By a Fraction of a Degree
A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129
Rated T for Violence and Language.
I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.
Part III: Demons
Chapter 64, The Fates Are Cruel
June 19th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 3:45 PM
"Zack? Where have you been? When you didn't make it back with the others I was so worried!" Aerith's voice was shrill on the other end of the line.
"Calm down, it's okay, we're not quite out of Midgar yet, so I can't talk for long, but we made it. We just got a little sidetracked." he said.
Aerith took a deep breath on the other end before asking "Can you get out?"
He grinned, "Of course we can, there's no way we're not gonna make it."
"Good, because we need you here soon. Rufus keeps talking about trying to retake the city, and Reeve's doing everything he can to stall. Ever since that last transmission things have been going crazy over here."
"Weiss…" Zack guessed.
Aerith paused and then asked tentatively "Did you see it?"
"I haven't seen anything yet, but… I might already know the gist of it…"
"He's going to march on Kalm in two days…" Aerith said.
Zack nodded and then did a double take as his eyes widened. "That soon?"
"That soon," Aerith confirmed.
"I see…" Zack considered this for a moment before saying "Tell Reeve to have transport waiting near the entry point where we should have met up with the Turks in an hour. Don't worry, we'll be back, and everything's going to be fine."
"You know I will anyway," Aerith said.
"Hey," Zack said. "It'll take a lot more than a few Deepgrounders to take us out."
"Maybe… but still, be careful."
"I will," Zack confirmed. The call ended and he turned his attention to everyone else. Shelke was walking around the church, observing its details with curiosity under Shalua's watchful eye. Genesis was standing at the edge of the old flowerbed, also looking over the blooms among the weeds, while Argento had seated herself on one of the right front pews. Kunsel was seated in one of the second rows at the front of the church watching Denzel eat a can of rations Tifa had offered him. The boy was sitting next to Cloud as though sheltering in his presence while the blonde swordsman was talking quietly with Tifa a few steps away.
"It looks like the only option we have now is to take him with us," Tifa said.
"He definitely won't be safe here," Cloud agreed.
The boy looked worried. "What about my mom and dad?"
"We'll look for them as soon as we can," Tifa said. "But we need to get out of here first."
Denzel looked up at them sadly and then relented. "I'll go."
Tifa knelt in front of him as it looked like he might start crying and Zack turned his attention elsewhere. His heart ached for the boy, but it looked like Tifa had things under control and he didn't want the poor kid to be overwhelmed. Besides… where was…? Oh… He finally spotted a familiar red cloak up in the rafters and walked to the back of the church, picking his way towards the stairs until at last he reached the upper support beams and found the gunman looking out of a particularly large hole a fallen wood piling had knocked into the roof. The forest of buildings in the slums were cast in shadow as the half-light from the afternoon sun filtered through the line at the wall blocking the view to the wastes.
"You all right?" Zack asked.
Vincent did not look at him, directing his gaze out over the sector, but after an uncomfortably long moment, he spoke. "I'm not sure I know the truth, but whether Lucrecia used me to house Chaos or not, it is something that can't be changed now. What was done to me in Hojo's lab last night," his eyes glanced down to where Shelke was walking the aisle between the pews to look at the altar at the head of the church, "was done because she was only following orders. However, the fate of Luxiere, may be a different story. Are you certain you and Kunsel can trust her?"
Zack watched Shelke's movements for a moment as the girl who looked much younger than she should, appeared to be tentatively asking Shalua about how the flowers came to be here when nothing usually grew in Midgar, at which Shalua knelt down by the edge of the hole in the floor and began to explain quietly, though Zack heard Aerith's name filter up through the quiet. "It's not easy," he said at last. "Luxiere was a good friend… when I knew him… even if he always was the most ambitious one…" he paused, the dead 2nd Class's last mail not far from his thoughts. "But from what you told me, it's very possible what she did to him was something she did because she was desperate. It's not an excuse, but for now, I think it's at least worth our while to give her the benefit of the doubt, and Shalua would be heartbroken if we didn't at least try. She's done a lot for us. The least we can do is try to return the favor."
Vincent turned his attention back out over the surrounding buildings. "If that is the way of it."
Kunsel sat in a pew behind Cloud, Tifa, and Denzel, who had leaned against Cloud. The blonde swordsman had seemed at first to not know what to do with him, but had eventually put his arm around the boy so he could shelter in his embrace. Poor kid. He looked thoroughly exhausted, and knowing he was already sick, this couldn't have helped. He had probably fled back the way they had come when his parents had been grabbed. But why had that happened? At least it explained why things had been so eerily quiet on the upper plate, but at the same time, he found himself wondering why they hadn't taken Denzel with them. What was the difference?
His attention was diverted at that moment as he saw Shelke looking over the flowers while Shalua watched her. "How is this possible?" she asked. "Flowers have not grown in Midgar since the installation of the mako reactors."
"For the most part, you're right," Shalua said. "But there's a woman who used to come here who could make it happen. Her name was Aerith."
"Aerith Gainsborough Fair," Shelke said. "The last known Ancient… So she had been hiding out in the slums before joining GUARDIAN. It was said the Ancients would lead Shinra to the Promised Land, not that it matters now. All that is important to her profile for the moment is that she is a leading member of GUARDIAN, married to Zack Fair."
Kunsel stood at that point and approached. He didn't know what he was going to do. He wasn't intending Shelke any harm, that much he was sure, but… He paused as he reached Shalua and watched the younger girl kneel down to examine one of the yellow blooms. Finally he spoke "She matters to us. Just like Luxiere mattered."
Shelke looked up at him curiously. "Luxiere?" she asked and then recognition dawned. "I do know someone who once carried that name. Though I do not understand why you would be so upset about him."
"Isn't it obvious?" Kunsel said bitterly. "He was a friend. We came up in SOLDIER together…"
"Even when he was thinking about turning on Zack?" Shelke asked, and Kunsel could almost see traces of derision seeping out from under that blank expression.
The entire church had gone deathly quiet at that and Kunsel glared in her direction. "That's not true…" he said.
"He may not have acted on it," Shelke continued, "But it was on his mind. He hadn't completely decided on it when he sent Zack that mail, asking him to let himself be captured, but…"
"That's enough," Zack said as he walked out through the door leading to the stairs up to the rafters. "It's true he sent me a message about that, but it doesn't matter. Deepground got to him before he ever got to the point where he had to make that choice, and it was still a horrible thing to happen to him."
Kunsel looked at Zack in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It never came up," Zack admitted. "And then… well… I didn't think it would change anything. I wasn't sure what he was thinking when he sent it to me, but even if I'd known what he was planning I would've ignored it. Remember, I didn't contact you either." Zack turned his attention to Shelke. "I don't know why you did to him what you did, but then, who's to say what would have happened, had things gone differently, and he'd had that chance to decide?"
"Zack…" Kunsel shook his head in disbelief. This was crazy. But at the same time… When his friend looked in his direction he really didn't know how he wanted to react.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before," Zack said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it either."
"It's not that," Kunsel said at last. "I'm glad to know you aren't ignoring it at least, but… that could have been serious …"
Zack smiled sadly. "Freya had a lot to answer for too, if you remember. If you think about it, we all did. I'm not saying what Shelke did was right or even excusable, but at this point, we need all the help we can get."
"I know," Kunsel said, frustration building even as he did his best to remain calm. "I don't like it, but I know." He turned to Shelke, "Still, even with his flaws, Luxiere wasn't some kind of toy you could play with. Whatever you thought you would gain from it, you still used him like he was a puppet. I don't know how many others you did the same with, but there's something seriously wrong with that." He noticed Cloud flinch out of the corner of his eye, but it was something he'd needed to get off his chest for the last couple of hours.
Shalua glared at him and stood between him and the Tsviet. "Are you trying to threaten her?" she asked warningly, her eyes narrowed.
"I'm not," Kunsel said. Staying in control had always been a skill he'd cultivated, even when most people couldn't see his face under his SOLDIER helmet. A good thing too, because right now, he was pretty angry. "Things are bad enough right now without us fighting each other. But she still needs to understand what she's done. What Deepground did… what Shinra did…"
Shelke stepped forward looking the man in the eye, "Shinra… Deepground… SOLDIER… you may think otherwise, but in these organizations, there will always be replacements. Why is that so hard to understand?"
"Because when a friend dies, they are never coming back, and by the time he returned to us after what happened to him, in some ways… he may as well have already been dead…" With that, Kunsel turned away from the two women and walked up the stairs. Vincent ignored him as he moved along the rafters and up through the hole in the roof to take a look around before sitting down to try and cool off. He would have given anything to have something to kick right about now.
June 19th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:00 PM
It had taken some time for the group to reach the checkpoint leading to the Sector 8 slums, and now they were watching it with some concern. Tifa stood behind Cloud as he and Zack warily took point, leaning against the opposite side of a couple of piles of debris and looking over them. Kunsel had climbed to the top of another nearby and had spent the last few moments observing the gate with a pair of field goggles. "It looks like there's about twenty of them," she heard him say. "Ten on the Sector 7 side and ten on the 8 side."
Zack peered around the refuse he was sheltering behind to confirm it. "There isn't a better way to go is there?" he wondered aloud. When they'd come in, they hadn't needed to come this way.
They'd managed to get into Sector 6 by using another sewer, but they couldn't rely on the foul smelling tunnels alone. It was far too easy to get lost. At the entrance to Sector 7 luck had been on their side too, for they had discovered a fallen pipe that had knocked a hole in the fence some distance away from the gate, but here? It looked like they might have to fight their way through… That wasn't the problem. They could easily survive twenty people with their current force. The problem was the horde of soldiers that would probably be attracted by the noise.
She felt Denzel's hand squeeze tightly in her own. He was obviously scared, and she squeezed it back reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this."
He nodded.
Kunsel climbed down from his perch looking thoughtful. "It doesn't look like we can get through here undetected," he said after a moment, "But it looks like there might be a couple of buildings close enough to either side of the fence that those of us who are SOLDIER enhanced should be able to jump across."
"Then let's move quickly," Argento said. "There's already the chance we may have been spotted at our last crossing. It's quite possible the other Tsviets have sent out Aerial Mines and many of those are fitted with cameras. We can't have one of them spot us while jumping from roof to roof."
"She's right," Zack agreed as they started off in the direction the brown-haired swordsman had indicated. "We'll go one by one, except where people have to be carried."
Soon they had reached the building. To everyone's relief there was a ladder leading up onto the roof and once it was ascertained they could all traverse the gap, Vincent folded into his cloak, floating up on a draft and taking a moment to scout the area before returning, and landing in front of Zack. "It seems safe," he reported, before floating back up and over to the alley on the opposite side of the fence.
"What a strange man," Genesis commented.
"You're one to talk," Zack replied.
Genesis dramatically preened his hair. "We seek it thus and take to the sky," he replied.
"Let's do this," Zack replied. With that, he scaled the ladder and took shelter behind a chimney to act as a lookout. After a moment, he signaled that the first person should cross and Tifa watched Cloud help Denzel up before he picked the boy up on the roof, quickly making the leap across the gap and jumping back down to join Vincent, out of sight on the other side. The others followed with Kunzel and Shalua next. Shelke made herself temporarily invisible when it was her turn, followed by Argento, then Tifa, and then Genesis went before Zack made the final dash, landing at the edge of the building and using his good arm to lower himself down over the side to join them.
"All right," he said. "All that's left is to make it to the street where the entrance to the tunnel is and then we're out of here." Tifa pulled ahead with Zack and Kunsel at that point, since they knew the way for this part of the plan and everyone hurried down the backstreet, towards what he was sure would be safety.
They were almost to small plaza they would need to skirt around when Cloud hurried up from the rear. "I heard something the next street over," he whispered. "It sounded big."
"How big?" Zack asked.
"I suppose we shouldn't be surprised," Argento said, resting her hands on the pommel of her sword as it balanced on the ground. "If he turned Behemoth of course he'd be able to track our scent."
"Behemoth…?" Kunsel asked.
"Azul the Cerulean," Shelke intoned. "First subject of the Metamorphose project. He is able to change forms into a Behemoth-like being to make use of its more animal qualities."
That was when they heard the growl from around the corner of the building and Zack signaled that was everyone's cue to leave. All together, they could handle a Behemoth, but there could be people around here. They hurried down the next street and towards the path around the plaza that they needed to take when Tifa heard something else. Combat boots. A blue glow lit up the far wall around the next corner, and she saw Zack turn around, guiding everyone else towards the open ground, away from what was probably more Deepground Soldiers.
It was when they reached that open ground that things really started getting problematic. Several other Deepground soldiers seemed to be patrolling the perimeter on the far side of the open space. They might actually be lined up with several blind spots, he guessed. Perhaps they'd still be able to sneak across…?
A tremor reverberated through the ground under their feet and then he saw what looked like a huge Behemoth-like creature land in the center of the plaza, its claws digging vast gashes in the old concrete as it let out a ferocious roar. Almost immediately afterward, Cloud hurried up to the front with Denzel in tow and Tifa saw several of those soldiers she'd heard come up the alley behind them. There was no longer anywhere to go but out into the center of the plaza, towards the monster.
Several people cast Walls as the group backed out into the open. They were almost to the middle of the square looking around at what seemed to be four or five squads of Deepgrounders when the Behemoth charged. Zack and Cloud dived to the left, pulling Denzel along with them while Kunsel fired off a shot from his gunblade. The Behemoth-thing let out a roar and suddenly began to shrink as the electricity flowed through his body. At last, Tifa saw an incredibly large blue man at whom Argento's eyes narrowed. She and Shelke stood in the middle of the party, not seeming the least bit afraid. "Always the vicious brute, aren't you Azul?" Argento lazily flicked some dirt off of her gloves as she spoke.
"Perhaps, but I never needed one of your weapons. I have become a much stronger blade for Deepground than any you've ever forged," Azul replied. "But since the both of you couldn't see fit to dispose of GUARDIAN properly, it would seem Weiss has decided neither of you are of any use to us anymore."
Shelke gasped in surprise at that, but Argento simply shrugged and smiled knowingly. "I knew the risks as well as anyone," she said. "But tell me, have you ever truly fought with me?"
"Of course not," Azul said dismissively. "I would have crushed you beneath my feet. As I will crush all of you. You did nothing but play with the fires, and as for Shelke, her only skill is collecting data from a virtual reality. It makes me sick to even think of her as a member of the Tsviets! So come, your fates have all been decided. It is time to return to the Planet." He smiled hungrily in anticipation.
Zack looked over at Tifa and motioned that she and Shalua should get Shelke and Denzel out of the line of fire. She backed away from the man with the boy and the girl, their eyes warily on the surrounding soldiers. The priority in this fight wasn't to draw this out but to get the hell out of here as soon as possible.
Argento laughed. "Perhaps so, but don't you even know what I am? If not I shouldn't even believe you would have the capacity to know that when the steel is hot…" Zack noticed she had gone for her sword again and took that as the cue to prepare for battle. He saw that Kunsel and Cloud were also readying their weapons. "…The blade should never tempt the smith who knows precisely where to strike with her hammer!" She rushed at the man who had no means of dodging and Zack noticed the aura of Earth magic around her blade. Her single grey eye glinted as she brought her sword down across his shoulder before dodging out of the way as the Tsviet let out a bellow and attempted to swat her into the air.
Argento landed in a crouch, her sword back in its sheath as though she'd never drawn it and that was when the Deepground soldiers opened fire. Zack already had Odin charged up as the Silver Tsviet hit the ground, and judging from the appearance of two other summons in tandem: Shiva, and Bahamut, as well as a spell Tifa was unfamiliar with, the ex-SOLDIER wasn't the only one. She soon discovered the source of the unfamiliar spell to be Genesis, who had followed up with a second volley of the same casting. Several of the Deepground soldiers nearest to the combat zone fell but Tifa could see there were more coming.
Since the brunt of their combined attack had been directed at Azul who seemed to have been knocked out cold for now, Zack had turned his attention towards the path of least resistance and concentrated the most powerful Fire spell he could muster down the alley he wanted to get into. Several more Deepgrounders dropped to the pavement, and he looked back towards his friends. "This way!" he called.
Slowly, everyone else began drawing their efforts towards him and once they had made it into the alley, he motioned that Tifa handle getting the sewer open while he and the others ran interference. It seemed to take far too long for them to get the manhole cover off but eventually, one by one, everyone jumped down the hole and away from it. Zack followed Cloud down last once he was sure no one had been left behind and then promptly used Odin one last time, to cave in the tunnel behind them. At the very least, they would have no pursuers through here.
They hurried through the gloom for barely a few minutes when they saw light up ahead and Shalua led the way in climbing out of the hole and into the wastes. When they were finally out under the evening sky, Tifa flopped down on the ground. "Phew!" Zack said, wiping the sweat off his brow as he and Cloud joined them. "I'm glad that's over."
One by one, the others emerged, all looking nearly exhausted. "It probably won't be for long though," Kunsel commented, leaning against a rock. "We're not done yet."
"I know," Zack replied. "But on the bright side, Hojo's gone, not too many people died, and we might even have a few more allies."
Argento chuckled. "I had always heard you were an optimist, probably too much of one for your own good," she said.
"So what's next?" Cloud asked.
The silver Tsviet considered the prospect. "I think I will stay around a little while."
"Okay," Zack said. "Welcome aboard."
He turned his attention to Genesis. "What about you?"
Genesis yawned dramatically. "I intend to stay around only long enough to reclaim my sword. After that, I will leave."
"That's too bad," Shalua said from where she sat on the ground. "Because you seemed like you'd be pretty useful against Deepground."
Zack shook his head. "If he doesn't want to stay, I'm not gonna stop him," he said. "Though it would be a big help…"
"Hey guys. You need a lift?" Everyone turned their attention behind them to see a familiar ninja standing next to a very familiar lady Turk on a hill behind them.
"Freya! Yuffie! Glad to see you all made it out!" Zack stood up as he gave them a wave.
"Of course we did!" Yuffie said.
Freya offered one of her usual confident grins as she rested her shotgun over her shoulder. "Those Restrictors never stood a chance against the White Rose of Wutai and the best hunter on the Planet! But we can talk about that later, I know you guys are probably tired."
"Yeah," Kunsel agreed. "And we don't want to stick around here too long anyway."
With that, everyone headed past the hill to find a large truck ready to take them back to Kalm.
June 19th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:00 PM
The ride back to Kalm passed largely in silence. Denzel had fallen asleep sitting between Cloud and Tifa at some point, and everyone else looked like they wanted to… except perhaps for Genesis, who had been asleep for a very long time, and he busied himself quietly murmuring lines from Loveless as though making sure he still remembered them, and generally ignoring everyone else.
Zack was more than relieved to see the town pulling into sight through the front window of the truck, and not long afterward, they had passed through the refugee camp on the outskirts. Even now, it was a disheartening sight to see so many people displaced, but when Freya pulled the truck to a halt in front of headquarters, and the doors opened, he was more than relieved to see Aerith waiting for him. His wife rushed to him as he exited the truck and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're back," she said.
"Me too," he returned her embrace before turning to watch the others disembark. "We've got some more people with us," he added, "And once everyone's settled, I've got some calls to make…" It was right at that moment when he saw that Aerith was staring at someone. Genesis had just gotten out of the truck and was dusting himself off, apparently fully aware that he was being watched and was walking over to meet them, but Aerith's expression had turned wary, and yet curious at the same time.
"What is it?" Zack asked.
"N-nothing," Aerith said. "I'll tell you in a minute."
"This is your wife, I take it." Genesis asked. "The woman who spoke to the Goddess?"
Zack nodded. "Yeah… um, Aerith? This is Genesis…" He tried to think of any further clarification he should add to that one but further attempts to describe the red-headed ex-SOLDIER would have probably ended in 'it's complicated.'
"I see…" Aerith said.
Genesis nodded in acknowledgement. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess."
"Maybe," Aerith replied with a smile. She turned to Zack. "Rufus wants to talk to you as soon as possible."
"All right," Zack agreed. Argento and Shelke had already passed them, following Kunsel towards the safe house, but he figured he could fill her in on them later. In the meantime, once everyone else was out of earshot he took hold of her hand and whispered "Is everything okay?"
Aerith looked up at him, worry knitting her brow. "I'm not sure how to say this…" she said softly. "Zack, about Genesis… he's not human…"
"Well of course he isn't," Zack said. "Every time I fought the guy he nearly…"
"That's not what I mean," Aerith clarified. "I mean he's really not human anymore. Minerva healed his degradation but in order to do that… Zack, I think she made him into a WEAPON."
"For real?" Zack looked up at the former SOLDIER who was walking slightly ahead of them. He didn't seem to have heard them talking, but…
Aerith nodded. "He feels exactly like Jade WEAPON and the WEAPONs under the Northern Crater. And there's more… The Planet seems to be saying it has a plan for him. Whatever that is… he will have to die for it." She shook her head. "The task he's been given… it's a heavy burden…"
"Perhaps…" The two of them paused to see Genesis had stopped and had half turned to face them. The others had long gone out of earshot. "However," he continued, "Considering that the degredation would have destroyed me by now, I have already lived far longer than I should have. Laying down my life in return for the goddess's favor is hardly a price at all." He lifted his hand dramatically. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return. To become the dew that quenches the land, to spare the sands, the seas, the skies, I offer thee this silent sacrifice."
"I don't think I remember that part," Zack observed.
Genesis gave him a knowing smirk. "There aren't many living who know of Loveless's Fifth Act." With that, the former SOLDIER strode after the others.
As they entered the Turks' safe-house they found Reeve waiting for them, looking a lot more harried than usual. "There you are. Did Aerith tell you about Rufus?"
Zack nodded. "Yeah. But first…" he turned his attention to Shalua. "You probably want that data sorted out as soon as possible, don't you?"
The hacker nodded. "Yes. For that, Shelke says she'll need some very specific equipment."
Zack turned his attention to Reeve. "Do you think we can manage that?"
Reeve looked curiously over at Shelke before nodding. "I'll see what we can do."
June 20th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:00 AM
Vincent stood on the second floor balcony by a window in one of the larger buildings in Kalm. Thanks to their contacts in the city, and Rufus's resources, they had been able to borrow another residence in town to make use of the larger floorspace for the equipment Shelke required. The only hurdle, it seemed, had been in getting several members of their group to actually stop and rest. Zack not the least of them. It was understandable since there were several people pulling him and Reeve in several different directions. However, after the call from Rufus to let them know he wanted a joint operations meeting in the morning to determine what their plan was from here, Aerith had put her foot down on anyone coming to the SOLDIER or anyone else who had been in the rescue party and asked that they redirect their concerns to Reeve, or Cid for the night unless there was a dire emergency.
He felt a small smile play at his lips. Aerith was not to be messed with.
Looking down from the balcony, he watched as Shelke and Shalua worked to rebuild the equipment Shelke was planning to use. Kunsel stood nearby, clearly wary, but not moving, apparently having decided he wasn't sure he trusted Shelke enough to not have someone watching her. Not that Vincent could blame him for that.
Shalua was working at a computer terminal while Shelke directed a few technicians in setting up her equipment while at the same time, building a custom headset for her own use at a workstation that had a view of the room.
It was around that time when Freya came in through the front door and walked over to Kunsel. He noticed she was wearing her Turk uniform. "There you are. Zack and Reeve were wondering if there was anything you wanted to add to the report we're giving about what we saw in Midgar at the meeting."
Kunsel glanced in the lady Turk's direction, but seemed too preoccupied to notice the change in attire. "I actually do have some notes on my PHS. I'll send them in a mail…" he reached for the com device and started working the buttons on it. Freya wandered over to where Shelke was curiously. "What's that?" she asked.
"I'm creating an interface device that will enable me to engage in an SND, a Synaptic Net Dive," Shelke explained.
"You mean like what Shalua said you did back in the city?" Freya asked.
Shelke nodded, turning her attention from the headset to a computer terminal as she spoke. "It was my specialty within the Tsviets. While retaining consciousness, I project an image of myself into a virtual reality called a network. I can also use this ability to negotiate with data on the subconscious plains of sentient lifeforms."
"So that's how you… saw into people's minds?" Freya asked. Kunsel looked away at that point, and seemed to have decided the goings on outside the window was a lot more interesting.
"Correct," Shelke turned her attention from the headset to a computer terminal that had also been set up at her work station, typing something onto the screen with one hand as she held the headgear with the other. "However, this often involves a great risk to my own sanity. For Shinra, the success of the SND project was crucial for their next step in…" she paused. "I'm sorry, I seem to have gotten off track."
"It was probably the next step in gaining complete control over Shinra's troops," Kunsel said, his voice calm in spite of being clearly disgusted by the idea.
"Why do you say that?" Freya asked.
"If what we've seen of the techniques that were used to keep Deepground under control is anything to go by, then control is everything the President wanted. He tried to control the populous by bribery, and to gain control of future soldiers by keeping them addicted to the one thing that would keep them alive. If he could control their minds too… you can't get much more complete then that…" he looked at his boots, shaking his head.
"I guess that's true," Freya said. "It is creepy, if you think about it."
Shalua looked up from her work at that point. "There was something else I've been meaning to ask, Shelke."
"What is it?" Shelke had just finished typing and was back to work on her headset.
"A couple of times when Hojo was in the lab, he said some stuff about this thing called the 'Protomateria,' and later, you said you were supposed to locate it. What is it exactly? Do you know where it is?"
Shelke stood up at that point, walking over to the reclined chair to connect the headset to a series of conduits and wires. "It is in this room."
"What?" Freya looked around, her brow furrowed. "Where?"
Shelke raised a single hand and Vincent realized she was pointing directly at him. "Dr. Crescent must not have told him anything when she performed the procedure that placed Chaos within him, because I found nothing about it when I performed the SND in Hojo's laboratory." She resumed working with the equipment in front of her. "I don't have all the details thanks to the corruption of my data, but the Protomateria is currently implanted in the left side of his chest. A proper X-ray would reveal it quite clearly."
Everyone was looking in his direction now, seeking confirmation. Vincent, thought about this new information before speaking. "So what you showed me when you were fighting with Chaos… It was…"
"True?" Shelke asked. "I don't know for sure. Part of that information is composed of corrupted fragments. But the truth remains that Chaos, and the Protomateria are inside of you because of her work, regardless of her motives."
"This Protomateria…" Freya asked after a moment. "Just what is it supposed to do?"
Shelke considered the question before standing up straight and returning to her computer terminal."In the case of Vincent Valentine, it is supposed to serve as a control mechanism of some sort. I believe Weiss had his own agenda for acquiring it."
"And that would be?" Kunsel had turned his attention back from the window at that point, still suspicious but alert for important information.
"Omega," Shelke said. "The final xenoform, designed by the Lifestream to gather all life and carry it into the stars when the Planet dies, and it is intimately connected to Chaos as well. Hojo desired the Protomateria to bond with Omega, in order to witness Sephiroth's rebirth from a separate vantage point. Weiss felt he could use it for other reasons."
"What sort of reasons?" Freya asked.
"I believe I can explain that," Everyone looked up to see that Argento had entered the building and now joined everyone by the computer terminal. "Based on what remained of Professor Crescent's thesis, Hojo believed that by creating a pure Lifestream, he could prematurely awaken Omega and use the Protomateria to become one with it, as Vincent Valentine has become one with Chaos. It was for this reason that he had Nero especially busy until just recently…"
"Wait… a pure Lifestream…" Kunsel asked, his attention now on the Silver Tsviet. "What do you mean by that?"
"You probably would have found out sooner or later…" Argento began. "Lifestream energy untainted by the Stigma. I think you can figure it out from there."
Shalua's eyes went wide at that. "That boy's parents…" She murmured.
Kunsel and Freya looked equally horrified. "That's why he didn't disappear, because he had the Stigma and thus wasn't pure enough to be led to slaughter? That's why the streets were so quite?" Kunsel asked at last.
Argento nodded. "I am afraid so. I also think it's highly likely Weiss might attempt to continue the project unless steps are taken to make it impossible. With the materia still within Valentine, you may still have some amount of time before Shelke's data on this matter comes to the other Tsviets' attention, but before that happens some means of defending it would be advisable." At that moment, Vincent saw Kunsel reach for his PHS again and walk out the door in a hurry.
"But what for?" Shalua asked. "If Hojo's dead, why would Weiss want to keep going? He wants to rule the world, not destroy it!"
"Because the threat of destruction will be more than enough to keep the Planet in line, should he succeed…" Vincent murmured. Everyone was quiet for a moment after that as the severity of what he had said sank in.
"Which is precisely why it would be best that Shelke's data from her SND should be eliminated before they manage to decode it," Argento said. "The Black Materia could lead to the same end."
"True," Freya said. "This is definitely something we'll have to let the others know. Is there anything else we should add?"
"Vincent Valentine would do well not to wander alone," Shelke suggested. "Unless he knows of a way to protect the Protomateria without assistance, there's always the risk Nero might come for it or the Black Materia's location."
It was at that moment when Freya noticed her own PHS buzzing and answered it. "Yeah?" She listened for a moment before answering. "Got it. I'll let them know and we'll be on our way." As she hung up, she looked back at the assembled group. "We need to head to the town hall. The strategy meeting is going to start soon."
"Understood," Argento replied. With that, everyone started towards the exit. Vincent was headed in that direction as the others disappeared through the door when it happened…
Vincent found himself standing under what looked to be an open sky surrounded by ruins. Yet something about this place had an artificial quality to it. He also found himself looking through the eyes of someone shorter than himself as they landed on a woman in red.
"Hey Shelke…" The woman carried an odd bow-like blade in her hand as she padded around the platform on which they stood.
"What is it?" He heard Shelke's voice emitting from his own mouth.
The woman came a little closer and Vincent finally realized this must be Rosso the Crimson. "Haf you ever gone on any missions outside?"
"No," Shelke replied. "My body is not suited for long-term operations."
Rosso nodded. "I guess you're right. But you used to live on the outside before you came here didn't you?"
"Yes…" Shelke answered, looking away from the red Tsviet, though her posture was guarded.
Rosso looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "You know, ever since I vas born, this is the only kind of scenery I've ever seen. An artificial sky… Real, yet fake. Just vonce, I vant to see the vorld outside… Vhy von't they let me out?"
Shelke's field of vision moved, revealing that they were standing in what appeared to be an entire field of slain Deepground soldiers…
As reality returned, Vincent saw he was still in the computer lab. He put out a hand against the wall to support himself. What was that? It was definitely not a memory that belonged to him. Finally, once he was mostly sure it wasn't about to happen again, he walked outside to see Kunsel waiting for him with his PHS, looking a lot more relieved than he had when he had left the building, though his expression was still rather grave.
"There you are," the ex-SOLDIER said. "The others already headed out but I didn't see you leave. I was about to come in and check…" he gave him a curious look. "Are you all right? I'd say you'd looked a little pale if that wasn't your normal color. Like you saw a ghost?"
"I'm fine," Vincent said.
Kunsel gestured that they walk towards the town hall. "All right. But we should get going. The meeting's about to start."
Running a little bit late, but we're back!
Poor Vincent. In Part II he gets savaged by Sephiroth repeatedly, then here he got mind-raped and now this. I'm so evil...
See ya next week!