Chapter 38
The Zolom reared up again, its hood flared to the fullest. Blood poured from a score of bullet holes in its blue-green scales. Why wasn't it dead yet? Not that Chaos was complaining. He desperately needed this – a flesh and blood enemy to unleash his rage on.
The otter stood on its hind legs behind him and swung its bola. The cat, on the other hand, had refused to set paw in the marshlands, lying down on dry ground and waiting for them there.
The Zolom's teeth showed as it hissed in irritation, but Chaos directed his attention to the real threat: its forked tail with multiple stingers. He fired the Velvet Nightmare at it again as it swept toward him.
The otter's bola whirred past him and caught on the Zolom's tail with a thwack, wrapping all the stingers into one bundle. In retaliation, the giant serpent lashed him with its bound tail and tossed him a hundred yards. Chaos kept his eyes on the snake's tail, still dangerous despite being trussed up. Behind him Kenji splashed in the shallow waters.
Bring it on, snake.
Chaos' wings lifted him above the snake, and he tucked them in tight to swoop down with his fist extended. Dual Hound collided with its head at the same time he fired several more shots from the Velvet Nightmare. Distracted by watching his hits land, he didn't notice the tail rising up until it struck him. He plummeted from the air and struck the ground hard. It took a moment to force air back into his lungs and his shoulder felt on fire.
He rolled onto his back and brought his weapons up, prepared to fend off the Zolom's attack, but the Zolom's head fell to the ground beside him with a solid whump. He watched it for a moment to be sure it wouldn't rise again, and then cradled his shoulder. He let out a gasp, trying to force the pain back under control. The degradation-infected wound throbbed where he had landed on it.
Finally recovering enough to stand, Chaos rose and wiped the Dual Hound against his thigh, smearing blood against dark leather to dry and flake off later. He regarded the weapon. He hadn't been sure it would fit, but it turned out the weapon was made to adjust according to the size of the fist and wrist wearing it. At its largest setting it accommodated him satisfactorily, if a bit on the tight side.
Likewise, the gun had performed in a manner he couldn't really complain about. He scowled down at the Velvet Nightmare. If only he could say the same for its last owner.
"Did yeh see that? Now there's a corker of a snake!" The otter bounded down off the dead Zolom's back where he had climbed up to inspect the massive carcass. "Crikey! Oi've an idea! Let's start a show on the telly! We'd call it Zolom Hunter an' go about fightin' an' filmin' the beasties." If possible, his accent had cranked up a few notches.
Chaos turned to comment to Kadaj on the dubious nature of Kenji's claim to fame considering the otter had spent the greater portion of the battle on his back in the swamp… but Kadaj wasn't there. Chaos had dealt death to the Zolom, but the bigger issue was unchanged. The whelp had abandoned him and there was nothing he could do about it.
Stalemate: the sensation of doom when no moves were left. Powerlessness was not a state Chaos tolerated meekly.
Was that it, though? Did Kadaj's defection mean stalemate? He had once likened both Kadaj and Rufus to chess queens rather than kings. What happened when a queen was captured? It was a loss, but not the end of the game. The tadpole's words floated back to him, 'Pawn promoted to Queen.'
Was it possible? Kadaj had been taken, but could he be regained? What move must Chaos make to achieve that end? Not that he cared or anything. If the whelp wanted to go play bad guy, what was that to him? Still, Chaos had never been one to give up his toys without a fight, and he didn't feel inclined to start today.
He was going to get the whelp back, and he didn't care how many pawns he had to sacrifice to make it happen.
"Hey, I miss 'im too." The otter lost his joviality and pulled his hat off.
Was he really that transparent? "What do you know about it? You're just a robot."
"Nah, technically I'm an artificial intelligence unit, yeh know? But all anyone ever hears is the 'artificial' bit an' they never consider anything further. But I have feelings too, yeh know? And I guess I got used to havin' the kid around too."
"Hnn… guess we'll just have to get him back then."
"That's the spirit! Jus' cause he's gone an' gotten himself stuck up a gum tree doesn't mean we have to leave him there."
Chaos caught himself absently rubbing his shoulder and deliberately lowered his hand to his side when he noticed the otter watching. Recent tumble notwithstanding, that was becoming a bad habit.
"I'm thinking a trip to Mideel first, though?"
Chaos swung his head to look at Kenji, and the otter backed up under his glare. Nosy little robot. "So, Vincent couldn't keep it to himself, after all."
"No, no, at least not that I know of. I just put two and two together, yeh know? I'd have to be blind not see how yer shoulder's been bothering you ever since Gongaga," the otter ticked his point off on one of the toes on his paw, "and all your symptoms match up with the research we've recovered on Genesis' degradation." The otter ticked off a second toe. "And if that's the case, then Reeve is the guy you've got to see, I figure. As I was sayin', AI does stand for 'articifical intelligence,' yeah?"
Great. Just great. Of all the people… animals, things, whatever… to stumble across his single biggest secret – he refused to say weakness – it had to be the one creature that couldn't keep its mouth shut to save its own water-repellent hide.
"Who have you told?" He took a step towards the otter.
Kenji stepped back a pace. "No one, not even the boss. If Kunsel knows, it didn't come from me. Honest. I'd swear on my mum's grave."
"You don't have a mother – you were invented in a laboratory." Perhaps it was a tad cruel of him to point out, but nice wasn't his modus operandi even on days when his shoulder wasn't trying to kill him and his sidekick robot wasn't poking around where he didn't belong.
"Tsk, an' here I thought slayin' a Zolom would put you in a better mood."
"Hnn…" Chaos turned and headed back through the marshlands toward where they had stashed his motorbike and the cat. The ground sucked at his feet with each step, only letting go with a reluctant sucking sound, and he tried to pick the grassier bits to step on as they held his weight better.
"Mideel, then?"
"No. Edge first." After showering away the foul smell of this accursed swamp, he needed to confront the prominent members of AVALANCHE with Kadaj's defection… and declare his intention to bring the teen back alive. Oh goody.
Kidnapping. It always came back to kidnapping. Kadaj pushed the last Costa captive forward into a holding pen, pulling the door shut and slamming the bolt into place. The man turned and pounded against the bars as soon as Kadaj's grip released him. A bit of spittle landed on Kadaj's face as the man shouted expletives at him. Kadaj wiped it away with the back of his glove and turned his back to the cell.
Weiss clapped a hand against his shoulder. "Well done, brother."
Three simple words, and yet they warmed his entire being and made everything right again, like the world slanting back to horizontal after being tipped on its side.
"Your labor and your toil will see their reward. Soon, the Planet will return to its state of glory and greatness!"
How could he argue the methods when Weiss so clearly desired to make things right with the Planet again? He was no one to cast stones. Hadn't he also taken people captive in his own endeavor? And for the most part, Weiss' captives were adults and not children.
Kadaj glanced to the machine now occupying the greater portion of the town square formerly belonging to the Cetra. Yellow liquid coursed through clear plastic tubing, the broken down components of Manipulate Materia. He didn't understand the finer points of it, only that the system was loosely modeled after the Mako-suits once worn by the Tsviets. The effect it had on the people, on the other hand, that he'd witnessed firsthand on the last group to be exposed. Weiss was preparing for another round as soon as the holding pens were full again.
Instead of being able to influence a single person with Materia, the machine allowed Weiss to tap into whole groups and bring them around to his way of thinking, creating a durable effect that functioned for a few days even in his absence. A few speeches a week and he had an army at his disposal. With overly bright eyes and unquestioning compliance, they'd fall on their swords if Weiss asked them to.
A rebellious smirk crept onto Kadaj's face as he recalled that he had not needed a machine or Materia to control his own army. It slid into a frown as he recalled Jenova's voice in his head compelling him as well as his army… and the specific faces in that army. Denzel's, like all the rest, had been blank of all personality and individuality.
Vividly he remembered the look of outrage on Marlene's face and Cloud's determination to retrieve the boy. A small part of him had longed for someone to show that intensity on his behalf.
But this was different. The prisoners he brought in weren't all as hostile as the one he'd just dealt with. Truly, he suspected half the members of Weiss' army would follow him without the Materia. Years they had lived in poverty and hopelessness – first under the tyranny of Shinra, then trying to pick themselves up in the aftermath of its collapse – trapped beneath circumstances they could not control. If Shinra had been bad, at least then they'd had a war to throw their frustrations into. The promise of better things following the company's demise and the WRO's ascendency had not come to fruition for many of them, and a fomenting sense of anger and injustice brewed without an outlet. Weiss's speeches about taking back the Planet and restoring purity struck a chord with many of them. Their longing stretched them tight, like guitar strings, only needing the slightest plucking of Materia to make them his willing slaves. They believed Weiss when he said he would bring about great change.
Kadaj believed him as well. He glanced back at the holding pens and then away. The ends would justify the means.
Nevertheless, Kadaj renewed his intention to talk to Weiss about making Edge off-limits for recruitment. There wasn't anything wrong with Weiss' campaign, but he didn't want to see familiar faces – Johnny or Luxiere or the others he had come into contact with in Edge – here. And he could emphasize to Weiss the wisdom of not twisting AVALANCHE's tail. The last thing they needed was Cloud and associates interfering.
I apologize for the delay in making this chapter available. Thank you all for hanging in there and sticking with this story. It will continue even if there are longer periods between the updates.
Special thanks to Viking for helping me improve this chapter and for her faithful reviews! Also, special welcome to new followers/favoriters Jem, Anima, and Tcuisine. I appreciate you all.
Kenji wishes me to mention that this chapter is posted in fond respect for the late Steve Irwin and no offense is intended for those who are fans of The Crocodile Hunter.
Oh, and if you happen to be a Kenji fan (or a Kunsel fan), I have a new one-shot origin story for him entitled "Not in the Programmin', Mate." Please feel free to click on my profile to locate it.
Vendetta
02/17/17