The rotted finger with the black talon protruding from it tapped again and again on the mousepad. As it did, one screen of information after another flew by his glowing yellow serpentine eyes. The air in the room was rather dark now, a side effect from his new power bleeding forth from his enraged aura.
The computer rooms had been one of the few left intact during the reconstruction. Diablos still needed them in their original forms. Although the sides were roughly hewn stone and the illumination was torches, the main computers and their hard drives were still intact. That was good, for now the demon in flesh form stood before one of the consoles and ransacked them for information. Unfortunately, for all his power and ability, he could still only search as one man does: via a monitor and looking through each item one by one. All of what he found was already known by one of the countless spirits in his possession. It frustrated him more and more to see nothing new.
This was too slow…but that was all he could do. The only one who could have searched the entire system quickly would have been Shelke, using her synaptic mode dive. Without her, information gathering was a slow and cumbersome process. He hissed at the thought. He bet she knew that he needed someone else from the onset. All of the knowledge and wisdom he possessed…and the one item he needed more than anything was lost to him. There was no telling how long it would be lost either…
He looked up with a sneer around him. The dim-witted Sahagin were trying dumbly to work the consoles around him, aiding him in his search, but they were useless. Their intelligence was too limited to operate them or to know what he was looking for. His brainwashed servants were almost as useless. They had been remade for battle. They weren't allowed enough critical thought to be any more use than some search engine, looking for general terms. That left him, floundering like a mere mortal, pounding away at this console to try and get what he needed… The knowledge continued to eat away at him, filling him with more and more fury as time ticked by…
Then the breaking point happened.
Abruptly, a message popped up on each screen, overriding the normal search mechanisms. A siren began to ring out throughout the facility at the same time. In surprise, the monster shrank back a bit and looked to his console, seeing what had come up. Yet it didn't take long. In addition to his knowledge registering the problem on screen and recognizing the alarm signal, a robotic voice soon rang out to confirm it.
"Security Breach on Level 02. Southern Military Corridor J2-7. Security Breach on Level 01. Small Projects Laboratory Area 4."
Diablos looked up from the screen in a flash, his yellow serpentine eyes growing. He knew that area all too well.
The last essence…
The demon gave out a mighty hiss…
Two seconds later, and the entire computer room was bathed in flame. The Sahagin that had been there ran for the door, each one now lit on fire. Diablos himself smashed through the mainframes in anger and seized his own computer monitor, flinging it with such force that it smashed into a million pieces, scattering shards everywhere. Only then, roaring with a hellish voice, did he turn and began to walk to the entrance himself. He didn't care about the fact that he had annihilated the entire room and set everything on it on fire. Nor did he care about the heat and flames blasting him as he made his way out. His face was frozen in a look of utter rage and hate, terrible to look at. His power was so great by now that you couldn't even look at the face without feeling the same rage flow into you…
Damn that girl to the depths of Hell… He thought in insane anger. He should have killed her at that diner. Now she was ruining him. He should have suspected she would know a way in. He should have turned his unified mind away from his tasks long enough to destroy that essence. He didn't know how she had managed to get into the facility, but she would never leave again… The chance that he could force her to find the information he sought no longer mattered to him. He only wanted her dead.
Until now, what sense had been in the original Leon managed to hold some sway over Diablos. But he was mostly filled with chaotic, anguished souls…ones that knew only hate and wished only for death and rage. Now they were beginning to rise up, overriding all else that he had attained or was. An overpowering lust from his inmost being was beginning to come forth…one to simply destroy and destroy until the world was nothing more than a hellish wasteland. To bring all things beneath him. The thought of finding the last Cetra meant little to him now. He began to feel he had sufficient power…and that he had delayed long enough. Now was time to rise.
As Diablos reached the threshold and calmly stepped out, he was greeted mostly by the guards he himself had created, but there were still two Sahagin left. Turning away from him in terror, they fled down the hallway. They hadn't even the bravery to stand and cower before him. In addition to them, only one other unit with their free mind remained. Pandemona, who had rushed to the scene as soon as he heard Diablos' attack, now stopped as he saw the monster come forth. Although he lacked the power of expression…one could see him shudder and shake in the face of the power and fury the esper now possessed, and which he now let forth freely… He had stopped in midstep and could come no further. He nearly raised his arms to protect himself…
Diablos glared past him. It was good, for his direct gaze would have nearly made the esper pass out at that point. However, he did come to a halt in front of him, issuing his cold aura over him. His taloned hands scraped the last bit of human flesh off the palms and balled into fists once again. Pandemona, stricken with fear, was only able to stand there and stare at him.
"I've waited long enough…" He sneered. "The attack begins today. I want to be the unquestionable ruler of this continent by midnight tomorrow. All troops will mobilize and march on Junon now. No mercy or prisoners. All must die." After that, he flicked a talon up to the air, toward the sound of the blaring alarms. "As for the intruders…as soon as the lockdown on the elevator is lifted send a canister of napalm down with it. I want the entire lab incinerated."
Pandemona shuddered a bit longer. However, he did manage to find his squeaky, airy voice.
"…We've only equipped half of our legions."
Diablos turned to him here. When their eyes met, the wind esper couldn't help it. He averted his gaze and nearly covered his eyes. However, the look was not angry. The death esper realized that was the truth. He had originally set out more time to craft the magical armor and equip his trolls with it. He expected the full hoarde out for a total victory. And though he planned to send gargoyles, goblins, Sahagin, hounds, and every other beast he had commanded thus far in with them…he realized that he was still far below his intended strength.
But then, he remembered his new powers…and how he was the master of death…
His teeth flashed.
"…Leave that to me." He thought as he already began to summon forth his power.
"And he's going to be coming here next?" The mayor nearly cried.
Mack gave a frown back to the official. "It's the next stepping stone on his path of conquest. It would make sense. Here has the greatest defense."
Reno himself, now off the desk and with a fresh cigarette, rolled his eyes as he paced over to the wall. "Geez…you guys really know how to screw things up…"
"Hey! We didn't do this!" Yuffie protested with a look of indignation.
Elena wasn't contributing to this, although they were attracting quite a crowd now. Ever since Mack and Yuffie had broken down the main door, security and other officials had been gathering around the entrance. The mayor had told them to stand back, but they had remained there in case of trouble. As a result, they heard the horrific tale that had been proposed. It was rather incredulous and hard to swallow, but the mayor thought that what had struck the city so far was much the same. As for the Turks, sadly, they knew that anything was possible with these guys, and so they had no choice to believe in it.
At any rate, Elena wasn't chiming in because she had pulled out her cellular phone and was furiously dialing away at it. Once she had finished, she quickly pressed it to her head. She bit her lip and nervously tapped her foot against the ground.
"Come on…come on…" She said aloud with growing anxiety. "Pick up…pick… Hello? Krystea? It's Elena! No! Not now! Don't talk! Listen to me! Listen! You've got to lay low right now! There's these things out there! What things? Don't ask me to explain right now! Monsters! Big ones! They're coming for you! Look, just don't argue with me and-"
BOOM
Elena nearly dropped her phone as she snapped her head toward the glass window. Not just her, either. The mayor, Mack, Yuffie, Reno, and all of the others at the doorway turned and looked as well. They found themselves staring outside and catching a fireball raising into the air, the result of a rather large explosion. The mayor gaped only a moment before rising from his chair and walking toward the glass for a closer look. The others, save Elena, quickly rushed forward and looked out at the glass as well.
It was deeper in the city, down one of the many streets a good kilometer away from them. But it was targeted at one specific structure. He was just in time to see a large metal spire tower, rising far above everything else in the city, suddenly groan and fall over. Below, muffled through the glass, the sounds of people screaming went out as it went down. Mack himself recognized what it was. It was a cellular relay tower.
On seeing this happen, he swallowed a lump in his throat. What came next was expected.
"Hello? Hello!" Elena cried from behind them. "Damnit!" The sound of a phone collapsing. "I lost her!"
"Gee, I wonder why…" Reno murmured from his own position.
Mack would have explained the reason…but he had no time. Quieter explosions suddenly went off. Not just one this time, but several in a row. And despite how quiet they were, they had enough power to shake the office and the glass. The ones gathered at the window immediately turned their heads. This time, they found themselves looking down the rest of the cliff all the way toward the bay. As they watched in amazement, one pillar of flame after another rose up from alongside the seacoast. But it wasn't buildings this time. Nor was it any other type of structure. It was further out, in the ocean itself, or rather on the coast. As the people watched, the last of the explosions died out…and the last of the large ships in the bay collapsed into the water in a pile of flaming wreckage.
All of the large ships, one after another, had just been blown to kingdom come.
Sirens began to peel out, this time alarms signaling fire trucks were on the way. People screamed far below, audible even from in the office. The four stepped back from the windows. The mayor gaped at it all.
"Good God…" He murmured. "They're starting their attack now…"
"…No…but they will be very soon."
Everyone in the office turned and stared at the entrance at that. They saw that the guards and police who had been there had already parted out of the way, almost shrinking before the form that was now there. His clothing was rather tattered right now, and two different large guns were slung across his back as well as one in his holster. His eyes were red, but they were not the same as those who had been brainwashed. They were far more vivid and intense. Yet even if they couldn't see them, they would have recognized the black hair and pale face anywhere.
Yuffie crossed her arms. "About time you decided to show up."
Vincent Valentine said nothing in response.
Mack, however, looked to him in confusion. "What happened to you? I thought you got stuck in Kalm?"
"To make a long story short…I wanted my guns back." The man coldly answered, as if that was sufficient. "There's no time for details." He turned his eyes squarely on the mayor. The man did recoil a bit from that, but stood his ground. "You've just seen their first wave. My guess is you didn't get all of them when they tried to brainwash this town. Some escaped…passed as normal people. They arranged to sabatoge your relay tower and your boats out of here. They're making sure you can't escape or call for help. They'll be sending an army here next."
The mayor blinked. "An army?!"
"My advice to you is to cut all remaining communication lines, including warning sirens. Everything had to be word of mouth now." Vincent continued. "They have a brainwashing esper. Anyone under her control is going to try and make sure as many people in this city as possible can hear her. Then get anyone who's armed ready for a fight. If you have any defenses left, raise them now while you still have time. They'll be coming down the cliff road and police roadblocks won't hold them."
"Just wait a minute!" The mayor protested. "Who are you? Why is this happening? Espers? Monsters? None of this makes any sense!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Mayor." Mack tried to reassure him. "He's a veteran of the PPA in the Volunteer War. And I'd do what he says. They've already gotten the drop on Edge and Kalm because people didn't react fast enough."
"I have to agree." Reno chimed in. "These guys might cause me a lot of hell, but they don't lie, especially not when bizarre crap like this hits the fan, which I think it's already done and is now in the process of splattering."
The mayor hesitated. He looked around the room at all of the people staring back at him. They held back and waited for his decision. The truth was that the man was confused at all of this. He was barely able to accept what was going on. However…there was one thing that was certain. Whoever was responsible wasn't wasting time. They had already fired the first and second shots, and they had done little to respond. Hesitating again might be disastrous. And so, with that in mind, the official gave a sigh and bowed his head.
"…We have nothing." He stated. "Policemen. SWAT team members. That's all. All of our weapons and heavy guns were confiscated during the Volunteer War and impressed in service. Even most of our armor plating for the buildings is gone. We can't hold off any sort of army."
"Heh…no problem." Yuffie chimed in with a grin. "The White Flower of Wutai is a one woman division."
"They lack major artillery." Vincent said, ignoring Yuffie's boast. "Their main strategy is numbers and charge attacks. If you can force them into a bottleneck, you might be able to get them. Conventional homemade explosives would work. Molotov cocktails, even. The main problem will be dealing with their espers. Only extremely powerful weaponry with highly trained personnel will be able to hold them off. And it will take more than one to deal with their leader."
The mayor grimaced. He looked up again on hearing this…and saw that a Turk had materialized on his desk once again. Leaning calmly over the top and puffing smoke in his face was Reno, waiting for the magic words to be spoken. The official grimaced and let out a massive groan…but then finally had no other choice.
"…Two million. Agreed."
Reno leaned off the desk and slapped his hands together in delight. "The Turks are back in business." He nearly cheered.
"Give me four hours." Mack stated on his end. "I can take Excalibur into the range of Costa Del Sol's radios and send a transmission relay to every remaining airport we've got. I can get our combat ships ready. We drove two of them off once. We can probably do it again."
The mayor himself started to move toward the door. "Since we don't have phones, I'll have to manually get the road construction crews out to start blockading all side streets from the main thoroughfair, and lead them straight in one path."
"Then we all have our little tasks to attend to." Reno spoke up. "Let's get this job done."
The creatures may have been brainwashed, but they knew a solid wall when they saw one. They further knew that as much as they wanted their prey, they weren't going to be able to get it by clawing at the mound of debris that Azure had dropped on their end of the tunnel. Furthermore, most of them were being summoned at that moment to prepare for invasion of Junon. And so, eventually, the monsters that were filling the third corridor resigned themselves to leave. With some grunting and snarling, they turned as one and began to file out the way they had come. And due to most of the personnel leaving to gather for the impending invasion, it didn't take long before the hallway was actually empty for a brief time.
Only then did a brief light come on within the hallway, just on the other side of the fallen barrier. The air warped around as it did so, and it soon seemed as if the light was somehow "melting" into reality. It took a few moments, but slowly it began to glow brighter. Yet on reaching a certain glare, it suddenly faded once again. And as it did, it revealed multicolored figures. These figures rapidly began to solidify and form shapes, seeming to reform from the melted reality. Soon two young humans had completely taken shape.
Once there, they stayed frozen for an instant, as if they were mere statues or, more accurately, suspensions of reality.
Then…they both came to life.
Denzel, still stunned from the last hit, toppled backwards. However, there was no enemy to hold him up this time. He was on his way down. Yet he didn't make it. Before he could fall too far, Marlene rushed in behind him and grabbed him beneath his arms, stabilizing him. He was heavy, but she managed to stop him before he could fall any further. She held him up for a moment until his own reality stopped swirling and began to normalize again. He blinked a few times, but then let out a groan and looked up. He saw Marlene's face staring back at him.
Instantly, the youth gasped and shot back to his feet. One hand still had a loose grip on his sword, and it immediately tightened as he raised it to the ready. But a moment later, he froze. To his surprise, there was nothing around them. The enemy was gone.
"Denzel!" A loud whisper went out as a hand clamped on his back.
The boy shot around in surprise, nearly leaping out of his shoes. He found himself staring back at Marlene, however. Also, the area behind her, he noticed, was nothing but a pile of still falling debris. The ceiling overhead creaked and groaned, and periodically let down another piece on it. He blinked a few times, and then looked down to Marlene in surprise.
"Where are-"
"Shh!" She quickly hushed him, reaching forward to put a hand over his mouth. "We're still in the military corridor!" She continued in her loud whisper.
This didn't help. The youth still looked confused as he looked up and around himself. "But…where? Where's Azure and everyone else?"
Marlene gestured behind herself, back toward the pile of rubble. "On the other side of that…I hope. That's where the elevator down is. Denzel, we can't stay here. We need to move." She reached out to grab his arm. She managed to take it, and soon began to pull to try and lead him away from the rubble.
However, he stayed and hesitated. He looked to the pile, and back to her. "But…what's going on? What happened?"
"I don't know, Denzel." Marlene answered as she kept pulling. Now, she began to grow a bit nervous and uncomfortable. But it wasn't about their situation. It was toward herself. "I just…I just knew I had to grab you…and I wanted to get out of there. I wanted to very badly… And when I reached out to touch you…words just started popping into my head. Before I knew what I was doing, I was speaking them…we touched…and here we are."
Denzel slowly began to let himself be pulled, but now he blinked at Marlene in confusion. "You mean…" He began to venture. "…You did magic?"
"…I noticed that I always seem to have enough time to get something done…" Marlene almost murmured as she kept pulling him. "…And whenever I want you guys to hurry and stop sparring…sometimes time seems to just fly by. I thought it was just me…but I guess not. I think I'm a Time Mage, Denzel…" She let out a sigh. "…I hope dad takes this alright…right now, I'm kind of glad I'm one. I think I did an escape spell back there. I sent both of us into the future to a point where no enemies were around us. At least…that's how Aerith described it."
"But…what about the others?" Denzel asked as he sped up. "And what about that barrier?"
"I don't know…but I hope they did it while we were going through time." Marlene answered. "We need to hide while we still can…"
Denzel paused on hearing that. That was sure enough. He realized they were back in the military corridor, and that they could be swamped by enemies at any moment. And now, to his realization, they didn't have Carbuncle to help them. If they got found, they were in big trouble. With quite a bit of fear beginning to flood his system, he continued to run through with Marlene, gradually picking up speed until he moved in front of her and took to pulling her onward instead. Very quickly, and taking branches in the path often, they made their way along the corridor.
A minute slowly passed, and each second brought Denzel into more fear. He quickly changed corridors if only to keep them out of view of any enemy in the previous ones. However, there was nothing there. It was a maze, and without the help of Shelke, he realized he had no idea where he was going. The longer he stayed exposed, however, the more vulnerable he felt. He realized he had to get out of here soon, while his luck still held out. He desperately searched for a room, a duct…anything…
Finally, on turning one corridor, he saw something. A much larger elevator, one that looked like it was for freight rather than personnel, and far more generalized, was just ahead. It wasn't guarded like the previous ones had been, and it had only general buttons on it. That was good enough for him. Pulling Marlene along, he ran toward the elevator as quickly as he could. It was at the center of another T-intersection, but he tried to run through it as quickly as possible. As he ran through, he looked to the right and saw the way was clear. But when he turned his head to the left…he saw two armored soldiers with their backs to him. The youth broke into a sweat and Marlene nearly let out a gasp, but they made it through to the elevator. Not caring where they went for the moment, Denzel pressed both the up and down buttons. A second later, and it opened up, revealing a large, empty, scratched metal and grated floor interior. Both teenagers charged in. Not caring where they went, Denzel smashed the lowest button on it. It seemed to take forever, but the doors closed.
They had only started to move when Denzel smashed the Emergency Stop button. With a bit of a shake, the elevator lurched to a halt. Once there, the youth let out a large sigh and practically plopped onto the ground. Marlene herself let out an exhale and leaned against the nearby wall. Both of them held for a few seconds and simply caught their breath and calmed down.
"…I think we'll be safe here for a little while." Denzel spoke up first.
"Alright…" Marlene answered. "But what now?"
The boy looked to her. "…I don't suppose you could warp us out like Carbuncle?"
Marlene looked uncomfortable in response. "That's the first time I even did an escape spell. I don't even know how I did that. I haven't had any training like Aerith's students."
The young man let out a long sigh at this. "…Then I think we're in deep trouble."
"We can't stay in here forever." Marlene spoke up again. "We'll have to go up or down and try and find a way out."
Denzel hesitated here, looking around a bit. Yes, for now, this small sanctuary seemed secure, but he bet that whoever was running the place could override it at any time. For all he knew, there was a security camera somewhere in here watching their every move. If so, then they couldn't afford to do more than catch their breath. He looked around a bit more, trying to see what options they had from here. Frankly, he didn't like the idea of going up or down. Up would likely open into a corridor with more of those monsters. Down would get them stuck. However…there was one other possibility.
"There." Denzel suddenly spoke up, pointing his sword blade toward the ceiling. As Marlene turned and looked, the youth already began to rise. There was an overhead panel in the elevator, probably for service on the cables. It also provided another way out. Once Denzel was on his feet, he moved over to it and reached up with his sword, shifting the top of it. Luckily, it was on only loosely, and it came off easily. A blast of cool air from the elevator shaft came down on them, and the vertical metal tunnel, stretching up into blackness, became visible.
Being the bigger of the two, Denzel first crouched down and let Marlene get on his shoulders. He lifted her up through the opening and let her climb out. Once there, he himself extended his arms and jumped up for the opening. He managed to catch the edge, and Marlene grabbed on with his arms and helped pull him up and through. Soon, both of them were on top of the service elevator.
Once they were both sitting there, Denzel took another look around.
"…What now?" Marlene asked.
However, the youth was already spotting something. The elevator didn't have enclosed walls along the shaft. They opened up in either direction into inner workings and maintenance corridors. He moved around a bit, shifting his position so that he could look around from different angles. After a few moments, he actually got up onto his feet, and then stood on his tiptoes and looked up as high as he could, and then squatted down close to the elevator again and looked once more.
It was while squatting that he saw it. The elevator had stopped just after passing a small metal hallway, obviously used for service and not for major movement. When he squatted low to the ground, he could see that the hallway led to a set of utility stairs that went up…
Seems like a good start.
"Slide your body off the elevator going that way. Try to get in that hallway. We'll move up from there."
Rex shifted in his seat frequently, his fists frequently grasping and relaxing the armrests in his chair. Despite how luxurious it was, and how comfortable as well, Rex remembered how not too long ago he had been staring five years in prison in the face. It was going to take him a while to get used to it. It was only because Leviathan had told him to that he accepted Dio's offer for a drink. As he slowly raised his arm to sip it, he shook so much that he must have spilled three ounces before getting it to his lips. Even then, he mostly just moistened his face. He brought it down again, and looked to the left and right.
The goons were seated on the far ends of the box, and kept their eyes on him.
The young man swallowed his drink and looked out in front of him again.
Screens were lit up in Dio's box now, highlighting all of the information that was coming in. Below him, arranging themselves on a rainbow colored track, were various chocobos and their riders. Despite their multitude of colors, most of them were painted. Only a few were true colored chocobos. In particular, a shining, deep sable one that came out was the real deal. That one also seemed to draw Rex's attention more than any of the others. Perhaps it was because the black color made it stand out from the rest of the colored ones. Or perhaps it was because he already sensed that one was bad news for him…
Behind him, he heard Dio continue to argue with a bookie of some sort.
"This is the worst odds I've had in ten years, boss. No one in their right mind is going to bet against Teioh. The best I can offer is 10:9 against him."
"That's just fine. Put 500,000 gil on him. That way I can at least pocket an extra 50,000."
"Joe doesn't like this either, man. You're running an S Class racer against C Class chocobos."
"I pay his salary and he'll do what I say."
A sigh went out from the man Dio was arguing with. Rex heard this all. Although he wasn't that big on the world of gambling, he could realize from this exchange that he was in for a major fleecing. Unless Leviathan somehow had a card up his sleeve…
Put your hand up.
Rex almost jumped on hearing that sudden suggestion. However, he then quickly raised his hand.
The voice of the bookie called out. "Yeah?"
Put everything on that one…Blue Cloud.
…That one?!
Rex…
"…33,000 gil on Blue Cloud."
"Excuse me?" Dio's voice went out.
Tell him this is just an added wager. You want to make a profit off of this too.
"This is just an added wager. I want to make a profit off of this too."
"Pssh…" The bookie went out. "That'd be something. Putting 33K on a chocobo with 50:1 odds?"
"Take his bet."
A grumble went out. The sound of some scrawling on a pad went out. "…Hope that if there are more suckers like you in the audience, buddy, that Teioh doesn't lose… Could bankrupt the place…" With that, there was a set of footsteps leaving the room.
A heavier set of footsteps soon began to approach. Soon, Dio's huge form was sinking into a much larger and more expensive looking chair next to Rex. His eyes were set on the track outside as he leaned back and folded his arms. "There's no way you could rig this race." He flatly stated. "The Chocobo Corrals are under more security than anywhere else in the park. And tampering with the birds is a one-way ticket to a lifetime in the Coral Desert Prison…for both the one tampering and anyone it would have benefited. No jockey is willing to risk that."
Rex said nothing in response.
"Your innocence will be clear to me if, by some miracle, you win this race. Because it is only through the greatest of luck that you will do so, I assure you."
That was true. A set of rookies against the best racer in the park. As Rex continued to watch and saw the various jockeys come out and begin to take their positions, he noted one particular one with a wide hat and sunglasses. Based on the way he was moving, slow with head drooping and only occasionally looking around, he seemed to be rather sore about the whole thing. He had a frown on his face as he only slowly approached the black chocobo. Rex didn't know for sure yet, because the monitors weren't showing it, but he assumed that was Joe and Teioh. Even they were considering this race almost an insult, apparently. For a moment, the jockey actually paused and looked up to both him and Dio. The big man smiled and held out a hand to him. Joe, in response, merely shook his head and looked away and back to his bird. Rex supposed that Joe knew why he was there, and what he was about to do for his employer.
"Are you certain you just don't wish to give me the money now?" Dio asked as he pulled his arm back and leaned back once again. "It seems almost foolish now to throw you in prison for losing a race you cannot win."
Deal stands. My winnings and my freedom.
"…"
…Well?
I'm not saying that to him! This is crazy! One black bird is about to send me to prison for five years! It might as well be forever! This is nuts! How is any of this going to get us the Lunarite? Since I started today one bad thing after another has happened! I'm beginning to wish I had tried to steal it! It would make more sense than this!
Calm down…it will be over soon.
Rex merely shifted again and waited.
Slowly, the racers finished getting ready. Rex saw something else was going against his favor as the track was set up. It was going to be a long race. He could tell based on the racer information that popped up along with the chocobos on the screens that Teioh was the only one with enough stamina to run hard through the whole course. None of the others would ever make it. The youth felt ready to pass out. Why didn't they just put snipers in the course to kill all the other birds? Or drug them before it started?
As the racers lined up and the track cleared, it became obvious the race would soon start. Yet before it did, a telephone ring went off. Rex turned to the source, and found himself looking at Dio. The large man pulled up a receiver and put it to his head.
"Dio here." He stated. He paused a moment, and then chuckled. "Stupid people come in pairs, it seems." A pause, then a sigh and a nod. "Yes, yes…I'm well aware of all that. I'm already counting his 500,000 gil in my mind as well. Good bye." He turned the receiver over and put it down. After that, he let out a chuckle and turned over to Rex.
"Again, you seem to be my good luck charm. Your 33,000 gil bet, the only one on Blue Cloud, I might add, was enough to attract one of our more richer patrons to think you knew something I didn't. He placed a 500,000 gil bet on Blue Cloud as well."
Rex was a college student, so it didn't take him long to do the math on that. "…That's 25,000,000 gil if he wins…"
"These other birds wouldn't beat Teioh if they were shot out of cannons, my friend. That is the last lesson you'll learn before your descent into the Corel Desert."
The youth really didn't like the sound of that. He nervously turned back to the track and waited.
It didn't take much longer. The starting lights went on, and the birds all stayed in position and waited for the opening shot. Rex grasped his chair so hard he thought he'd leave an imprint of his hand in it. He inhaled and exhaled nervously as the views on the television monitors turned to closeups of the race. At last, the beeping for the starting signal went out. Three times it sounded…and the green light went off along with a gunshot. The birds took off.
Rex looked up to the screen. He couldn't bear to watch it live. Sure enough, Teioh was almost near the front from the get go. Any moment now, Rex expected him the leave the other birds choking on dust, not crossing the finish line for another minute or two behind him. To his credit, Blue Cloud did move up in the ranks fairly quickly. And somehow, he managed to keep ahead of the others. As time stretched by, the other racers started to fall back. Teioh and Blue Cloud were the only ones up ahead, and Teioh only had a small lead on the other. Rex blinked a few times at this, especially since neither lead stretched or shrank as time went by. For a moment…it seemed as if he might actually win this bet…
Dio let out a chuckle as they continued to run. "Don't get your hopes up, my friend. Joe is keeping Teioh at a trot. As soon as he spurs him on during the second half, Blue Cloud will be nothing more than dust in the wind. What a pity her driver has to get your hopes up."
Rex turned to Dio, and saw him confidently looking out at the track. Swallowing a bit, he turned back to it. The two continued to run close to one another, approaching the midway point. The other birds began to catch up again, and Blue Cloud very slowly began to start dropping behind Teioh. It seemed as if the bird's stamina was giving out.
This is our big moment, Rex. Leviathan's voice suddenly sounded. Say you'll take that bet.
What? Huh? No…no! No more betting!
TAKE IT!
Rex shot bolt upright from Leviathan's sudden yell. In response, he too found himself yelling. "I'll take that bet!"
Dio and the goons alike turned to Rex in surprise at that. "Excuse me?" The big man asked.
This is our last bet, Rex… Tell him…
"Double-or-nothing on Blue Cloud!" A pause as Rex turned white…but then felt Leviathan's psychic prodding forcing him. "…I'll take a life imprisonment in the Corel Desert against Odin's Goblet!"
Dio froze at that sudden announcement. But when he recovered, he broke into a wide grin. "So…this is how you make it yours…" He mused aloud in a much quieter voice. "I knew you wanted that the moment I laid eyes on you… And you wish to make it yours by winning a bet that no other man could win. Earning it as a trophy. And you put your own life on the line as a wager…" The man paused for a moment after hearing this. The goons looked to him, and then back to Rex. Dio leaned back as the birds continued to race and stroked his chin. Blue Cloud continued to fall behind, and started to mix in with the other birds. They began to move past him.
Abruptly, Dio let out a laugh.
"I think I misjudged you, my friend. You are made of sterner stuff than I gave credit. You could very well be a man after my own heart." He hesitated a bit longer, and then abruptly thrust his open hand in Rex's face. "We have a bet."
Rex hesitated. He was sweating bullets by now and shaking like a leaf. He didn't want that handshake… However, Leviathan prodded him and forced him to take it. Against his will for the most part, his hand went out and shook.
"You've made this a life and death game, and whatever happens I will enjoy it immensely." Dio answered with a grin. Then he parted and leaned back in his seat and watched. Rex, almost apoplectic, was left frozen in the position of a handshake for a moment, before he nearly seemed to turn and collapse into his own seat. He now had only to watch his fate play itself out now.
The birds continued to run. Blue Cloud fell back among its other racers. A yellow bird began to come forth into second. But no one surpassed Teioh. Even trotting, he kept the lead. They passed the halfway point and continued to run. Dio leaned forward and grinned in delight. Rex tried to keep from having a heart attack. The race continued to get closer. One third left…and still Blue Cloud was behind, now in fifth, as Teioh kept the lead. Rex could see himself as an old man rotting in the desert…
But then…something happened.
Dio's face turned to puzzlement.
"…Why hasn't Joe made Teioh run yet?"
This snapped Rex out of it long enough to actually focus on the race again. Sure enough, they were coming up on the final quarter, and Teioh's lead remained stationary. Perhaps he felt he didn't need to run any faster… After all, he was well in the lead. But the last quarter was coming up. Anything with any stamina left to run would pour it all on soon…
The last quarter came, and still the chocobos remained in their spots. Teioh moved no faster. Blue Cloud stayed where she was. Rex found himself clasping his hands together and practically praying for victory as more of the race went by.
They closed to the final fifth…then the final sixth…still with no change in the lead. But once they hit this last sixth, the finishing line was finally in view. That's when it happened.
Blue Cloud suddenly lowered her head, gave a wark, and then ran as fast as she could. Immediately, she sprinted out from the others. Fourth place…third place…second…she began to inch up toward Teioh. Rex found himself stiffening in his chair and looking out more eagerly. Two of the other C Class chocobos put on the speed, but for whatever reason…it did them no good. They only managed a short gain toward Blue Cloud and Teioh before they slumped and were forced into a snail's pace, soon falling behind the others. Blue Cloud, however, neared closer and closer to Teioh…as the finishing line drew near…
"Spur him, Joe!" Dio suddenly yelled. "What are you waiting for?"
But it didn't happen. Abruptly…Blue Cloud tore by Teioh. He went into the lead and was headed for the finish line like a bat out of hell.
Rex felt his heart starting to beat again.
"She's going to win, you idiot!" Dio cried as he rose in his chair, as if Joe could hear him from there.
But Teioh maintained his trot. It was more than fast enough to beat the others, but Blue Cloud kept running. The bird began to falter and stumble from exhaustion, but she kept running. The distance between her and Teioh widened. In another moment, even the black chocobo wouldn't be able to beat her to the line at full speed.
"Run!"
But Joe didn't make him run. He stayed at that trot. Blue Cloud kept charging forward, until she too bowed her head and only limped forward. Only then did Teioh begin to catch up to her, but it was too late. Though she was only stumbling, she managed to make it across the line before the black chocobo could catch up to her. The flag was waved and the finish alarm was sounded. Triggered confetti rained from the skies as the jockey rose up and reveled in glory.
Rex couldn't believe it…
He won.
The realization took a moment to settle. During that time, Rex stared out like a statue, yet seemed as brittle and flimsy as a pile of dried leaves. Only after a few seconds was he able to blink, the vision of a life in prison fading now. A feeling of safety and victory slowly began to permeate him. A smile slowly started to spread on his face. After inhaling a bit and nearly exhaling a nervous laugh, he rose up from where he stood. In another moment, he might have cheered that he had done it…that he had somehow managed victory despite the complete inability for him to do so…
But only on standing did his peripheral vision pick up Dio, his arms on the railing and nearly gaping at the sight. The goons were also rising. At that moment…Rex felt some fear come back. Perhaps he really had lost after all… Maybe Dio would try and cheat him like last time… After all, he was in his power.
Yet as he feared this, once again the words of Leviathan rang in his head.
Say this…and say it as calmly as you can…
"…I said I wanted to play games where I had to guess the character of the other person." Rex found himself repeating a moment later. Dio didn't look to him, but he kept talking. "I guessed that the S Class rider was a true athlete who took pride in his sport. He didn't think it was fair to go against other C Class riders. That's why he never pushed his mount to the full speed. He wanted to give the others a chance to win. I spotted that…and that's why I bet on Blue Cloud. The rider on that chocobo saw things differently. I could see how eager he looked from here. He wanted the chance to beat the best rider at the park."
Dio leaned up from the railing here. He turned his full body toward Rex, towering it and its muscle over him. The young man turned to him, and soon saw his domineering presence over him. He swallowed a bit at that, but managed to look up and try to look as plain and straight as possible. There was another pause between the two, and Rex waited for the answer. After all…even if their own bet was relatively small, Dio had just lost a ton of money, and would lose even more when he had to pay that huge pot of winnings to the other gambler. That might tend to override his playing spirit…
The owner finally raised his hands. They came down hard on Rex's shoulders, clapping on either side with such power he thought he'd buckle for a moment. However, Dio's face then spread into a giant smile, and he let out another laugh.
"In that case, my friend…I say you are a better gambler than I am. You bet your life…but you were smart enough to not gamble it foolishly. It appears now there was a larger chance for you to have won this stacked wager than I thought. But that error is on my part. Very well…the goblet is yours."
Rex nearly melted. Now full relief came rushing into him. He let out a long exhale as the big man continued to laugh. He could barely move or think straight after all that. But in the end…Leviathan had come through. They had won. He must have judged Dio's character far better than he thought.
The large man moved his hand to only one shoulder, and began to lead him on. "Let's go to my trophy room. And next time you're in the area, make sure to look me up. From now on, I place my bets on what you wager on at the Chocobo Races."
"Azure to Denzel and Marlene…come in please."
"You're wasting your breath. Even if they could respond, the walls of this lab are too deep underground to get a signal out. Continue decoding."
Azure frowned but then got back to the keyboard. He typed in the latest set of commands and pressed the enter button. He looked up to the computer screen afterward, and saw it switch to a password entry menu. Once it was there, he turned his head over to the side of the room. Shelke was now inside the chamber that she had opened earlier, although Azure couldn't see her that well anymore. It was some sort of mako pod, and she was immersed in the stuff. Azure knew enough about science to know that was death for anyone without Jenova cells in their body to collect it and store it, but she seemed to be doing just fine.
"What now?" He called out to her.
"The password is CH37FN39VFBNHQ38DFMJ10VF76K." She flawlessly related.
Azure's eyes widened as he typed in each successive number or letter, hoping that he was right as he entered it. He began to wonder how she could remember a password that long. Yet in the end, he pressed the enter key, and the appropriate screen came up indicating security control. He looked back to her.
"I think I'm in."
"Go to monitors. Use the mouse."
Azure had to look around a bit. This was all very basic and cramped. None of it had anything attractive about it. Obviously, DeepGround didn't care for such things. However, he did find a security monitor icon. He clicked on that, sending him into another page.
A warning message immediately lit up on the screen. It only informed him something he already knew. He was only allowed limited access to general monitors at this time. He sighed and closed it. After that, a dialog box popped up, with spaces in it for blanks.
"There's a dialog box." He called.
"It wants you to specify which camera you wish to view." Shelke answered. "Type 'general list' in all caps. It will give you a menu of ones to choose from."
Azure immediately did so. Seconds later, a huge list of cameras appeared. The youth was shocked. Even for general cameras, the page immediately displayed some hundred of them. However, as the scrolling bar shrank on the sides, he realized there had to be much more… Shelke hadn't been kidding. There was no way he could look through all of this…
Sighing, the youth tried as best as he could. He clicked on the first camera. An image popped up…showing nothing other than an empty hall. He looked over the keyboard for a moment, and decided to see if he could scroll through them just using the page up or down function. He pressed one of the keys, and the screen responded by changing to a new view. Another empty hallway. With a shrug, Azure at least realized he found a way to get through these quickly. He pressed the button a few more times, scrolling through a few more cameras. Nothing overt or out of the ordinary. He couldn't even find any personnel in the first few. He did see that much of the place had been remade to be something rather hellish looking and fearsome. It wasn't just the halls. He kept pressing the button, however, and kept looking…
Then, he stopped on one camera in particular.
"Whoa!"
"What's wrong?" Shelke asked from her tank.
"Not more bad news…" Carbuncle grumbled from the floor. Bored and with nothing to do, he had curled up on it around the remaining essence, and had been waiting for both to get done with their strange machines so they could get on with the rest of the mission. With a tired look, he turned his eyes up to Azure as the young man exclaimed at what he was seeing.
One hallway was stuffed with the enemy. Yet they weren't crammed together or pouring down the hall as they had been before. They were walking in rows, marching down the hall as thick as they could. They were moving at even paces and they weren't crowding. It looked as if this was an orderly movement, not chaotic or rampant as earlier. There could be only one answer. They were moving out.
"There's a lot of them…a thousand…maybe even more…they're moving through this one hallway. It almost looks like a whole army is coming through."
"What's the camera designation?" Shelke asked.
Azure looked over the screen for a moment. "…Alpha-5-R27."
Shelke paused a moment. When she spoke again, her normally emotionless voice took on just a hint of grimness.
"…That's near the main exit point. They're mobilizing."
Azure tensed up on hearing that.
"On the good side…that means that security here will now be lowered. Your friends have a better chance at survival now."
That wasn't the most comforting bit of information in the world to Azure, but he didn't protest it. There were other things to worry about now. "We need to get this essence out of here."
"Great…" Carbuncle groaned from the floor as he began to get up. "I better get the boss on the horn. At any rate, we've got the essence. Hope he knows how we can use it…" With that, the small green creature closed its eyes and began to focus. Azure wasn't sure what exactly he was doing, but he assumed it had some sort of telepathic link with Leviathan. At any rate, he left the esper to it. Instead, he walked away from the screen and snatched up the essence. Once he had it, he went back to the console.
"I'll try to look a bit more while you're recharging." He stated to Shelke.
A moment or two went by after that, in which Azure began to press the buttons again…when a mechanical whirr suddenly went out. Both Shelke and Azure seemed to hear it, for she reacted within the mako tank when it went off. Azure himself looked up and in front of him, his mind already recognizing that sound as an elevator coming to life. Sure enough, it began to hum a second later as the cables within it began to pull the elevator chamber back up toward the top.
"…I think they bypassed the override." Azure stated. His hand was already going to his side to begin to summon his sword.
"…Emergency shutdown."
Azure stopped just shy of bringing Masamune to him, and turned his head toward Shelke's container. The machine started running again, and a hiss went out as the green mako within it began to drain. He realized she had shut it off just now.
"I thought you said you needed an hour." Azure spoke up.
"Fifteen minutes will have to do." Shelke responded as the mists continued to drain.
"I can hold them here for longer. At least another fifteen minutes." Azure answered. "They can't send that many down here at once in that elevator."
The elevator stopped, and the sounds of doors opening, distant and above them, went off.
The mists were nearly flooded by now. They finished emptying, and the hatch unlocked and opened up to let its occupant out while Shelke kept talking. "The only thing of value in this laboratory is that essence. If Diablos has any sort of strategy in his mind at all, which we have reason to believe he does, he won't bother sending troops down here just to be struck down one after the other. It is more likely that he will be arming a miniature high incendiary firebomb down in that car to annihilate this laboratory and everything in it."
Azure paused only for the briefest second to take that in.
Soon after, his palm closed and he turned to Carbuncle. "It's time to warp us out of here."
The elevator clicked, and began to hum once again. It was on its way down. Shelke quickly stepped out of the tank and jogged over to Carbuncle. As for the green creature itself, it opened its small black eyes a moment later, and looked up to the both of them as they approached. He was smiling a bit.
"Good news, guys. Lord Leviathan has the two elements he needs. He's going to get to work right away making the Magical Lamp."
"Alright." Azure answered hurridly, moving over to the creature and putting his hand on it. "Get us out of here."
"Hey! Watch the fur!" He protested. "I don't have much that's still intact after today!" He griped, as Shelke came up to him and placed her hand on him as well. He turned to her a moment later, and grinned a bit and turned his head. "Eh…of course, you're more than welcome too, madam…"
Azure clamped his jaw tighter. "Carbuncle…"
He turned back to him, rolling his eyes and groaning at being interrupted. Shelke herself looked unimpressed by the esper's comment. "Alright… Now, Leviathan's got some new instruct-"
The elevator began to slow down as it neared the bottom.
"Carbuncle!"
The esper gave a huge sigh of disgust. "Fine! Have it your way!" The ruby on his head, now cleaned up, gave out a huge glare of red light. Its shine very quickly grew so strong that it seemed to cover Carbuncle's shape completely. Not only him, but it quickly spread out from there and enveloped Azure and Shelke as well. Both of them vanished into its light too. But then, as quickly as it had lit up, the light died down once again, shrinking back into the ruby from where it came. Only when it did so…no one was there. Azure and Shelke had both vanished into thin air. And when it came back to its origin, it revealed that the figure who bore it had disappeared as well, along with the jewel where it originated. Once the light had fully vanished, there was nothing left behind except the empty air and the abandoned lab.
Three seconds later, the elevator doors opened, barely showing a hint of a metallic cylinder device.
And two seconds after that, there wasn't even empty air in the room. It was immediately consumed as 2,000 degree flames filled the entire chamber and melted all of the contents within.
Azure had never "warped" before. It wasn't altogether unheard of. The right materia would do it, although it was an expensive thing to find and utilize. The sensation was disorientating. It seemed as if you were being pulled in all directions and none at once for a few brief moments, and all the rest of your senses were simultaneously cut off and overloaded. You couldn't do much other than stand there as the world around you seemed to suddenly turn into a foggy blur and swirl around like food in a blender. However, that lasted only fractions of a second. Then reality readily smoothed itself out and became normal again. Gravity went back to work and all of the senses came back.
It was that sensation that came rushing back to Azure as he, Shelke, and Carbuncle rematerialized. He was still in the same position he had been at the lab initially, with his hand on Carbuncle and standing next to Shelke. But then, he stepped back and let out an exhale. A hand went to his head and shook it, trying to clear the muddling effect he had just been through. He blinked a few times to get his bearings, and then looked up at the area around him.
They were outside again. That much was sure. It was dark now, but he could feel the air against him. It could have been a bit fresher for Junon… He turned his head around and saw that one area of the sky was darker. Very dark. He heard some low rumbling in the clouds, indicating a thunderhead or a thunderstorm. Then he turned his head down and around, surveying the gravelly path he had landed on, and looked over to see a rusted metal wreck of some train, near some old twisted…
Tracks…?
Azure suddenly froze. His head rapidly turned after that and looked around himself, wondering if he was imagining this or not. But no…he wasn't. The same trains in the same position…the same ruined stations and tracks…the same dark sky over the center of the city a bit farther away…
Azure turned back to Carbuncle. Shelke had already released him, had assessed the situation, and turned back to him again.
"…Carbuncle…we're in the Train Graveyard."
The esper gave a sigh. His black beady eyes seemed to roll. "Yes, I'm aware of that." He flatly stated.
"…We're supposed to be in Junon."
Another sigh. "Yeah…that's what I tried to tell you back there. Lord Leviathan gave us new orders. The nearest place that has enough holy power within it to refuel the esper that this essence is going to bring out is near here, right within this ruin of a city. So…I got us as close as I could, which was the drop off point from the airship."
Azure blinked in astonishment. "…This is a hot zone." He stated a moment later. "And they're coming out of the base right now."
Carbuncle groaned. "We have to get to the spot in order to revive the esper."
The youth clamped down on his jaw, and then looked up to Shelke. She was looking back at this point. "Then we need to get out of here right now."
"Security is still high here, but not overwhelming." Shelke answered. "From here, we should be able to escape past the outer perimeter. After that, however, my knowledge of the landscape has terminated."
"Then let's just get away from here first." Azure answered. "Lead the way."
To be continued...