From every working television and public screen in Midgar the same performance was being broadcast, from which the residents of the city simply could not tear their eyes away. The show turned out so infectious that passersby on the streets involuntarily launched into dance, picking up the movements of the pair in plush masks who had arranged a show for the entire metropolis.
But among the viewers there were also those who immediately recognized the artists dancing at the very heart of the Mako reactor among the falling white petals. The townspeople who had visited Don Corneo's underground arena just a couple of days ago instantly remembered this colorful duo-team. There were also those who knew exactly who was hiding under the plush heads. One of such was Elmyra. How could she not recognize her adoptive daughter whom she had raised for long years?
And it was not only about Aerith's familiar voice — the scarlet ribbon in her hair, the habitual movements and posture gave her away completely. The only thing that sincerely surprised Elmyra at that moment was what her girl was doing in such a dangerous place at all and what concert she had spun there in the company of Alex.
In the Seventh Sector, right in the Seventh Heaven bar, Tifa stared at the television screen, stunned as she watched the unfolding farce. And behind her little Marlene was fully dancing, diligently copying every step from the screen. Laughing wearily, Tifa turned to the rosy, slightly sweaty from active movements little one and held out a glass of cold juice to her. Taking a greedy gulp, Marlene sighed with relief and looked at Tifa with a joyful smile.
"So that's the 'concert' he was talking about… I can imagine how furious the top of Shinra is right now!" Tifa said with a slight chuckle and tenderly stroked the head of Marlene who was tired after the dances.
The performance of Alex and Aerith was approaching its logical conclusion, and the song was gradually slowing down. On the final chords Alex again spun Aerith in a dance, after which he sharply fixed her in an elegant dip. In that same second a cascade of deafening claps rang out behind their backs: the Sweeper robots launched a final volley of confetti and festive fireworks.
The moment the music fell silent, a real wave of ovations rolled throughout Midgar — for the residents of the city this became, perhaps, the most spectacular performance of their lives. Even Dean, standing high on the balcony and observing what was happening as if he were in a VIP box, sincerely applauded Alex and Aerith. He by no means denied that Alex, as always, knew how to throw an unforgettable performance, and with an incredible scale at that.
At the same time Alex and Aerith looked at each other, breathing heavily from fatigue. Under the plush masks their faces shone with wide smiles from the awareness of what a storm they had just arranged. Slightly chuckling, they straightened up and simultaneously bowed toward Navi, as befits true artists who had finished their show.
The Sweeper robots standing behind them synchronously repeated this bow before the camera. But right at the moment of the bow the hall was shaken by an unexpected, deafening rumble. The fairy-drone Navi instantly directed the lens upward. The frame fixed on video captured a huge combat Scorpion Robot that had smashed the upper passage to pieces and was now rapidly descending the walls straight toward the reactor.
Pushing off from the metal structures, the Scorpion crashed down — right onto the Sweeper robots. The heavy machine crushed the backup dancers to death with its weight, provoking a series of small explosions and raising a whole cloud of white petals around itself. Alex and Aerith instantly assessed the appearance of the new "guest" and immediately noticed how several Gray Whispers were nervously circling around it. Exchanging glances, they understood each other without words and nodded synchronously.
"Oh no! Shinra wants to kill us just for the fact that we simply sang?! What grief!" Alex cried with feigned pathos, dramatically pulling Aerith into his embrace and at maximum speed whispering the next line into her ear.
"How unfair! We only wanted to give the residents of Midgar a drop of happiness… Will there really not be a hero who will save us from this trouble?!" Aerith wailed theatrically, tragically placing the back of her hand to the forehead of her plush mask.
"Who said… HERO?!" From above, tearing the silence, a pompous and extremely satisfied voice of Dean rolled out deafeningly.
The appearance of the terrible combat Scorpion Robot caused a real wave of panic among the residents of Midgar — especially after the words of Alex and Aerith that all these destructions and the threat to life were the work of Shinra itself. In that same instant both in the Upper City and in the Slums the opinions of people split into two camps. But any disputes instantly died down the moment a pompous male voice thundered from the speakers.
Navi's camera shot like a bullet under the very ceiling of the reactor hall, fixing the image of yet another participant in a plush mask. Dean stood in an extremely picturesque pose, hands on his hips, right on the thin metal railings high above the boiling Mako energy. Behind his back a bright red cloak proudly fluttered, and on the plush head of the Panda a wide bamboo hat was put on, giving his appearance even more mysterious severity.
Standing on the railings, Dean mentally cursed Alex, who had too insistently begged him to play along in this circus spectacle and perform the role of the legendary "Kung Fu Panda." To his great fortune, the face was hidden behind the mask, and none of the million-strong audience saw his extreme irritation. Looking from top to bottom, Dean challengingly stretched out his hand and pointed his index finger right at the Scorpion Robot.
"How dare you, stupid piece of iron, attack defenseless artists?! For such an unforgivable sin you will have to face me — the Dragon Warrior, who has arrived from distant lands to administer justice and save the innocent!" Dean shouted at the limit of pathos, trying with all his strength not to break out of the image entrusted to him.
"Oh my God! It's the Dragon Warrior himself! Save us, Hero of Justice!" Alex cried in an enthusiastic-fanatical tone, theatrically falling to his knees and depicting a crazy fan.
"Fear not, my friends! Right now this machine of death will know the full unsurpassed power of my Kung Fu!" Dean proclaimed loudly, instantly changing position to a pompous combat stance with widely spread legs and a proudly raised finger upward.
After these words Alex and Aerith theatrically and with taste applauded. As for the residents of Midgar glued to the screens, none of them could fully understand what was happening at all. To some it seemed that Shinra had indeed set a multi-ton combat monster on two artists who were simply singing and dancing. Others insisted that all this was only another, to the last detail thought-out part of the show.
However, any doubts instantly vanished when the Scorpion robot raised its metal tail and began aiming the red-hot weapon right at the man in the Panda mask. Expecting that instead of a deadly beam another portion of joke confetti would fly out, the residents of Midgar gasped in horror when the Scorpion at point-blank range struck with a real, incinerating laser volley!
At the very last moment Dean powerfully pushed off from the railing fence and soared into the air, rushing downward in a swift rotation. Falling to the platform at the very reactor, he with filigree precision dodged every subsequent shot. Having spun several times in the air, the Dean effectively froze in a "superhero landing" right in front of Alex and Aerith and immediately with a lightning swing of Cain's Blade split the beam flying at him in half!
Right behind his back a powerful explosion thundered with a crash. Alex and Aerith instantly began loudly applauding and scattering in fanatical praises addressed to their protector. Ignoring the ovations, Dean pointed Cain's Blade at the Scorpion robot while his bright red cloak pompously fluttered in the hot streams of air.
"You will never win, stupid piece of iron! For on the guard of justice stands I — the Dragon Warrior!" Dean shouted resoundingly, taking another juicy combat stance.
"In-tru-der! In-tru-der! Destroy!" the Scorpion Robot ground out in a glitching, broken voice, again engaging the mechanisms for recharging the laser.
"Enough empty talk, scrap metal! Time to fight! Know the power of my Kung Fu! SHA-SHA-BUI!" Dean roared at the top of his voice and rushed like a hurricane straight at the Scorpion robot.
Having shouted the pompous phrase, Dean threw himself straight at the Scorpion Robot, which by that moment had already finished accumulating charge for the next volleys. Going to maximum power, the machine-building monster began mercilessly pounding energy charges from its tail, trying to burn the approaching target. Without slowing down, Dean began deflecting every deadly beam with Cain's Blade, with virtuoso ease redirecting them in all directions.
Having jumped close enough, he made a powerful leap upward and instantly found himself at the very tail of the Scorpion. With one lightning swing the Dean cleanly chopped off the mechanical limb and landed on the metal floor, pompously sliding on it on his knees and carefully holding the bamboo hat with his hand. The residents of Midgar with open mouths watched what was happening on the screens.
Children throughout the city began enthusiastically shouting the name of the Dragon Warrior, seeing in him a real superhero of Justice who had arrived to save the poor artists! Having lost its main weapon, the Scorpion Robot emitted a deafening glitching signal and heavily turned on its huge metal legs. When the machine fixed the target, Dean rose from his knees and effectively threw his bright red cloak back.
"You will no longer shoot lasers, stupid piece of iron! Better surrender! I'm not going to destroy you… I'm going to stop you! Together we can change this world for the better!" Dean shouted at the limit of drama, pompously extending an open palm toward the Scorpion.
"Critical damage! Threat level elevated! Activating alternative attack protocol!" a dry metal voice sounded from the robot's speakers, engaging the reserve weapon systems.
"My story will not end badly… because I am its author!" Dean proclaimed pompously, more conveniently gripping the sword and preparing for the second round.
Instead of answering Dean's pompous speeches the Scorpion robot activated alternative armament. Throughout its massive body hidden sections opened with a scrape, from which dozens of rocket-carrying nests appeared. In that same instant the machine jumped back, tightly dug its metal paws into the vertical wall of the reactor, and released a dense volley of rockets that rushed straight toward the Dragon Warrior.
Seeing the armada of projectiles flying at him, Dean rushed forward, at the very last moment dodging the first detonations. Reaching the edge of the platform, he stepped on the metal railings and immediately pushed off, soaring into the air in the direction of the robot. Noticing that the target was rapidly closing the distance, the Scorpion Robot began shuffling its legs, moving sideways along the cladding to escape as far as possible from the attack target.
Seeing that the opponent had decided to run, Dean turned right in the air and rigidly fixed himself with his feet on the wall. Finding himself in a horizontal position, he ran at full speed along the vertical surface in pursuit of the piece of iron, along the way dodging a continuous barrage of rockets. Meanwhile Alex and Aerith calmly sat on the railings of the balcony right above the platform.
Alex took a chocolate bar from the sports bag and held it out to Aerith, which she with great pleasure was munching herself and along the way feeding him while they observed the epic duel from the front rows. Looking at how Dean was relentlessly cutting circles along the walls after the dodging robot, Aerith joyfully swung her legs in the air, sent another slice of chocolate into Alex's mouth, and reflexively licked the tips of her dirtied fingers.
"I hope Dean will soon defeat this robot. Otherwise the room is already literally cracking at the seams from all these explosions," Aerith said thoughtfully, bringing the next piece of sweetness to Alex's lips.
"We need to pump up maximum pathos! Show how bad Shinra is, and what a wonderful Hero of Justice Dean is. After such a performance the top of the corporation will have a hell of a time washing all this shit off themselves. And they definitely won't be able to shift the blame onto us as if we were the ones who smashed everything here," Alex replied with a satisfied smile, eating the treat right from Aerith's hands.
Fortunately for Alex and Aerith, the fairy-drone Navi purposefully followed Dean, recording his entire fight with the Scorpion Robot in the finest details. Otherwise Alex's plan to discredit Shinra would have gone down one very unpleasant place. And if this video sequence turned out to be insufficient, Alex was by no means against leaking packs of the corporation's secret documents onto the network.
But Alex perfectly understood: right now it was too early to do this. The top of Shinra could still calmly brush off such compromising material, declaring that all this was only a pitiful attempt to blacken their impeccable reputation. Shaking his head, Alex slightly narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the Gray Whispers that continued to marionette-control the Scorpion Robot.
Stroking the chin of his plush mask, he realized: even if he right now took control of absolutely all the robots in the vicinity, the Gray Whispers would still be able to intercept the control — exactly as they were pulling it off at this second. However, everything was shaping up even for the better — this situation was playing exclusively into Alex's hands. After all, according to the canon Shinra itself had amplified the explosion of the reactor and hung the entire blame on Avalanche.
And now their own combat monster was performing on air as a mad executioner trying before the eyes of a million-strong audience to destroy innocent artists. Slightly chuckling from the luck of the layout, Alex softly leaned against Aerith's shoulder, who immediately affectionately nestled against him in response, and they continued to comfortably enjoy Dean's spectacular battle.
By this moment the fight of Dean and the Scorpion Robot had almost come to an end. The walls of the reactor were completely riddled with holes from the detonations of rockets and machine-gun bursts with which the machine had mercilessly poured the Dragon Warrior. Everywhere flames were raging, with each second covering an ever greater territory. The fairy-drone Navi hovered right above Dean, tirelessly broadcasting every second of this duel to the most remote corners of Midgar.
In the end the battle shifted to the main technical platform. The Scorpion Robot had been brought to a catastrophic condition: its massive hydraulic legs turned out to be completely destroyed — with the exception of one, with the help of which it was desperately trying to crawl toward its offender. Throughout the metal body deep dents were visible, the mechanical head was literally flattened like a tin can, and the single glowing green eye was barely flickering, gradually fading.
When the exhausted Scorpion crawled close to Dean, the latter extended his hand and calmly pressed his fist against the chest armor of the robot. Viewers throughout Midgar held their breath in anticipation of the final chord. Everyone — from the well-to-do townspeople to the inhabitants of the poorest slums — couldn't wait to see how this epic battle of the Hero of Justice against the Machine of Murder would end.
"And so the end of our battle has come… You were a worthy opponent! But justice ALWAYS defeats evil! Feel my finishing strike of Justice! SKADOOSH!" Dean proclaimed at the limit of pathos, drawing his fist back for the final blow.
After these words Dean delivered a lightning, crushing blow right into the chest of the Scorpion Robot — where its main energy core was located. All of Midgar held its breath, observing how the fist of the Dragon Warrior with the inevitability of fate approached the steel armor. And when the blow reached the target, a dry, deafening crunch sounded, after which a powerful shockwave immediately followed that burst out of the back of the machine.
Lowering his hand, Dean pompously turned his back to the camera. Viewers on the other side of the screens with amazement saw how in the chest of the robot a through hole was displayed, from which sheaves of sparks were flying with a crack in all directions. The moment Dean took literally a couple of steps away, the Scorpion Robot detonated. Behind his back a bright fire cloud blossomed, raising high into the sky the snow-white petals that covered the platform. From the wave of the explosion Dean's bright red cloak victoriously soared on the wind.
Holding the bamboo hat with one hand, Dean slowly raised his gaze and looked into the very lens of Navi. In that same second from the ceiling white flower petals again smoothly streamed, giving the atmosphere even greater, almost cinematic pathos. Inventing with what phrase to put the final point in this performance, Dean smirked under the Panda mask, recalling the ideal quote that fit here as well as possible.
"I don't take money for my coolness… and for beauty — even less so!" Dean said at the limit of pathos, slightly raising the edge of his bamboo hat while behind his back the flames were raging and white petals continued to spin from above.
The residents of Midgar watching the broadcast froze in complete amazement, mentally savoring and repeating Dean's extremely cool phrase. Absolutely all their attention switched to the man in the Panda mask, and not to the fact that the cladding of the Mako reactor turned out to be almost completely destroyed by the explosions during the battle. In the consciousness of the majority of the townspeople the thought finally strengthened: it was Shinra that had set the deadly weapon on the harmless artists, and the so-called Hero of Justice was only protecting those who were simply singing and dancing.
At the same time Heidegger, sitting in his luxurious office, from roof-blowing malice began smashing the monitors one after another. Observing the hell that had unfolded in the reactor premises, he was trying with his last strength to regain control over the intercepted security system and at any cost stop the invaders. All he managed to achieve was for a second to catch control of the Scorpion, give the order to liquidate the targets, and cut the damn cameras.
But instead of clear execution of the command the robot finally went out of order, turning the fight into a public show and lowering the reputation of the corporation below the bottom. The entire top of Shinra with cold sweat on their foreheads was following this broadcast.
In the head of each of the directors only one panicky thought was spinning: it was urgently necessary to minimize the damage before another bloody uprising flared up in the metropolis. But in the offices of the corporation there were also those who saw in what was happening not a threat, but a priceless treasure. One of such was Professor Hojo.
"Interesting… What potential, what incredible strength! The ability while running to move along vertical walls, deflect laser beams and with ease dodge a whole barrage of rockets… I want them all! Ah, how interesting… What will happen if this trio is put through the SOLDIER Project? Heh-heh-heh… Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Hojo began muttering in a mad tone, after which the reactor hall on his screen drowned in the sounds of his resounding, scraping laughter.
At that moment Alex and Dean didn't even suspect that they had already turned into the most desired "material" for the local mad scientist. However, this worried them least of all — they didn't give a damn about Hojo with his laboratories. Alex was now occupied with far more important matters. The moment Dean pronounced his final pompous phrase, Alex immediately ended the live broadcast, launching a cute farewell screensaver with cartoon GIR, MIMI, and Stitch holding posters in their paws with the inscription: "See you soon!".
And while the residents of Midgar in bewilderment examined the strange animation, Alex from the smartphone activated inside the reactor premises the evacuation systems and automatic fire suppression so that the flames would not spread throughout the complex. In that same instant from all sides a loud hissing sound rang out, the hall began quickly filling with dense white fog, and the raging fire began rapidly dying out. Putting the phone in his pocket, Alex picked Aerith up by the waist and easily jumped from the balcony down — to Dean himself.
By this moment the latter had already pulled the plush Panda mask off his head and looked as if all the soul had been sucked out of him after such a grandiose performance before the eyes of the entire metropolis. Sighing heavily, Dean raised his gaze to the approaching Alex and Aerith. And after which with a wide smirk he showed them a thumbs-up. Despite the wild mental fatigue, he fully enjoyed this show and received truly unforgettable emotions.
"Well, how was it? Was it cool? I would never have thought that I would have to play the Hero of Justice!" Dean asked with a smirk, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his bright red cloak.
"It was incredible! Especially your last phrase: 'I don't take money for my coolness… and for beauty — even less so!'" Aerith exclaimed with a wide smile, pulling Dean's bamboo hat onto her head and cheerfully repeating the line with a pompous superhero stance.
"Oh, okay-okay, enough inflating my ego… So, Megamind, what's next in the plan? Compressing this plant, or have you prepared something else special?" Dean chuckled, waving it off and shifting the conversation to Alex.
"That's right. We've already spun everything I had planned. Barret, Claudia, and the others should just have reached the main valve. So the Mako is about to start flowing in the opposite direction… For example, right now," Alex replied with a smile, holding the plush Bear mask under his arm and checking with elegant pocket watches in the other hand.
The moment Alex spoke, a deep sound of boiling liquid rang out under their feet. Looking down, Alex, Aerith, and Dean saw how the bright-green Mako energy spun in a rapid whirlpool, and its level began quickly decreasing. Aerith instantly felt how the liberated power of the Planet rushed back into the depths and merged with the main flow of the Lifestream.
From this incredible feeling Aerith sighed with relief — as if everything was finally returning to its place. Unable to restrain the surging emotions, Aerith joyfully hugged Alex around the neck and, rising on her tiptoes, fleetingly kissed him on the cheek. Feeling the warmth of her lips, Alex looked at Aerith. A light blush immediately appeared on her cheeks, and she embarrassedly wrinkled her little nose. Smiling, Alex affectionately poked his finger into Aerith's nose, from which she wrinkled even more.
Dean, who all this time had been observing the decreasing flow of Mako, raised his gaze and again caught this invisible "pink aura" that had thickened around Alex and Aerith. At that moment he sincerely wondered: had this become his personal curse? After all, even when they lived in the bunker, around Alex and his wives this sugary atmosphere constantly hovered, and he and Sam had to observe something similar almost every day.
"Well, you've ruined everything with your pink aura! We've just delivered the first crushing blow to the corporation of evil, and instead of triumph I only feel nausea!" Dean grumbled, deliberately destroying the romantic moment between Alex and Aerith.
"Dude, you're at it again? I, by the way, didn't stand over your soul on your dates with Amara! And by the way, I want to remind you: I even prepared a romantic dinner for you and tactfully cleared out of the house for the whole day!" Alex replied with feigned irritation, tenderly squeezing the rosy cheeks of Aerith, who was cutely pouting at Dean for the spoiled idyll.
"Then and now are absolutely different things! Amara and I are adults, and you behave like two immature teenagers… Ugh, disgusting!" Dean delivered in an exaggeratedly tragic tone, with feeling depicting a gag reflex.
"Let me go! I'm going to hit him with the staff right now!.. I'll show him 'ugh'!" Aerith exclaimed with mock anger, beginning to actively struggle out of Alex's embrace and fully swinging her magic staff, burning with the desire to teach the teasing Dean a lesson.
Dean looked at Aerith with a cheerful smile while she continued fully swinging her magic staff right in front of his nose. Completely ignoring the serious storm of emotions from Aerith while she was still trying to break free from Alex's embrace, Dean calmly reached for the sports bag. Having poked around a little inside, he extracted into the light an unremarkable-looking black cube.
Slightly turning the device in his hands, Dean turned to Alex, with his gaze asking what to do next. Still trying to calm the enraged Aerith, Alex raised two fingers upward, indicating which exact toggle the vacuum bomb needed to be switched to. Turning the cube a little more, Dean felt a small connector and carefully shifted the switch until the number "2" lit up on the miniature display.
Having finished the setup, Dean again raised his gaze to Alex and clarifyingly asked: maybe it was worth setting it immediately to the number "3" for reliability? Hearing this proposal, Alex expressively rolled his eyes, reminding that at the third mode the entire First Sector of the Upper Plate would in the blink of an eye turn into a compressed metal ball together with everyone who lived there.
Hearing Alex's sarcastic reminder, Dean only carelessly shrugged and with a careless movement tossed the black cube over his shoulder. The device whistled backward, falling onto the platform at the very base of the reactor.
"Now everything is definitely done! Grab your 'hamster' — and let's climb to the surface… And remind me where we are supposed to meet the others?" Dean asked in a carefree tone, fastening the sports bag and turning to Alex.
"At the tunnel leading to the Eighth Sector… They're just heading there," Alex replied, turning the phone screen toward him where a picture from the cameras was broadcasting: Barret, Claudia, and the trio from Avalanche were just amicably rising upward in the elevator cabin.
Nodding, Dean adjusted the sports bag on his shoulder and, without waiting for Alex and Aerith, calmly pushed off from the platform and soared upward. Deftly jumping along the metal railings, in a matter of seconds he reached the very top of the huge Mako reactor premises.
Finding himself at the exit, Dean looked down and waved to them. Picking Aerith up in his arms, who immediately trustingly wrapped her arms around his neck, Alex jumped and in the same way began pushing off from the railings until they found themselves on the upper tier — right in the corridor leading from the hall. Before leaving, Alex once more cast a gaze over the huge space to make sure: the Gray Whispers would not throw surprises at the very last moment.
The surrounding premises were absolutely clean of their presence. Alex was sincerely interested in why this time only a few ghosts that controlled the robot had appeared instead of pouring in a huge cloud. However, having hesitated a little, he decided for now not to clutter his head with this and hurried after Dean to the elevator, still holding Aerith in his arms.
When they reached the elevator hall, the cabin doors just smoothly parted. Entering inside, Alex carefully set Aerith on the floor and pressed the button of the needed floor — he intended to anger the top of Shinra even more by proudly exiting through the main entrance. Seeing the chosen route, Dean smirked, fully appreciating the daring plan. Aerith, on the other hand, slightly shook her head from side to side, being in deep thoughts.
"This is strange…" Aerith muttered, placing a little finger to her lips and slightly tilting her head to the side.
"What exactly?" Alex inquired, turning to her and noticing her condition.
"These Gray Whispers… they never appeared massively. If you don't count those two that controlled the robot. This is really very strange," Aerith replied in a quiet tone, still trying to unravel the reason for their passivity.
"Maybe they think that everything is going according to their scenario anyway? Besides, after we chopped them up in the church, and Alex even took down that huge one, they clearly have less desire to mess with us," Dean responded lazily, throwing his arms behind his head.
"Hmmm… Maybe you're right! Well, fine, they got what they deserved. The main thing is that they don't spoil anything more!" Aerith said with a cheerful smile, cheerfully shaking her head.
Looking at the joyful Aerith, Alex still could not get rid of the obsessive feeling that he had significantly screwed up by finishing off that huge Gray Whisper. Shaking his head, he lit another cigarette — right in the elevator cabin, regardless of the closed space. However, Alex perfectly understood: his brain accustomed to paranoia would in any case help get out of any mess that awaited them ahead. Well, for now he simply intended to enjoy a unique spectacle — how an entire factory would be compressed into a perfect metal ball.
When the elevator reached the upper tier, Alex, Aerith, and Dean exited into the hall and headed toward the main gates to leave the territory. On the approach to the exit Alex took out the phone and launched the protocol for opening the leaves. But the moment the gates only slightly opened, from that side blinding rays of searchlights struck into the gap. Quickly figuring out what was what, Alex instantly locked the mechanism and pulled Aerith aside, taking cover behind the massive steel door.
Connecting to the external surveillance cameras, he immediately saw the picture outside: the main entrance was tightly encircled by armored vehicles and numerous detachments of Shinra Grunts. And in the front ranks with a signature, icy expression on his face stood Tseng himself. Pursing his lips, Alex turned the phone screen toward Dean and Aerith so they could assess the scale of the ambush.
Seeing that they had been taken into a tight ring, Dean expressively slammed his fist into his palm, without words proposing to break through with a fight. Alex shook his head negatively and began explaining to Dean on his fingers that this was a gorgeous reason to throw yet another effective show. Aerith with slight bewilderment shifted her gaze from one to the other, trying to unravel their silent language of gestures.
"Come out with your hands raised! You are surrounded! In case of voluntary surrender Shinra guarantees you humane treatment — by no means the kind that terrorists who illegally penetrated a guarded object deserve!" Tseng's loud, measured voice sounded from the other side of the steel leaves.
Hearing this cold, arrogant voice, Alex, Aerith, and Dean simultaneously rolled their eyes. To avoid once more showing their faces before the encirclement, they quickly pulled their plush masks onto their heads. Adjusting the Bear head, Alex was the first to step beyond the gates with raised hands, squeezing the phone in one of his palms.
After him Dean and Aerith exited, also proudly demonstrating empty palms. While they unhurriedly approached, the Grunts headed by Tseng tensely followed every step of the exiting trio. At that moment inside Tseng a persistent, sticky suspicion was growing: why would this gang that had just arranged a show for all of Midgar surrender so easily?
Not taking his eyes off them, Tseng raised his hand, with a gesture ordering his subordinates not even to think of shooting. He had a direct order from above — to capture these two and the girl alive and immediately deliver them to Sector Zero. Stopping ten meters from the encirclement and the armored vehicles, Alex looked at Tseng and widely smiled under his plush mask.
"Before we finally surrender… I have only one question for you!" Alex shouted loudly so that everyone present would hear him.
"Since you are ready to surrender voluntarily, I am ready to listen to you," Tseng said in a calm tone, stepping forward and stopping literally a couple of meters from the trio.
"Has anyone of you… ever in your life seen how an entire factory simply TAKES AND EVAPORATES?!" Alex shouted with a wide, mad smirk and with feeling pressed his finger into the screen of his smartphone.
As soon as these words sounded, Tseng's inner sense screamed at the top of its voice. In that same instant an incomparable, deafening rumble rang out that literally forced everyone to press to the ground. Raising his gaze, the head of the Turks widened his eyes from wild shock: the huge pipe and the entire multi-ton complex of the plant began compressing and being sucked into themselves, as if the huge construction was being drawn into an all-devouring whirlpool!
The guardsmen in amazement observed this terrible, unnatural spectacle. After literally a couple of seconds the colossal reactor simply disappeared without a trace — and together with it in the First Sector all the light instantly went out. And while Tseng and his people were in complete stupor from what they had seen, Dean took from the sports bag a whole bunch of flashbang grenades and carelessly threw it right under the feet of the main pursuer.
In that same second the entire surroundings were flooded with a blinding flash from which none of the Shinra operatives simply managed to cover themselves. Feeling a hellish ringing in the ears and sharp pain in the eyes, Tseng tried with all his strength to blink in order to make out at least something. The only thing he managed to catch was a blurred silhouette to which he desperately stretched out his hand.
But instead of catching the violator Tseng felt a piercing, wild pain in the most sensitive lower part of his body! Having wholeheartedly delivered a juicy blow to the balls to Tseng, Aerith immediately jumped to Alex, ready for the escape. While the encirclement was completely disoriented, Alex pulled to himself with threads that very compressed metal ball the size of a soccer ball — the only thing that remained of the entire plant — and picked the girl up in his arms.
Dean, on the other hand, rushed forward like a hurricane, with ease knocking over the heavy carcasses of the armored vehicles on his path. The last thing Tseng managed to hear through the burning pain in the groin and the continuous ringing in the ears was a loud, triumphant, and mad laughter fading somewhere in the depths of the streets that had plunged into darkness.
To be continued...
(And so the first Mako Reactor disappeared. And Aerith dealt another crushing blow to the villain. And the heroes, as befits such situations, left the stage. Hehehe. But I still laughed at Dean as Kung Fu Panda. It was funny. Well, after that, we can move on with the story. After all, the plot moves along, as do we. Hooray. Now we just have to figure out what to do at the next reactor. Hmmm. Who knows, that's a secret for now. I'll go eat and play MWZ. Peace, love, and SKADOOSH!)
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