Siege closed ees eyes in a blink, but hesitated to open them again. The echoing booming sound returned to em, the memory of Kalm's destruction with it. In a matter of only days ees reality had been blown apart entirely. And ee didn't think that even if ee'd had the option, that ee could settle in to Fort Condor and a semblance of normalcy again. It would feel fragile and affected knowing what ee knew, having experienced what ee had. It was one thing to understand ShinRa was sketchy, to read reports about such things happening elsewhere on planet Gaia. Infamously to the towns that had once stood where Midgar was now situated. But now supposed normalcy felt paper thin, a partition between emself and a much bigger dangerous something that filled em with a restlessness beneath ees skin.
Ee heard the sound of a small boat's motor, and left the washroom to find Fang with a pair of binoculars looking through the window. Ee also noted the reinforcements around the insides of the door frames and windows that would make them better defensive spots, should the boat come under attack.
"It's Fuhito, Noa and the others." Fang said setting aside the binoculars and going out on deck to meet her, or rather their comrades.
Siege followed after her to help work the davit. Heading Fang's instruction ee and Fang hoisted the boat from the water, and soon Noa the man who had found em in the laboratory, Fuhito, and two others were coming aboard from the motorized dinghy they had come in on.
"You're up and about already!?" Noa asked supersized and clearly happy to see Siege.
"I did say didn't I, that Hojo's work on Raven has likely given Raven the capacity to heal at an accelerated rate?" Fuhito reminded.
"Still." Noa said patting Siege on the shoulder. "Good to see you looking better."
"That place we were being kept." Siege cut to the point. "You destroyed it?"
"Yes." Fuhito answered quickly. "It's taken care of."
Noa just nodded.
One of the two whose names Siege didn't know stayed on deck to keep watch, and make the most of the late afternoon sun. The other went to relive the person at the helm. Fang, Noa, Fuhito, and emself returned to the galley.
"And this Hojo, what did he do to us?" Siege questioned further.
"You wouldn't understand." Fuhito told em flippantly.
"Kid deserves to hear it at least." Noa urged.
"In layman's terms, both yourself and Elfé underwent experimental surgeries. Elfé's semi successfully fused a materia with the human body. It appears to have made her host to a significant magical strength, and made her invulnerable to harm. I couldn't even take a blood sample, the needle just bent or broke. However the experiment seems to have been a failure in some regard, or more likely she made for an inadequate candidate, as it's left her very unwell."
Siege thumbed the bandaid covering the inside of ees elbow, realizing that Fuhito must have taken a blood sample from em. Ee nodded to show ee understood, still frowning at the thought.
"In your case..." Fuhito went on. "...the results are less interesting, simply you've been made physically strong by some means, and have the ability to heal much faster than is possible for an unmodified human. The materia that has replaced your eye is not fused there at all, and to use it it will drain your magical power meaning that your MP will always be compromised. It's also slowing your recovery from mako poisoning."
Siege made it a mental note to remove the prosthetic materia eye later, until ee needed it again. And to do so in the future if ee ever got a magical hangover. Magic as far as study on it could discern, was triggered by brain signals from the user of materia. A magic hangover was caused by using materia to the point of exhausting ones magical tolerance, termed MP. Magic hangover sometimes caused memory loss, blackouts, nose bleeds, and in rare cases the acquisition of memories that didn't seem to belong to the person. Memories of people, places, and times they could not be familiar with. This last most rare side effect was attributed to materia's being a solid form of mako, and mako having similar effects in cases of prolonged exposure called FMD (False Memory Disorder). Or according to theory originating in Cosmo Canyon LMT (Lifestream Memory transference). The LMT theory being that they were the memories of people who had died, transferred to the user of the materia, or the person who had been exposed to mako via the lifestream. If such a thing as the lifestream existed.
"You two were not the only ones to undergo these varying experiments, but you were the only two to survive. It seems the planet has spared you this time." Fuhito finished.
"Would you take a look at these photos?" Fang asked of em then.
Ee came over to her computer setup, leaving Fuhito and Noa talking in the kitchen. And watched as Fang scrolled through a file containing dozens of candid shots of people.
"Let me know if you recognize anybody." She requested of em.
A few rows down Siege pointed out the photo of a man in a white coat, his dull black hair pulled back in a loose tail. "Him, he was at the laboratory. He seemed to be in charge."
"Good, that corroborates what Elfé told us. This man is Professor Hojo, head of biochemical research for ShinRa."
"Hojo." Siege repeated the name. Seeing his photo like this in a removed setting was surreal, the face of a man who had happily tortured Elfé and emself. His face recalled to mind the SOLDIER and the infantryman who had been with him. And the fourth ShinRa employee, the man in the suit who had come from Midgar, Siege could still see the flash of his ShinRa pin before the bomb had detonated.
"There were other ShinRa people there too. A man in a suit, with brown hair, and facial scars?" Ee told Fang.
"A Turk maybe." She realized. Opening a new folder of yet more candid photos, there were considerably fewer shots in this category. "Are any of these him?"
"No, no of them are the man I saw. Can I borrow your notebook?"
"Yes of course." She agreed handing em the notebook and passing em her pen, which she plucked from her hair.
Siege quickly jotted down Both a basic sketch of the man's face, noting unique features in text beside the sketch. And ee drew the design ee'd seen on the SOLDIER operatives belt. It vaguely resembled the official SOLDIER belt design, but in place of the quartered box at the top center was a circle, and the overall design was more vine like and nouveau then squared off. Ee showed Fang the finished design saying. "There was a Soldier there with this design on his belt."
Fang studied the two drawings. And Fuhito, followed by Noa had come over to look at the drawings also.
"Can't say I've seen anything like that." Noa admitted, regarding the belt design.
"Nether." Fang said. "Fuhito, what do you make of it?" She asked the intelligence officer.
"It may lead somewhere. Take a photo of both sketches and add them to the database."
"Dinner's ready by the way." Noa invited Fang and Siege.
Following Fuhito and Noa over towards the kitchen, Siege asked of Fang. "What did you mean when you said Avalanche was indirectly responsible for what happened to Kalm?" Ee'd already agreed to fight for AVALANCHE, really ee had no other options. But ee was determined to know the answer to this, even if it caused em to hate the life ee'd been left with.
"It's a long story." Fang said. "I'll tell you while we eat."
Together they joined Fuhito and Noa in the kitchen, where Noa handed them each a bowl of lasagna made from scratch the greens still fresh.
"We made a mistake. We were camping 50 kilometers north of Kalm to meet with a spy who was leaking information to us about ShinRa weaponry. We relayed that information to one of our teams, who found and smuggled that prototype weaponry on to their boat. But they were opportunistic and they also kidnapped an infantryman from the mako reactor where the weaponry was being kept."
Noa continued for Fang. "That meant that this became a priority matter for ShinRa, they couldn't let the infantryman talk see? So they sent in the Turks, who found the Avalanche boat at the Costa del Sol harbor. In rescuing the infantryman and disposing of the data and weaponry we had taken. They also discovered the leak, tracing it back to Kalm."
"Then when we tried to jam ShinRa communications to stop the air strike, ShinRa simply bombed the entire area." Fuhito finished.
So that's what had happened. Siege realized, ee'd even heard about the sinking of that boat on the news, not suspecting that it was a harbinger of what would come next. "I see." Ee said quietly. AVALANCHE, ShinRa, the Turks, Kalm had simply been caught in the crossfire.
Then on a new topic Fuhito said. "I suppose you've already been told that we're making for Junon?"
"Yes." Siege confirmed.
"Good. You mentioned you were something of a hand with weaponry, well I have your first mission under Avalanche lined up for you. Acting as the team sniper should be no problem?"
It was clearly a challenge. Fuhito was putting em on the spot, watching to see if ee would back out.
"No problem." Siege replied without intonation.
Fuhito gave nothing away, if he was disappointed or pleased Siege could not say.
It was almost dark out, the first stars like mythrill studs showing in the sky. Ee wanted to be alone to think and process what ee'd learned. So ee waited until Fuhito and the adults were busy talking about the coming mission in Junon, Fang and Noa expressing their concerns. Ee used this opportunity to slip away, taking the side door that lead to the deck.
Junon was relatively close to Fort Condor. Siege frowned wishing there was some way ee could establish contact with the Fort, just knowing if Trader and Swayer had made it would be enough. There was nothing for it but to wait until an opportunity presented itself.
In the meantime, ee'd been charged with a mission that might mean shooting at living beings. Ee didn't know how ee felt about that entirely.
"Nervous?" Fang asked regarding ees assignment when she joined em on deck.
"A little." Siege said. "So hey, can you tell me how Avalanche got it's start?" Ee wanted to know.
"Actually, we were just recently dubbed Avalanche. Before then most of use, including Noa and I were mercenaries. Our current job is working nonprofit for Wutai, on the condition they provide the gear. We've recently taken on a second contract with Fuhito's father based in Cosmo Canyon, he's the one who came up with our name."
That explained the appearance of funding.
Just then a commotion was heard, and a small figure burst from the door tearing away from Noa's grip. The child who Siege realized must be Elfé, dashed past them heading straight for the pushpit.
"Hey! Stop!" Siege warned lunging after Elfé. Ee just managed to catch a hold of Elfé's hand before she toppled over the rail. Almost pulling Siege over with her, and leaving her dangling above the churning night time ocean by one hand, her dark hair and oversize AVALANCHE t-shirt whipping about her kicking struggling form in the strong wind.
"No no no!" Elfé sobbed. "Let me go! I'm not dead yet!"
"Elfé!" Siege urged the clearly distressed child to listen, wishing ee knew her real name. "You escaped, you saved us both. We're safe now."
Ees footing was slipping, but ee felt someone grab em around the middle.
Fang instructed urgently. "Hold on to her!" And she pulled back.
The three of them collapsed into a heap on the deck. And Noa ran to them, scooping Elfé up and hugging her securely. Partly in an offer of comfort, partly so that she would not throw herself overboard a second time.
"Planet that was scary." Fang breathed. She got up a tad shaken helping, Siege to ees feet too. "You ok hun?" She asked Elfé, patting the child's hair.
Elfé at last lifted her head, looking about with tear reddened eyes that found Siege.
Noa set Elfé down, and she immediately grabbed a hold of Siege's hand.
Siege noted the materia clearly fused into the back of her hand. Elfé was probably just a few month ees junior, but ee'd only seen her around town possibly once or twice. She might have lived in the south or west end. Despite that ee didn't know her well ee squeezed her hand reassuringly, leading the other back to the galley. Fang meanwhile dispersed the small crowd that had been drawn by the commotion.
"Was it a bad dream?" Siege asked.
Elfé nodded.
"It's ok, I don't blame you for being panicked. it was just unfortunate we're on a boat." She had been trying to escape, that was all.
They sat in the breakfast booth, the adults talking quietly while Noa made Elfé a hot carob drink. And while Siege sang a Kalmish song that seemed to help settle Elfé's nerves, despite ees smoke damaged voice.