Crimson Demons (FF7)

31) Nibelheim

ACTUALLY IN A MEGA WRITING MOOD TODAY! I THINK IT MAY HAVE TO DO WITH A SUPER SPECIAL SOMEONE APPEARING IN A FEW CHAPPIES ;)

It's all I can do not to gag when we drop into the sewer, years of stagnant waste and water causing the absolutely horrifying stench we're enveloped in at the moment. Violet, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care if her disgust shows or not. We're up to our stomachs (or in her case, ribs) in human waste, rotting... things, and stagnant water. Her hydrophobia kicks in suddenly and she gasps sharply, gripping my arm tightly.

How adorable. She actually trusts you.

Be quiet. I cannot hear when you are speaking.

Really? I'm not vocalizing my words through your mouth like your mother did to the girl.

...That was different.

Is it?

I like to think so.

The moment Chaos silences himself, four giant turtle-like creatures dropping down from the ceilings. "Looks like we're not the only ones here," I mutter, pulling Cerberus loose and shooting three down, Violet stiffly killing the last with an arrow. We make it to the next tunnel before we're attacked by more of these monsters; I believe they're some kind of Sahagins. Both of us come out unscathed and continue swishing through the disgusting liquid until we come to a room with a pool of sorts, where, of course, we have to kill more Sahagins.

Green blood sprays in all directions with each bullet that hits its target, even more pouring into the rancid mixture below from every slash of Shadow's ebony rapier. It smells a bit like Barret... A little further on, we manage to escape the water via ladder, which leads to a ledge of concrete that's only a few yards away. Violet shudders and I allow myself the luxury of rolling my eyes at her fear. Seconds later, we're swishing back through water.

"I am so taking a shower after this; I don't care how much water it takes. Swimming in human feces is not fun," she huffs with a shiver.

"For once, I agree with you," I reply flatly, keeping a sharp eye out for any enemies. Just don't think about it. I would rather not share quite a bit of our trek through this part, as there are many rather... disturbing tales to be told. For example, Violet slipping on an unknown substance she's praying is not feces. Skipping ahead a bit, we come to a ladder and climb up slowly and carefully, trying to be as quite as possible. I go up first in case she should slip, which is a likely occurrence and therefore a mandatory precaution. I shoot down a Deepground soldier before taking hold of Violet's hand and pulling her lithe body up to the next level beside me. Upon me pulling her up (and coincidentally, close to me), she looks up at me with the sliest of smiles, giving the arm she's holding onto a gentle squeeze before stepping around me, placing her hands on her hips, and cocking her head to the side. Gods, that ridiculous smile...

"Are we gonna get going, Vince?"

"... Vincent," I correct lowly, walking past her.

We fight our way through more Deepground troops, dozens of them appearing at a time. Reeve said there were a few troops. This feels like it could be nearly all of Deepground's mediocre soldiers. We hurry into the elevator we've spotted ahead, bullets spraying in all directions behind us. The lift opens and we climb inside. Almost immediately, the doors snap shut and we feel it taking us up. When it stops, we impatiently wait for the doors to open before stepping out into the all-too-quiet room. We step onto an empty bridge that crosses over another ocean of sewer water hundreds of feet below. The perfect place for an ambush. The door that leads out the other side of the bridge slams shut. Violet huffs.