few seconds before he found his voice. “It's… Cloud. He betrayed me- us. This… this entire time, he's been working for Avalanche… and while you were gone, they tried… They tried to drop one of the Plates. I stopped them, but… Cloud nearly killed me. And he would have if…” His voice grew thick with emotion and I could see the weight settling heavily on Sephiroth. 

“... Angeal?” Sephiroth questioned in a soft whisper. 

“I'm so sorry, Sephiroth. He died… to save me,” Zack broke down, clasping at his face with a hand as his shoulders trembled as he sobbed quietly. 

That was an unexpected deviation. And… fuck, I had really missed out on some prime time drama, huh? Cloud killing Angeal? They might not have the same relationship as he and Zack did, but I knew that had to hurt. And based on the pain and anger in Zack's voice, he’d had a front row seat to it. 

Honestly, this was better than what I figured would happen. I had thought Cloud would end up killing Zack, and I’d been planning to leverage that desire for revenge I could feel in him in Angeal and Sephiroth. Angeal being the one to kick it was a deviation, but one that I was entirely capable of working with. It was just a question of how. 

Sephiroth, however, was rocked by the revelation. He had tried to brace himself for it the moment that Zack began, but the emotional gut punch broke through his guard and folded him like a piece of laundry. Yet, all the same, he reached out to Zack and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “He thought of you as a son, Zack. If he had to choose his death… Honor him with deeds, not tears.” He offered with a tightness in his own voice. 

“We're hunting for them, but we don't have any leads yet. We know who they are, though,” Zack said, choking back tears before he gestured off in the distance to a blimp that was flying over the city that projected a hologram. 

It was a series of pictures taken from a camera with a large WANTED scrolling under their names. Cloud Strife. Tifa Lockhart. Jessie Rasberry. Then Wedge and Biggs, no last names. 

“We have Jessie Rasberry's parents in custody, but they're claiming ignorance of her daughter's affiliation with Avalanche. They say that they thought she was still acting,” Zack said, trying and failing to swallow the lump in his throat. Given that he singled them out, I took that to mean that they didn't have Mama Cloud in custody. “But… we'll find them, Sephiroth. I promise. And when I do… I'm going to kill Cloud with my bare hands…!” 

Oohhh! That was something I could work with. Honestly, that was way better than what I thought would happen. Zack was already a company man, but one that was seemingly ignorant of Shinra's dark underbelly. Tempting him to the dark side for the sake of revenge? Oh, that sounded like fun~!

“Together,” Sephiroth corrected gently. “We will mourn and avenge Angeal together. But first, there is work to be done and he would not want us to shirk our duties for him.” Sephiroth was pretending to be fine, but I could sense all too easily how dangerously unbalanced he was. He hadn't known Cloud very well, so that sense of betrayal Zack felt wasn't hitting him. 

Rather, it was that Angeal had been on the cusp of being cured of his degeneration. I had assured them both before departure that I had all the pieces I needed to make a cure, and just as Sephiroth had hope that he wouldn't lose his friend… he lost him anyway. It was a bitter loss, all the more so because of the other losses against the WEAPON. The once numerous and dignified SOLDIERs were now reduced to so few that you could count them with your hands and have a few fingers left over. 

It wasn't the downward spiral that he had in canon, but it was one I could absolutely work with. 

Zack nodded, “President Shinra wanted to speak to you after you had been briefed.” His gaze flickered towards Yoruichi, who winked at him with a smile. A flush creeped up his neck. 

“A meeting about little ol’ me, perhaps?” She ventured, strutting forward, forcing the other two to keep up with her. I, rather unfortunately, was left behind as I had a task that I first had to complete -- securing Yamato. I imagined that President Shinra would fill me in on the story I concocted with Yoruichi. 

Namely the very same trick I had pulled in Runeterra -- role reversal. Asami was the aggressor in our little game, having attempted to assassinate me and seize the empire that we had forged together. Yoruichi was thrown into this world in the process, and she would drop a few hints here or there that maybe it was the tear in the fabric of space and time that triggered the WEAPON attack. Just to make sure that President Shinra would have a good reason to get mad at Asami. 

Yet, there would be no mention of me, the good doctor that they had come to love. No mention that I had been amongst their midst, gently guiding them every step of the way for the past couple of years. It was simply an unnecessary wrinkle in things. Instead, we would only share a name and be very different people as far as they were aware. 

It was as we parted ways that I received a text message -- the first one since I’d left for Junon. The city itself was on a media blackout to prevent a panic while I couldn’t get a signal on the plane. As I stepped into an elevator, escorted by a handful of the remaining SOLDIERs, who were escorting Yamato as much as me. Flipping my phone open, I was immediately greeted by a message from Jinx. 

It was a selfie with Claudia Strife in the background, stripped nude and pinned in place with bondage gear. She was gagged, blindfolded, with a pair of heavy earmuffs blocking all sound. Jinx was smiling in the corner of the selfie, throwing up a peace sign, with the message: ‘Guess what I got?’ 

I chuckled before scrolling a bit, seeing other messages Jinx had been bombarding me with over the past twelve hours or so. Most were of Claudia in compromising positions, and intermixed with them were serious questions. 

‘Why didn’t the Plate drop?’ 

‘Shinra must have called it off because of Junon,’ I texted back. If President Shinra wanted to drop the Plate, he wouldn't let a busted terminal stop him. ‘Has this changed things?’ 

‘Nope! Beyond Avalanche being public enemy number one. As far as anyone cares they r the ones that tried to drop the Plate.’ Oh. Something else I could absolutely work with. ‘You gonna drop it anyway?’ 

It was tempting. So very tempting. I had figured the Plate would drop no matter what, so all of my plans had revolved around the fallout from it. But the Plate not dropping… that had a well of potential to explore as well. 

‘Not yet.’ I replied, thinking of all the ways that I could use this. Zack thought he stopped the Plate from falling, saving thousands of lives. He fought Cloud under that assumption. The realization that Cloud was right could be fun to explore, but I think having him continue under that assumption had more potential. It made Cloud not only the person who killed his mentor, but had tried to kill thousands of innocent people. ‘I'll let you know.’ 

‘And Claudia?’ The question came with a photo of Cloud's mother bound to the floor, arms and legs locked in a face-down ass-up position. 

Honestly, I didn't really have any particular plans for Claudia. She was just an opportunity that felt like a shame to slip by. So, with a smirk, I sent a reply. 

‘Keep her ready for me.’ 

‘:)’

Flipping my phone closed, we continued on our way towards my laboratory and into a room that I had prepared for Yamato long in advance. Yamato was loaded up into a familiar contraption inspired by the one that I had found Robin in at that Vought blacksite years and years ago. She was stripped bare, revealing bruised and battered breasts that were large even compared to her nine foot frame, which I wasn't alone in giving an appreciative glance at as her arms and legs were pinned into place in an X shape and she was sedated. With an actual sedative this time, one rated to handle her brutal strength. Probably. 

It was also hooked up to the equipment of a Memory Lounge, which I attached to her after dismissing the SOLDIERs so that I could get a copy of her memories for a hint or three about Asami’s activities. Nobara and Maki had been bit of a bust due to their hasty summons, but Yamato had been part of the plan long in advance, given that she had thrown down with Sukuna. So, maybe she would have more info. 

No skin off my nose if she didn’t, though.

With Yamato in place, I stepped out of the room and headed to the other half of my lab, where Jenova loomed. She showed signs of subtle movement in the goop that she was preserved in, and as I turned my attention to her, I felt her consciousness brush the surface of my mind. She was trying to communicate with me, but failed because I didn’t possess any of her cells. 

It got a smile out of me, “Look who's suddenly so talkative?” I approached her container and remarked to her. Conversing with Jenova took some effort due to her nature, but after a couple of years I had found a middle ground. “You felt it, huh?”

Through my Room, I felt her reach out to my mind. It was less a word and more of a mental image, only rather than the picture itself, it was the properties of a picture. Yet, I understood all the same. ‘WEAPON defeated.’

“Just off the coast of Junon,” I confirmed for her, and I had an idea of how she was aware. In another room, I could sense that Aerith was shaken. Maybe not quite aware of what had transpired, but through her connection with the Planet she knew that something terrible had happened. “Was a bit of a fight, but… meh.”

There was confusion and doubt in Jenova as she processed that information with the power of millions of silent souls. On the assumption that I was right, and she really was just another Lifestream from an alien planet that had been forced to get out of dodge, then she would understand the weight of the victory. WEAPONS were a Lifestream’s heavy hitters. The tool they used to save themselves when things were most dire. 

To hear that a WEAPON was defeated would be a shock. To hear that it was defeated easily…

“Now, are you rethinking my proposal?” I asked her, watching the bubbles rising up to oxygenate the pod she was in. There was a very long pause from Jenova as she reconsidered everything, by the feel of things. She had dismissed me and my offer, largely because she thought that I couldn’t deliver. That the fight would be lost even if she accepted a new body because this planet’s Lifestream would beat me, then her. 

But a victory changed things. It proved that it was possible. 

Then I felt her come to her decision. 

‘YES.’ The voice of millions of whispers shouted in my brain. It was rather unpleasant, but I smiled all the same. 

I raised a hand, keenly aware of Aerith in the other room, who had absolutely no idea what was about to happen. Then I spoke. 

“Personality Surgery.”