Life Finds a Way

Chapter 49

Their trip to Wutai consisted of a lot of time in helicopters, and a couple of days on a ship to cross to the second continent. When they finally made it to Wutai, they had to be dropped far enough away to not give away their position. With that being the case, it was a two-day hike to get to their objective. Genesis stopped them early on the second day with instructions to get as much rest as possible. They would approach the Fort once darkness fell. He had already gone over the strategy with them while they were crossing the ocean, so they each knew their jobs.

Genesis planned on providing a distraction at the front gate while Clarissa led the rest of the team to climb the walls and take out as many enemy operatives as possible. They would meet up inside at a designated spot near the middle of the compound and from there, subdue any remaining resistance. Once that was accomplished they would sweep the Fort to make sure nothing pertinent was missed. It sounded easy enough, but Clarissa was of the school that believed nothing was ever easy. She felt if she expected problems it would keep panic down when they actually came up.

Once night fell, they made their way to the Fort. Clarissa led her team around the back, trying to avoid the guards that were patrolling. She had tried not to worry as Genesis headed the other way. She knew she needed to focus now. Her distraction could get people killed. Once she was sufficiently sobered she turned to her team with a whisper. "Stick together as much as possible. Try not to make any noise. We want to avoid detection at least until we rendezvous. That means taking care of any enemy forces quickly and quietly." They each gave her a nod.

She turned and waited for the guard to pass by once more before leading the team to grapple over the back wall. They encountered several groups of soldiers, but they were able to take them down without an alarm being raised yet. Clarissa forced herself to think about the lives of her comrades as she turned away from the bodies of the ones unlucky enough to cross their path. She knew she would have to face the fact that she was now a killer, but she couldn't afford to think about it at the moment. Staying alive, and keeping her team alive, was more important.

To Clarissa's surprise they made it to the small temple looking building in the center of the compound with relative ease. It made her nervous. The whole place was too quiet. She could feel her skin prickle as they continued to wait for Genesis without him appearing. She couldn't decide if she was more worried about him being injured or him leaving them on their own. All her extraneous thoughts were wiped away when she heard the rumble coming from the small building behind them.

She had forgotten that this building had a pair of guardians. She was reminded in a rush as the two humongous forms lumbered out with their weapons raised. Her instincts kicked in and she was up in a heartbeat and yelling out orders. She looked to Rodney first. "You four, take the one on the right. The rest of you, with me!"

Even with several people attacking them all at once, it was not easy to take them down. It wasn't so much that they were being overpowered, but the enemy kept getting back up. When they were both finally down and didn't get back up again, Clarissa took a moment to look over her team. The worst of the damage was that they looked tired. If that was the worst of their issues, then she would count them lucky.

That thought didn't last long as the doors to the courtyard they were in shuddered under a heavy strike. They all dropped into position again as the door finally gave under another strike. The courtyard filled with warriors as soon as the doors collapsed inward. They were ridiculously outnumbered, but Clarissa knew she couldn't give up. More than her life was on the line. She saw the faces of those in front turn from surprise to grins. Her last thoughts before they descended on them was, 'let them underestimate me!'

She didn't have time for coherent thought after that. She moved on the instincts that had been honed by Genesis and Sephiroth over the last six months. She didn't even have time to worry about the lives she was taking as she tried to both keep their enemy at bay and keep her team alive.