Step into the End 1/2
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Hope had never liked trains.
All right, so that might have been an exaggeration, saying never. There might have been a time in his childhood when he didn't really have an opinion of them, or maybe even liked them. But it wasn't a time he could remember, and the memories would have been written over by the negative feeling when he boarded the Purge train at fourteen.
After that, the idea of trains seem to have lost its appeal.
Still, he didn't allow his dislike of them to makes trips more complicated. They were the easiest method of quick transportation, and that meant boarding them on a semi-regular basis if he wanted to get places. It was the same for everyone.
That meant it was one of the easiest targets to the newly formed religious cults, those that 'served the God Bhunivelze' (and Hope had never regretted sharing the mythos to the general populace more), and the train was halfway across a desert before the first zealot entered the car with guns in the air, both arms up as if receiving a blessing even as the people in the car started screaming at the sight of the guns.
"Rejoice!" The voice was distorted, not only by the mask but a mechanical synthesizer, and difficult to hear over the panicked screams. "For today you have all been blessed!"
"Get down," Noel hissed right before he shoved Hope lower to the ground (since the scientist had, in contrary to everyone else's actions, sat straighter in order to see what was going on). Reluctantly accustomed to the manhandling by now, Hope paid the hunter little mind as his eyes followed the line of figures entering the train car, all dressed heavily in religious robes and carrying weapons.
He had heard about them — everyone had, but it was the first time Hope had seen them in person rather than descriptions through the holovids. News reports had claimed that all electronic devices were scrambled once the cult members were in range, and fingering the phone he had in his pocket, Hope didn't doubt that.
The screams grew louder as the lead zealot let loose a hail of bullets into the ceiling of the car, but the shrill sounds died down quickly the moment he stopped, leaving only soft whimpers and the muffled sounds of children crying.
"That's better," the zealot said, satisfaction laced through his words despite the vocal modifier. He lowered his guns, although it made little difference in the threat level seeing as as the others behind him had their weapons posed and ready to shoot. "Now I know everyone here is currently very scared. But we are only here to deliver a message, and I promise that by the end of it, you will come to understand what we are doing and start to see things our way."
A message? Hope sincerely doubted that, although he made no effort to raise and say that considering the warm hand on his back, making sure he stayed down.
"Brothers and sisters!" The zealot announced. "Today, we have all been blessed. For today, you will come to understand the cycle of our world, and just how desperately it needs to heal. You will learn what you must to in order to rid Nova Chrysalia of this chaos, and to return things to what it once was."
The man extended a hand toward a young child, who was quickly snatched into her frightened mother's arms. Undaunted, the man crouched down to their level to speak to them. "How cruel it must be… to be trapped in such a small form for such a long time. Hundreds of years, we have been here. Hundreds of years, we have suffered under stagnation and the heavy burden of knowing that any attempts we make to grow old and die are futile! We have watched our children rage and grieve for their lost futures; we have seen loved ones grow deranged.
"This chaos — this… unending blight of our agony, is something that cannot be seen. Can not be combated. It has been festering in our souls, resting within the depths of our ennui. And it has been growing. For hundreds of years, it has been feeding on our desolation, on fears and worries and regrets. You say to yourselves now that whatever you have yet to do — what ever it is you wanted to do… you will have time to complete it later.
"And tell me: is this not why 'later' never comes? Those loved ones you would talk to 'later', that time you meant to spend with those closest to you; it all comes 'later'. It comes to a point where there is no future." He spat the word out, like it was disgusting to him, and stood back up to tower over the mass of people huddled down low, listening raptly to his words on the edge of fear and awe.
"There comes a point." His tone softened, the disjointed artificial modulation sounding almost sweet as he paused in his speech to glance around the train car at each and every person, hands now by his sides and without the weapons. Hope hadn't noticed him putting them away or anyone taking them from him. "There comes a point where you must have wondered why we are alive. Why do we still exist — why are we so unchanged no matter what we do, and why do we continue on doing the same things over and over again? There must be a point to this! A method to the madness. Why do we suffer day by day, watching as the sun comes up and waiting until it sets, to do over again?" He raised a hand to his heart, voice thunderous at the last question as if demanding an answer from a higher deity.
His mask turned downward to look at the frightened child, timbre softening. "Do you not want to grow up? To thrive in a world that changes?" He reached out a hand to her again. "To live and love as you must have read in storybooks?"
The car was deathly silent.
"If this is the case," the man concluded. "Then I implore you… listen to me."
For a moment, it seemed as if the man's words had impacted everyone in the train car. For a moment, there was nothing but silence and the whistling of air as the train continued on toward its destination.
"…You're crazy." The child finally spoke up, sounding terrified as she shrank into her mother's grasp and away from the masked man. "You're the crazy people from the news. You can't help me grow up. You kill people."
Once again, the zealot was undaunted. "A temporary death. You might even say a reprieve to take us back to where we came. For this world to be cured, it must be reborn. For it to be reborn, we must be reborn. As it is right now… it is currently not possible."
"You mean for us to die!" A hysterical voice called out from the back of the train car, prompting others to cry out in distress and agreement.
The masked figure waited several moments to let the hysteria rise again, before lifting a single hand and those that stood behind him raised their weapons.
"I assure you this is not so." He said smoothly. "I mean for you to listen to me and then make your own choice. We are here as messengers, and nothing more."
"Messengers preaching at gunpoint," Hope claimed under his breath, quietly enough that only Noel snorted in agreement. "That's an intense religion."
"Cake or death?" Noel joked, and Hope couldn't help the chuckle.
"Ten gil says that cake is poisoned anyway."
"Yeah?" Noel breathed out amidst the protests of people, and Hope wondered not for the first time just how his life had turned to the point where he was the type to make jokes in such a dangerous situation. "What if it turns out to be pie instead of cake?"
Hope blinked in confusion before he shifted to look up at Noel. "…What does that even mean?"
"What, I mean what if it's not cake they're offering—"
"You two."
They both froze as they realized that they must have been caught conversing, turning their gaze in unison to the masked man before them — not the man who had been speaking, but one of the many pointing a weapon at people in the train car, now scattered through the area to keep everyone in check. He didn't have a voice synthesizer like the previous speaker did, but instead sounded only muffled from the mask.
"The Voice would like to speak to you two."
The robed man gestured with his gun, and Hope could feel Noel tense up, unamused with being threatened as such. He took a moment to grab at the brunet's wrist tightly and ensure that there wouldn't be a fight where stray bullets could injured anyone. He had no doubt that the hunter could take the crew of masked men on easily, but accidents could always happen, and Hope wasn't going to allow anyone in the train car to come to harm if he could help it.
This was a good thing. It was better if they took the fight to who was responsible for this, anyway.
Slowly, Hope let go and raised his hands, certain he must have conveyed the message through that simple act alone. Over two hundred years of sticking close to each other meant that Hope was confident he knew how his friend was going to react in this situation.
"All right," Hope said slowly, evenly, as he spread his hands to show he wasn't a threat. He stood up slowly, hearing Noel do so as well, even if the hunter didn't raise his hands in surrender. He was probably too busy glaring at the ones with guns. "The Voice — was he the one speaking earlier?"
It was a safe assumption and a foregone conclusion on Hope's part already, but he wanted to test whether their hijackers were willing to reveal any information.
Instead, the mysterious man remained silent and stepped back to allow them out of the narrow row, his silence more telling than any response would have been.
Both Hope and Noel exchanged a look before stepping out, allowing the armed man to maneuver them into the front corner of the train where the original speaker was seated on the floor, looking calm and serene in the middle of the chaos.
"Ahh, thank you, brother." The speaker (Voice?) said as the three of them approached, looking up. "I see you've found our guests with no trouble."
"What do you what?" Noel spoke up abruptly. "Those people listened to you, so maybe you should get your guns out of their faces. That's what you wanted them to do, right? Listen?"
The speaker stood up slowly, one hand pushing against his knee as he rose, before gesturing to the car door. "Let's speak elsewhere, shall we? Then I may explain things clearer."
"Elsewhere." Hope echoed softly, and tilted his head. He had handled far too many terrorists and protesters throughout the years to feel threatened in this situation. "With more of your… brothers?"
"With none." The speaker said, much to Hope's surprise. "Let us say… the two of you are hard to forget, even after all these years."
That certain drew Hope's attention, and his eyes narrowed. They had been lucky before, with the new world around them, most of what happened prior to chaos was nothing but history, and while many did a double take at him, not but a handful could immediately tell who he was. And to know Noel as well…
It was troubling.
He followed the speaker into the next train car, the doors shutting smoothly behind him and Noel as he took in just how empty it was there. No robed men, no passengers… it was suspicious. More than suspicious, even. The speaker, however, didn't look at all discomforted, picking a row to sit in before he beckoned them over. Hope looked over to Noel to see the hunter's narrowed blue eyes seeking out all the exits already, probably calculating the many ways of not only taking out the robed zealots, but managing to do so without harming any of the passengers that got in the way. From the way things looked, it didn't look like theirs was the only car that had been hijacked.
"Director Estheim." The man finally spoke after several moments as both Hope and Noel chose to remain standing rather than sit where he had beckoned. "I must say, it is an honor to finally meet you. I have read all about you when I was growing up — such fascinating tales. You truly were a hero of the people, and for such a long time…"
His head shifted just slightly. "And Noel Kreiss. The time traveller. I can't say your tales of your adventures were as widely renowned as the Director's, but from what I could find… ahh. Having the two of you here is a dream come true."
"But you didn't come here for us." Hope observed.
"No," the speaker admitted, gloved fingers tapping against the arm of the chair he had claimed. "No one had any knowledge to where you had disappeared to the past few centuries. Either of you. Some started to believe that Noel Kreiss the time traveller was in fact an entirely fictional character, since there was no proof of his existence. I, however, held on to the belief you were real."
"Comforting," Noel intoned dryly. Hope spared a glance over and shook his head minutely, seeing just how tightly the hunter had clenched his fists.
"Seeing the two of you was a pleasant surprise." The Voice said, folding his hands together disarmingly, palms upward. "Might I ask where you were heading?"
The answer, Hope thought, should be obvious considering what train they were taking. But then again, the destination of the train was not their final destination. And the resting place where Fang, Vanille, and Mog were placed was top secret beyond the location of Academy personnel. Their existence, even location, had never been much of a secret. If Academy members had kept quiet about that, then there was no chance anyone outside of these who originally monitored the crystals to have revealed the resting locations of Fang and Vanille.
"You don't seem… eager to speak to me."
That was an understatement.
"You seem quite eager to speak with us." Hope said. "From my experience, men with guns pointed at innocents do not bring glad tidings."
"I did what I must. What is religion and belief in days like these? Unless I make a solid impression, who on this train would listen to what I have to say?"
"You choose the method of a religion forced upon others."
"Ahh." The man leaned forward, his submissive stance entirely wiped away as his form turned predatory. "This is where you would be wrong, Director. I am giving them a vision. Whether they believe it or not now, their minds will not stop recounting my words. They will question, they will doubt, but in the end… they will believe. For what is this slow passing of days if not a crucible to heat our lingering thoughts? I have told them nothing but the truth, and in time, they will come to realize that past the guns and the trauma."
"You've been reported to have murdered a great amount of innocents." Hope said, keeping his expression blank and ignoring that logic for now. He would get to that later. "Those you talk to don't realize what you want them to — they just die. I'd say that cuts your plans short."
"I believe you of all people would understand a greater plan, Director Estheim. Or… Hope. May I call you Hope?"
"No." He responded tersely. "You may not."
"Pity. I heard that was what you insisted all your colleagues call you by."
"Yet you are no colleague of mine. I don't believe I even know your name, while you know mine and my friend's."
"Yes…" The man drawled out. "Your friend. He is a quiet one."
"I've been learning to listen." Noel spoke up, crossing his arms. "So I can hear the bullsh—"
"Fraudulence." Hope interrupted quietly, leaning toward Noel to provide the word. He could feel Noel elbow him slightly at the interruption, obviously irritated that Hope was continually correcting his words (even if Hope had insisted he was adding to the hunter's vocabulary. In reality, it was more because he remembered the year Noel had insisted on learning all the cuss words and then had used it frequently and with relish, reminding Hope that the other really was still a teenager, even if he was far older than that by now).
"—fraudulence dropping from your words." The brunet continued as if Hope hadn't corrected him. The look he gave the scientist after was clearly unimpressed: you ruined my jibe!
Hope just shrugged in response.
"It is good to doubt." The man said, sounding almost smug. "Everyone must doubt before they believe."
"I'm afraid your message was too vague to be doubted." Hope quipped.
"Of rebirth, Director Estheim. My message was that of rebirth. This world needs to be reborn in order for chaos to be cleansed. But my words are not enough. The people do not listen to me as they once did to you. I possess not the skill in which to convey the necessity of what is to come."
Hope raised an eyebrow. He doubted that. The man had sparked a memory for him, of great leaders. His words were reminiscent of… The Guardian Corps leader, Cid Raines. Hope remembered the awe he had as a child when listening to that man speak — the controlled tone and the cadence of his words added to the belief in an impossible ideal… "From what I've heard, I'd say you're a skilled orator."
It was a skill he had never mastered. He fumbled over his thoughts, and often remembered too late what words to use, and what to say. What Hope did was only speak when he had to. Despite the praise he had received for his speeches, he almost never knew what to say. What could he do to make people listen to him?
He had told Noel once that the only thing he knew about speaking to others was to first ensure he knew how to listen. It was only by listening that he could understand their wavelength, their wording, and what they wanted to hear.
"Coming from you, that is a great compliment."
"But you speak in circles." Hope continued. "What I need to know is this: whether you are willing to let the people on this train go now that they've listened to your speech."
The Voice dipped his head, bringing up his hands palm up in a sign of respect. "I give you my word, there will be none harmed by my men so long as they are not attacked first."
Good. That was something Hope hadn't thought would be so easy to gain, even if he had no idea if he could trust this man's 'word'. "Like all the others you've 'let go'?"
"None were harmed by the followers of our creed. Surely you've paid more attention to what was said on the news? While they paint us in an unfavorable light, they have indeed stated truth on the caused of death, and I say now that it was not us nor our guns that exhumed them."
"No," Hope said slowly. "It was an explosion directly after your followers left."
Despite the mask, it wasn't hard to deduce the man's satisfaction.
"Indeed." He confirmed, and Noel tensed by Hope's side at the knowledge. An explosion meant something dangerous beside the guns… It meant a fuse or a bomb. "We would leave with a gift, although not what you are currently thinking. The explosion is not caused by us, but by one who refuses to doubt. Doubting, as I have stated, is an integral part of belief. You do not truly understand unless you question."
"So you would kill because there are people who don't conform to your expectations?" Noel's words were incredulous, and the hunter swiped an arm in front of himself as if swinging one of his swords, looking furious. "You want them to listen and believe you, you want them to doubt… Make up your mind already!"
"You'll soon come to understand." The Voice said, just as calm and collected as ever, with complete faith that of his words. "But as I can see that you're having trouble following along, I will speak plainly."
He stood up, and Hope registered in that moment just how tall the zealot was, towering over him and even several inches over Noel at his full height. He made for an intimidating figure in the mask and dark robes.
"Yes, there is a bomb on this train." He said plainly. "But the answer lies within my words, and those who listened will be spared the wrath of our God until the time comes when they fully comprehend His will."
"And then?" Hope questioned, voice low as he tried to remember all the words spoken during the Voice's speech. "What will happen to them then?"
"And then," the Voice said. "They will see the necessity in death before rebirth."
"So they either die now or die later?" Noel was furious. "That's the choice you're giving them?"
"All things die. All things end — that is the way of life. Without death, there is no true living. Without time, there is no real future."
"Nothing ends." Hope disagreed, tone sharp as he stepped forward, undaunted by the zealot's stature and shaking off Noel's silent warning not to. "Everything is a continuation beyond what anyone can see. The actions of one person influence the decisions of others in ways they can't comprehend. With us in a time where there is no birth, every life must be treasured. No one can be replaced, because there's no one to replace us. It's a saying that was true before chaos, but rings even bolder now."
Hope once again pushed away Noel's hand as the hunter tried to stop him from confronting the zealot.
"How can you justify death when we are all there is? This isn't like the days when each death was offset by new life; now, our numbers can only go down with nothing new to replace us. To promote that as a solution is an ideal that will end the world."
"The end of the world," The zealot responded. "Is exactly what I aim to propagate."
All of Hope's arguments at that moment felt stuck in his throat.
"You're insane." Noel bit out, stepping forward right into the zealot's space. Even without a weapon on him, the hunter had the stance of a fighter, and the confidence of someone with far too much experience in battle. "You want to end the world, and you wanted to talk with us? I've lost — everything, trying to make sure people survive. Did you expect me to listen to you plan to kill everyone and not expect me to stop you?"
Hope wasn't sure he either envied or thought the zealot stupid that the imposing man continued to keep his composure. Noel was right — they were the last people he should be talking to if he wanted to end the world.
"No," The man admitted. "I do not expect you to listen. But… I do expect that later, you will come to see things as I do, and even aid me on my cause."
At that, Hope stepped back and to the side in tandem with Noel's forward charge, the brunet armed with nothing but his own fists and skills to bring down the man who had so confidently admitted his plans. With how narrow the space in the train car was, Hope would only get in the way if he tried to help.
The robed man, however, was just as quick to respond and jump backward, shoes skidding back along the smooth floor of the train as he crouched into a defensive position.
"He's got pockets in the back!" Hope called out as Noel attacked again. "Two guns."
"Already on it!"
The zealot blocked with his forearms this time, stance ready to push Noel back except the hunter grabbed him by the forearms to use his forward momentum to flip over the man's head, curling up his legs to not hit the ceiling as he landed behind the enemy in a tight and controlled crouch, pulling out a hunting knife from within his pouch in one deft movement and swiping it across the back of the robes to spill the guns that had been hidden there since he had first shot at the roof before his speech.
The clattering of metal on the ground brought the Voice's attention behind him, and Hope saw Noel's eyes widen as the hunter brought the fist with his knife up to his face, blade pointed outward in surprise.
"As expected, it will take more than one meeting to clear the doubt in your faith." The Voice didn't sound very concerned about losing his guns, and brought his hands together two separate electronic devices which clicked the moment they touched and whirred to connect to each other, and Hope realized what it was the moment it connected and beeped to rely its completion.
"Gas! Get down!"
Just as the silver-haired man called out the warning, the container exploded to cover the room with mist, and Hope dropped down to the floor immediately and covered his nose and mouth with the crook of his left elbow, eyes stinging and burning, tearing up to obscure his vision as his exposed skin burned with bitter cold. He could only assume that Noel had acted just as fast, but the hunter had been standing much closer to than man than he had, and—
"Your reputation does not do you justice, Director. But I'm afraid the time of science and hope is long past."
There was the sound of metal striking through the air, and Hope flinched back despite his inability to see through the mist and his own stinging eyes.
"And the time of prayers and faith has begun. But I will leave a gift for former l'Cie who once saved humanity. Consider it a gesture of goodwill… and my paying court."
"—Like hell you will!"
Noel's voice was thick and raspy, and the following grunt and crash prompted Hope to stand on shaking legs, feeling as if control of his limbs was tenuous within the numbing mist. Another loud crash, and there was the strike of metal upon glass: once, twice, and finally the crack and suddenly the mist was gone and the air felt stolen from his lungs as the train car jerked violently, alarms immediately starting to shriek overhead as wind gushed into the car in an endless wave.
Hope stumbled and caught himself against a row of seats, gloves grasping to the edges as he looked up, wind blowing bangs into his eyes and obscuring his vision slightly as he took in the damage — one of the side windows had been broken, glass in large chunks and scattered in the wind. He saw just in time as Noel struck with his knife, pulling a long slash into the zealot's robes to reveal the gear he was wearing underneath.
Military grade armor much like he was used to see back in the days of PSICOM, weighing him down enough that he wasn't struggling as much to move as Noel was, fighting against the wind and speed of the train.
"Get back here." Noel growled, barely heard over the whistling of wind and the alarms. He had one arm defensively in front of his face partially to shield his eyes from the debris. "And let's settle this!"
"Later." The zealot promised. "As I will be seeing you again, Noel Kreiss."
With that said, the man twisted and pushed himself over the edge of the jagged glass, disappearing from sight even as Noel reached to grasp at the tail ends of his torn cloak, managing to grab a handful that ripped off easy thanks to torn seams.
"Damn it!" The hunter cursed, and Hope pushed himself away from the seats to grab at Noel's arm before the other could do anything rash.
"Don't!" The silver-haired man called out over the winds, shaking his head and holding on tightly. "We've still got a bomb to disarm!"
Not that he had ever disarmed a bomb before. The best chance they had was to find the thing and then throw it overboard where no one would be harmed. But his heart was hammering in his chest, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time, and his grip on Noel's arm remained tight despite knowing now that the hunter wouldn't do something stupid.
It took the two of them several minutes to struggle their way out of that compartment, mostly hindered by the electronic lock that had activated with the damage to minimize damage and protect passengers in other train cars. Hope had cursed about it being a ridiculous device because it meant the lock would be condemning those within one compartment to death when they could still possibly get out and survive without harming anyone else.
After slamming a hand against the contraption to open the door, they realized that they hadn't been the only one subjected to the automated alarm and lock, as there were quite a few panicked and screaming passengers on the other side where they had originated from trying to hold on to whatever they could, due to several large windows being broken on that side.
The hijackers were gone, leaving only terrified civilians and an extremely dangerous train compartment. But why would…?
He thought fast. While the damage to the compartment wasn't life threatening to the passengers, panicked people were dangerous.
"Everyone please remain calm and follow me. Leave anything you can't carry with you behind for right now and we'll get you to a safer compartment."
Noel's inquiring gaze burned into him, but Hope ignored that as he turned to address the brunet, "Do you remember how the last lock was broken? I need you to do that again on the other side of the car we were in."
There was another moment of curious staring before Noel nodded, and then moved swiftly back into the previous train car, "Yeah. I got it."
Hope turned his attention to the passengers again, smiling at the woman sitting in front with her little girl, all too aware that he was standing too closely to where the Voice had made his speech. If he wanted them to listen to him, he had to do something different.
Unlike the last time, though, now it was the woman whose eyes widened in shock. "You…"
The recognition strained at Hope's smile, but… he could use that to his advantage.
"Yes. And I know a lot of people have heard about what happens to those who meet that cult. The news tends not to pull punches. To some, survival may seem an impossibility — yet I promise that if you stay calm and follow what I say, I promise that everyone will arrive at the end destination safe."
Without needing more prompting, the woman stood with her little girl in her arms, struggling just slightly against the violent winds, and stumbled her way to him. Hope caught her arm as she reached out to him, and guided her toward the doorway.
"Thank you, Mr. Estheim." She breathed out even as her daughter glanced between them in confusion. He nodded in response, no time to find the proper words as other groups of people started to stand up against the winds as well, bolstered in confidence by the one person who had trusted him.
"My friend will get you into a safer compartment." He promised, directing her to go through the slightly less broken train car he had just come through. An elderly man was next, and Hope murmured a gentle word as he passed by, helping him step over the notch on the ground that signified the connection between compartments. A couple of teenagers passed, muttering a slightly hysterical thanks as they clutched to his sleeves while passing, and then more people, all of them wide-eyed and huddled into themselves, hair whipping against their faces. Some stared at him in almost recognition while others didn't look up from the floor as they passed.
The car emptied out quickly and Hope finally dared to breathe a sigh of relief as he watched Noel usher them into the car in front of the two compartments.
Now all he had to do was find that bomb before it went off.
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A/N: I'm late! I'm sorry. ^^;; I might start going back to one a week soon, since my writing seems to have tapered off at the moment, but this is the piece I've been trying to write (still not done with part two arrrrrg) that I dubbed the 'great train robbery' which isn't a robbery. Uh. Waaaay further into the future, but Summer Memoryis entirely right in that all the pieces before (with the exception of the Great Fire) were just slow, stuck things. This is the quiet and uneventful life, and neither Hope nor Noel are really suited for quiet and uneventful, no matter how much they might like it. Also, Ankin, I think your English is great! 8D Pieces like that will come pretty frequently, although the next update is the end of Reunion, and the one after that may be a few snippets I wrote on tumblr that I'm putting together because they're some really short (hopefully humourous) pieces.
So thanks to everyone who's still reading this, especially since all these things are majorly unbeta'd and seem to come irregularly now. ^^;; I'm currently attempting to write something based on the Test Subjects paradox ending, so we'll see how that goes as well!
