[thread] Let's go rescue Shelke!

[tinymakoaddict.livejournal.com]

Characters: Shelke, Cloud, Tifa, Celes, Red XIII....if anyone else wants to be involved, you can! Just...say you came along.
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: rescuing Shelke from the Bowls of Midgar!
Location: Ruins of Midgar
Date: November 23rd, 1803
Warnings: A bit of injury?

It had been about four days since Shelke found herself in the dark, cold emptiness that was the ruins of the Deepground tunnels. She'd woken up laying in front of what was left of Reactor Zero, the primary reactor for Deepground itself and the place where Weiss had ruled them from during his...lapse in life. It was a mess now, and she would've assumed it was just from the damage between Vincent's battle with him and then Omega bursting out of the room, but...everything seemed so old. The damage wasn't from fighting, it was from age...which made no sense.

Luckily her suits mako supply was at full, so she'd been able to use one of her blades as a flash light to explore the area around the reactor. She knew that Vincent had killed many, many Deepground soldiers, but there weren't any bodies, only a few bleached bones. Whatever was going on here, it wasn't just that she'd somehow wound up back in Deepground.

So with a bit of searching she'd managed to get a mako-battery she'd found working long enough to activate a nearby terminal and talk to the people outside. Tifa and Cloud and Naniki were all out there, though what they said didn't make much sense. Another world? It was...nonsensical. But she had to believe them, at least for now. But that had been days ago, and she hadn't managed to get the machine working again. In fact, other than a bit of water, she'd found nothing that would help her survive down here. But getting out was a problem. All the Mako-batteries in Midgar couldn't power the grand elevator that stretched between the Shinra building and Deepground itself. And even if there was some theortical 'find this many and the elevator will go!', well, she was almost certain she couldn't find that many. Finding just the one had been a huge pain.

But her careful checking of the tower that connected Deepground with the Shinra building had found that there wasn't any other way. The stairs were long gone, and the access ladder had broken into hundreds of little pieces...Which meant it was time to climb.

The elevator shaft was huge, and climbing it would've been foolish. Luckily, next to the massive round area there was a smaller elevator, an old access one that was designed for bringing down individuals, and that none of the Deepground soldiers had been able to access while Shinra was still running the show. The doors to it were open now, revealing a uselessly empty elevator. Shelke hauled herself up through the ceiling vent and into the small shaft itself. It was maybe five feet across, and made up mostly of metal girders with spaces between them. It was going to be rough, but she could climb it.

Using her sword as a flashlight, the going was slow, but she began making her way up the shaft, one rung at a time. Her training was rather useful, since she was agile enough to leap from one to the next and deft enough to grab what she needed to, so that things didn't seem quite as awful as she climbed. In fact, she made it almost two thirds of the way up (over the course of most of a day) before something went wrong.

A leap onto what looked like a secure piece of metal that broke away the second her weight touched it, followed by a desperate grab for another nearby that missed by a hair before she went tumbling down, bouncing hard off another ledge and then landing on her stomach maybe twenty meters below where she had fallen. The lucky part was that her weight on both sides of the metal bar meant she didn't slip off...the bad part was hitting it that hard meant she was completely unconscious, just...dangling there like a broken doll...

Comments

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

With the knowledge that Kefka was out there on his way to desecrate yet another town, and one she knew quite well, Celes wasn't in the mood to sit around and wait. That was the main reason she'd put up the call on the Sky Phone network. That and to hopefully get a little more support and help, but that hadn't gone over so well. Locke had gone off to stop Kefka, which she couldn't blame him for, but she really had wished he'd come with her.

Still, she was a general, and warriors didn't show their feelings, especially selfish ones like that. Other people were in trouble, too, and if not for her promise to help this one... she would have bailed as well. She knew Kefka. She didn't know anyone in this mission.

But none of that mattered right now. What mattered was what they were trying to do: rescue a girl in the ruins. Stepping out, Celes examined the city, or what little was left of it. It was huge, bigger even than Vector had been, and appeared to have much more to it than she'd originally expected. Somehow, she'd hoped it would be more straightforward than this, but that was her foolhardy side getting in the way. She knew better than anyone that life didn't give away little favors like that and it was stupid to hope for such a thing.

For this endeavor, she'd brought out the big guns. While her magic was limited here, some of it gone completely, she'd managed to keep some fairly useful ones. Frustratingly enough, the one spell that would be most useful for this was one she'd lost. She could no longer Teleport, but she still had the ability to use Vanish and that would help their escape.

Securing her armor to her arms, relics to her waist and wrists, and both swords to her hips, she glanced around. "You know where she is better than I do. I can play rearguard and if need be, I will step in to fight should you encounter trouble ahead. Once we've found your friend, I can make each of us invisible and speed us all up considerably, so our escape from the ruins shouldn't be a problem." She adjusted her gloves once more as she looked to Tifa. "How do we get to her?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"I think there won't be many battles, but we can't be too careful," Cloud cut in, his sword in his hand as he walked at Tifa's side, his other hand curled around hers. It was like a safety mechanism these days. He was worried about Shelke, so he held Tifa's hand just to feel her there. She was the safest thing in the whole world to Cloud. Especially when things were low.

Looking around, Cloud frowned slightly. Wearing his sunglasses would've been downright stupid in the perpetual night of Treno and Midgar, which made him feel quite exposed. "She's near Reactor Zero, which means Deepground." Cloud hadn't explained all of this to Tifa yet.

"Deepground is an organisation that is literally underneath Midgar. I just... don't know where we get in. A friend of Tifa's and mine, Vincent Valentine, he was the one who dealt with Deepground." Which meant Vincent would know where Shelke was and how to get to her but that was just speculation. Vincent wasn't here and couldn't help, thus it was left to them to figure out how to save Shelke.

[flameguardian.livejournal.com]

Carefully picking his way through the ruins, Red XIII walked beside them, his twitching tail the only outward sign of how worried he was. He'd lost it a bit, when Shelke had originally contacted them, but the red creature's usual composure was back. The overgrown city was strange, but at the same time, nature's presence in Midgar was comforting -- weird, but comforting. The flame on his tail flickered as they walked, casting shadows against crumbling walls and crawling vines. He was nervous, not about what they might face, but about what Shelke might have to face. They had become quite close in the aftermath of everything with Deepground and Chaos, and now she was here but in trouble. He didn't like it.

"There should be a way in through the old Shinra building. If we can get close, I might be able to smell her." He had better senses than humans, after all, and in a place that few humans had been in for extended periods of time lately, Shelke and her unique (even for a human) scent should be easy to recognize... at least, it would be if he could pick up on it.

Glancing at the weapons, however, Nanaki frowned slightly. "It's Shinra, Cloud. Who knows what old machines or experiments were left behind to dwell in the dark. Vincent spoke of Gargoyles as well as members of Deepground down here. If we're lucky, there aren't many mines left. It's incredibly unlikely that the moogles have made it down there, however, so if any survived on the Planet while Midgar decayed, they are likely still there." Still there are waiting for them to stumble across, and it looked like they were all fairly close-range fighters. Great. He didn't know anything about Celes's abilities or if Cloud and Tifa were able to use any magic here, and while he could use Fire simply because of what he was, anything too far away could get nasty. Shelke... well, he knew what she could do, and that wasn't exactly comforting. They would have to be quick.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Shinra and their nasty secrets," Tifa muttered. "Whatever they've got down there, we'll take care of it."

She had her gloves on, at full alert as she walked towards Shinra HQ. It was always night in Midgar, but it seemed they would be going somewhere even darker.

"Anyone have a flashlight?" she asked. "If not... Red, can you guide us?"

[flameguardian.livejournal.com]

Not waiting for an answer to the flashlight question, the guardian moved to the front. "It's probably best if I take the front either way. I'm more sensitive to subtle shifts that could indicate that the floor is about to open up, and I wouldn't be much use in the middle of the group if something were to attack us."

It was possibly a little presumptive, or even insulting, but Nanaki was quite worried about Shelke. If the others had to take the time to organize, he was (rather irrationally) prepared to go ahead without them and wait for them to catch up.

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Celes glanced over at each person in turn as they spoke, taking in the information that was given to her. This was all very complicated as far as she was concerned, but it wasn't the worst of the bunch and likely wouldn't be the last difficult thing she'd need to so.

She was about to ask what place had once been important to them, a place they could infiltrate to look for a path down to whatever that reactor thing they were talking about was. A mental note was made to ask them what the heck all of these terms they kept throwing at her meant, but now was not the time for those sorts of questions. Now, they needed to focus on getting down to Shelke and getting her out.

Celes shook her head at Tifa's question. "My magic doesn't work like that," she answered simply, silently cursing the fact that she still didn't have access to her entire spell list here. It was as if the essence of the Espers was gone, but if that were true, then she wouldn't have any magic at all and she still had some. It just wasn't nearly enough.

"Sounds like none of us know exactly where she is, just the general location," Celes mused, voice tinged with a slight amount of aggravation. She'd take the lead once they figured out where to start down, as no one else seemed willing right now, and be able to lead them through more or less. Whoever this Vincent person was, if he knew "Deepground" and "Shinra," they could really use his help.

"Shinra building and then downward, if there's a path. Going by what you've all said, I would assume she's down in the depths somewhere, especially if the moogles haven't gotten to her. So, any path downwards will be the best option."

She nodded once to Red and fell in place behind him, letting him lead her to the building in question.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa followed too, letting go of Cloud's hand for a moment to catch up with Celes.

"Celes," she began. "Thank you. You didn't have to do this... I mean, you don't know Shelke."

Tifa didn't either, but she felt that she should. One day she'd know Shelke.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud listened to all the conversations around him, but said nothing at first. Red was right to go in front, and he really didn't feel like getting involved in the back and forth between Celes and Tifa.

Keeping his sword at his side, Cloud knew there could be fights but, hopefully, there wouldn't be any because the moogles didn't seem the type of being to want to be in a dangerous place.

"Do you know how to get into Deepground, Red?"

[flameguardian.livejournal.com]

"I have a general idea. Before whatever brought us here happened, Shelke and I spoke of many things. Vincent and I did too." Their best bet was to the elevator shaft, though finding the correct elevator shaft could be a bit of a problem. Glancing behind him, the red guardian cleared his throat. "We'll be moving quickly. Shout if you need me to slow down." It wouldn't be too fast for him, but the other three only had two legs. That being said...

"If anyone has Haste magic, I would suggest using it." Pausing only for a moment, he took off, careful to monitor his speed. The Shinra building wasn't too far away, and this time they wouldn't need to go in through the sewers. Small miracles.

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Celes glanced to her side as Tifa caught up with her. The thanks being given was a little embarrassing, but she shook her head and shrugged it off with as much grace as she could manage.

"She's still a person in trouble. In a place like this, we need every ally we can get."

She wasn't about to say she understood a little of the panic the girl might be feeling, trapped down there. Despite her conversation with Tifa, the general was keeping one ear out for approaching enemies and one on the conversation between Cloud and Red. She took mental notes on their topic, keeping track of what might be their best bet to rescue Shelke.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa nodded, smiling at Celes. She'd discovered one thing about the Sky People here: most of them were courageous and friendly people. Most of them.

Then Red took off, forcing Tifa to break into a sprint. No Haste magic. Her legs would have to do. She ran, following the twisting light of Red's tail through the ruins, glancing back to check that the others were keeping up. Cloud would, of course, but she didn't know about Celes.

whoops /adds in Haste - totally meant to do that in my last tag fffff

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Celes was caught slightly off-guard as everyone began running. For whatever reason, she hadn't been paying attention to that. Sighing inside, she took the two seconds while she was running to cast Hastega, hitting herself, Cloud, and Tifa before she took off after Red, following the... light on the end of his tail. She'd have to ask about that later, as well.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

When Red took off, Cloud was a late second in their proverbial race to the Shinra building. He was faster than most, thanks to the mako coursing through his body, but there was no chance he could be as fast as their four-legged friend without an added boost.

When Celes' Haste magic hit him, Cloud was slightly startled at first, yet it was shown only by his eyes widening. With the added speed, Cloud was almost at level pegging with Red, the only thing slowing him down being the sword in his hand.

[flameguardian.livejournal.com]

Cloud keeping close was to be expected, and Nanaki had actually been counting on it -- the blond man would make sure the others weren't left behind. Taking a few sharp turns and shortcuts through ruined buildings, the red guardian was able to get to the Shinra building quickly (and without startling too many passing moogles). Jumping up onto what appeared to be an old car just outside the building, Red XIII looked back to make sure the others were there before turning back toward the building.

"Strange, how it always comes back to this place." Hopping down, he began to pick his way over the rubble to the doors, tail flaring brightly as he stepped into the shadows of the ground floor. "Stick close; there's rubble everywhere, and likely holes as well. Wouldn't want you all falling into Deepground." If he was correct, the elevator shaft would be close by.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa slowed down as they stepped into the building, carefully negotiating the ruined floor. She agreed with Red's sentiment, though she hadn't explored the Shinra building yet. This was supposed to be the moogles' headquarters. But looking at this dank ground floor, Tifa thought it likely that the moogles had chosen to make their centre of operations higher up.

She hoped they didn't mind the intrusion.

Stepping aside to avoid a fallen girder, Tifa nearly walked into the elevator shaft. She stopped just in time, her heart beating fast.

"I think I found it..."

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Celes wasn't slow by any means, but the others seemed able to keep up with Red as well as she, which was just fine by her. She sped through the streets, not taking the time to look around any more than she needed to be sure she wouldn't trip over something.

Once Red slowed down, Celes did as well, keeping a close eye on what was going on around her. She had no idea what she was looking for, as this city looked nothing like Vector. But then Red and Tifa stopped, causing Celes to dart to the side to avoid them.

She glanced over at Tifa, still feeling the effects of the Haste spell coursing through her veins. Waiting for someone to decide to lead the way down, thinking Red would, she let off a couple of Protect spells to the party. Just in case.

[tinymakoaddict.livejournal.com]

The elevator shaft was nestled into the rear side of the ruined monstrosity that was the Shinra building, and it looked like at one point it might have been hidden by a small building, though only a single wall from that building still remained, and it was bent away from the hole in the almost badly enough to stand on.

Looking in, the shaft goes for about twenty five feet before it hits a large round room. The passage continues down, but there's two shafts here. The small one, and another much, much larger that was probably used for moving large-scale equipment, something on the scale of a helicopter or tank. But neither one has any visible cars.

Below this, the shaft is made up of thick metal girders laced together in a spiderweb formation. It was probably a strong, reliable, long-lasting design five hundred years ago, but now some of the girders seem to be missing, and they're all coated in rust and show obvious signs of wear. There doesn't seem to be another floor between here and the bottom of Deepground, it's just the one long drop to the bottom.

For Red's fancy nose, Shelke definitely seems to be down that worn out, rusted shaft a ways.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud grasped Tifa's arm, pulling her away from the shaft. The last thing they needed was Tifa falling and getting hurt, or worse. "It comes back here because Shinra is the root of everything sick on The Planet." Perhaps he was bitter but Cloud was certain of that fact.

Kneeling down whilst Tifa stepped aside, Cloud leaned over to get a good look. Thanks to the mako in him, his eyesight was probably the sharpest of all of them. Still, in the darkness, he could hardly make out anything other than the faintest glow of blue from an obvious source of mako.

"I think I see her mako suit..." he murmured, frowning a little. "Do you smell her, Red?" Of course, if Nanaki was seeking the scent of living mako, he'd be highly conflicted with Cloud's scent.

Giving Tifa a look and receiving a nod, Cloud shifted to begin his descent into the elevator shaft. "You guys should stay up topside, to pull her up when I get her." Cloud didn't need a stream of people above him when he was trying to climb and carry, least of all Tifa's backside in his face.

[flameguardian.livejournal.com]

Prowling close to the shaft, Nanaki shivered slightly as Celes's Protect spell washed over him, nodding to her in gratitude. As Cloud peered down into the darkness, he stepped closer, tail twitching. It mostly smelled like moogle and decay, but there was something more, just beyond.

The smell of mako from Cloud was similar to Shelke's, but both of them had their own individual scents as well. Shelke's was there, but it was faint, and it wasn't the only thing he was smelling as he stood right next to the elevator shaft, either. "Yes, but..."

And Cloud was going down. Of course. "She's down quite a bit, Cloud, and I don't think she's alone. I mentioned gargoyles, and they either died out recently or they're still nesting down there." Looking back at Tifa and Celes, he shook his head slightly. "If he's carrying her, and there is something down there, he's not going to be able to fight." They couldn't risk needing to rescue Cloud and Shelke, and Nanaki wouldn't get in the way as much as the other two would, or be very useful when it came to pulling them up. No, Red was going too, whether Cloud liked it or not.

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Celes was not amused at being told to stay above. Not at all. However, Cloud's small argument had a point and so, she gave a curt nod in reply, though her expression would tell him just what she thought of this plan. Red's descent would receive another such expression, but Celes turned quickly to watch the area around them just to be sure nothing volatile lived up here.

"Make it quick," she told the boys over her shoulder, voice tight. "If you happen to need magical assistance, I still have a few up my sleeve."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Clou gave Celes a slight, thankful smile in return for her curt nod, yet he didn't even bother to give her any hard words in reply. He knew how awkward things could turn with that sort of attitude, thus he continued his descent into the elevator shaft, watching both his way down and the four-legged being following him down.

"If there are Gargoyles down there, we'll have to go quick. Don't worry, Red. She's okay. I know it." It was strange that he seemed so sure, but if anything, he needed to reassure himself by using such words. She was, after all, important to him. As much as Marlene and Denzel.