Scarlet
By HighWind
Okay...so it was STILL forever between chapters. Sorry everybody. I'm trying, really I am...anyway, this is a big one.
Oh...and it's come to my attention that the spelling of Ralf's name was accidentally changed to Ralph during the last chapter. Stupid spell-check...anyway, the real spelling is supposed to be RALF. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused (if anyone even noticed...).
You know the drill, Amarant Coral and any other FFIX characters/locales/references are copyrighted to Square. Hasn't changed in all the time since I last updated. I did check.
Chapter Four: Now or Never
I've done a lot of terrible things in my life. I can admit that. However, looking back on it all, I can also find a reason, a good reason, for every mistake I've made. No matter how low I sunk, no matter how stupid a move I made, I had motivation every time. Every time but one.
I don't know why I went back to the Fangs after the ill-fated mission at Giovanni Manor. Maybe it was because I had nowhere else to go. Maybe I felt like I'd never make it on my own. Maybe I thought if I left, I'd be treated as a traitor...hunted down and killed. Killed the way Clyde was...without a second thought. And so, I was held within a world where I had enemies who wished to kill me, and comrades who were willing to. Held there by a fear of dying, no less. Sometimes, it's good to know that whatever gods there may be have a sense of irony.
But the point is, I did stay on as a member of the Fangs despite my knowledge that it was dangerous to do so. After all, I'd fought alongside them for years against the cutthroat, savage, self-serving Kapps. It was only then that I realized my gang wasn't so different from theirs.
For a few months, life went on as it always had. I spent my time collecting protection fees, robbing hole-in-the-wall shops, taking out high-ranking Kapps...business as usual. But one day, I was called aside by Bruce while hanging around in the run-down old building where the younger members of the Fangs lived.
"Scarlet...you remember the incident back at Giovanni's place, right? The mission that was really just a Kapp set-up?"
Of course I remembered. How could I forget? "Uh, yeah, of course...but why?"
He spat on the ground. "It wasn't a setup after all. The job was legit...but the Kapps found out somehow."
"But...our connections are so well-protected...how could the Kapps have ever found out?"
He sighed. "A leak. We had a double-agent within the Fangs...they just found him yesterday."
"Oh yeah? Who was it?"
"Nikolai...one of the highest ranking of all Fangs. One of Mary's most trusted advisors. Needless to say, she ain't pleased."
'Mary' was better known in Treno as Bloody Mary. She was an aristocrat, the daughter of a man who had made a fortune off of an honest trade business. Unsatisfied with her tremendous inheritance, the greedy Mary had put her assets into crime; in other words, she herself had founded the Fangs and was our biggest source of funding. If any one person could be called the leader of the Fangs, it was Bloody Mary. Because of this, her true name and identity were kept a secret, even to most of us. Only the very highest ranking members had ever met her, which is why it was such a big deal that one of them had become a traitor. If the Kapps found out who she really was, no one would be able to protect her...and if she went, the Fangs went. Period.
"Damn...what are we going to do?" To me, this was like the end of the world was coming.
"We strike!" Bruce exclaimed, slamming his fist on a table for emphasis and getting the attention of several of the other guys. "I told you they caught Nikolai? Well he's been interrogated, and they managed to get the location of one of the Kapps' key hideouts outta him. It's a storehouse on the eastern docks, by the big lake...and that's where the big fish of the gang usually hang out. If we launch an all-out assault and take out those key members, this war will be over, and there'll be no stopping the Fangs then!" This got some rousing cheers out of the growing crowd around Bruce. He was a true leader.
"I'm to choose a strike force out of you all tonight," Bruce continued. "We will report to Bloody Mary's mansion tomorrow to receive our briefing. And tomorrow night, for better or for worse, this war comes to an end..."
Naturally, I was picked. I couldn't sleep all night. Not only was I going to be privileged with meeting Bloody Mary herself, but I would have the honor of going into one of the most important battles, no, THE most important battle, in the history of Kapps vs. Fangs. They thought I was THAT good. They had that much faith in my skills. And so did I.
Our strike force met the other teams at a pre-disclosed location early the next morning. It was a small group...this truly was the elite of the Fangs. Ralf and Bruce, my two best friends in all the Fangs, were right there with me. I couldn't have been more confident, for as nervous as I was.
"So, this is is Bloody Mary's place..." As we passed inspection from the guards and proceeded into the top-secret estate of our leader, Ralf sounded like a kid in a candy store. To a born thief, a place this rich was hard to resist, even if it did belong to one of your own. Had I been in a more thoughtful mood, I might have seen the irony in the fact that a gang whose ideals were based on fighting the rich, was run by one of the richest people in Treno. I was broken out of my thoughts by the sound of Bruce smacking Ralf in the head and forcing him to return some pearls he'd snatched off a table in the hall as we walked through.
We reached a grand dining hall with walls that looked like pure gold, and there, sitting at the head of a very long table in a throne-like chair, was a rather attractive woman with a slightly devious face. Her hair was long and dark, she looked to be in her late twenties, and naturally, she wore a long, blood red dress and various jewelry. An appropriate appearnace for our fearless leader, I thought.
"Gentlemen, welcome..." she said in a voice that seemed conditioned for making speeches. "Sit, sit, and partake of this grand feast as I bestow upon you your responsibilities for this, the climax of our glorious battle against the Kapps." Yep, she'd done this before. We sat down at the various seats on either side of the table and many people began to grab portions of several expensive-looking food items laid out about the table.
"Not a bad spread," Ralf whispered from the seat next to me before he began stuffing his face with a savory rotisserie chocobo leg. I was inclined to agree, and though I'd intended to give my undivided attention to Bloody Mary, in the end my teenage appetite took over and I too began to partake of the luxurious food. It crossed my mind at this point that being rich wouldn't be so awful after all.
I ate a lot, but not so much that I didn't hear a word Mary said. The concept was simple, but effective: according to intel, our current force would outnumber the Kapps residing in the storehouse by a considerable amount. One smaller group of us would launch a decoy attack on the front of the storehouse, drawing out the guards and, in theory, many of the fighters. After that diversion, the main strike force (which I was a part of) would break in through several side windows and take out any Kapps inside. Finally, the two groups of us would both move in on the Kapps fighting the first group at once, effectively surrounding and overtaking them. With their storehouse in our possession and many of their key members eliminated, we would effectively have taken out much of their leadership and frozen many of their assets, all but completely crippling them as a criminal power.
"Naturally, this victory will come at a price..." admitted Bloody Mary. "Several of you are likely to be forced to give your lives in this battle. But fear not, for to die fighting for your cause is honorable, and when we are victorious, Treno will be ours for the taking! Fight with fierceness in your heart, cunning in your mind, and with your eyes on the glory-filled horizon! You truly are the bravest and freest souls in Treno."
Cheesy speeches aside, I knew Mary was right. And I knew that I could truly make it big within the Fangs if I played a major role in winning the ensuing battle.
I was ready.
"Damn...can't see a thing," Bruce muttered as he stared through his binoculars at the storehouse. We were lying in a large ditch by the waterfront, just a few hundred feet from our target. It was dark, very dark. It was so cloudy that the moon was completely covered, the fireflies I'd often watched flitting over the grass were nowhere to be found as though they feared what was about to happen, and the only real source of light in this out-of-the-way section of Treno were the lanterns hanging from the walls of the storehouse, and carried by the wandering sentries. I have to admit, the Kapp storehouse was looking pretty ominous in the darkness.
I jumped a bit as I felt a figure slide down into the ditch next to me. I felt a bit silly when I realized it was just Ralf, returned from a scouting mission.
"The decoy team is all in position and ready to go, Bruce," he reported. "At your signal, they will attack, and then we're free to make our move."
"Good work," Bruce offered with rare praise. "Everyone, stay sharp."
With that he cracked his neck, cleared his throat, threw his head back and let out an animal cry I'd heard before in the night but couldn't identify. It didn't take long after that before my sharp eyes spotted arrows sailing into a few of the enemy sentries. They went down hard, a few of their lanterns shattering and starting small brushfires. The remaining sentries, alarmed, cried out for help and before we knew it, a crowd of Kapps poured out of the storehouse and ran out in the direction of the disturbance. As they left the light provided by the lanterns of the storehouse it became more difficult to see what was happening, but we heard the sounds of battle and knew that the final rumble had begun.
"Strike team, forward!" came Bruce's cry. Automatically, like a single living entity, we poured forth from the ditch and stampeded towards the storehouse. A few of those running at the front raised their crowbars and axes and took them to the wooden sidewall and glass windows of the storehouse, and before long we'd broken our way in. There was no need for stealth now, just quick action and the element of surprise.
Almost immediately after we entered, there were Kapps on us. As I entered the fray that had become so familiar, almost involuntarily kicking and slicing at anonymous blue-clad adversaries, I could tell that while we certainly DID have them outnumbered, there seemed to be a lot more Kapps here then we'd suspected. Perhaps we had another leak...
But there was no time to ponder! Fight, fight, fight! Punch, stab, kill, dodge, run, fight! They're on you now! FIGHT!!
Then, as more and more Kapps seemed to realize what a threat I was and tried to team up on me, I felt one of the few sensations in battle I was unfamiliar with:
The feeling I could lose. A panic rushed over me as I was hit with glancing dagger blows, and as I felt the blood pour from my wounds, I felt another new sensation: anger. And let me tell you, when your adrenaline rushes through your veins and you are in a life-or-death situation, anger can be quite an asset.
I've always been an animal in battle, but never like this. Nothing could stop me. I tore through the crowd of enemies that had swarmed me, barreled over yet more, and in a rage I fear I may have even begun to kill a few of my own allies. Never had I felt like that before...never had I had such an insatiable lust for blood, such a violent rush. It would be a long time before I ever felt like that again.
As I came to my senses, I looked around and surveyed the scene. The large warehouse was littered with debris of shattered crates and tables, dead bodies from both sides, and blood spilled in the vicious battle. The air was filled with the stench of fresh kill and the sounds of moaning wounded and whooping, triumphant Fang survivors. It looked like a scene out of a violent nightmare. But somehow, I didn't mind.
"Yes, excellent work everyone! This warehouse is ours, now!" exclaimed Bruce, limping slightly. "We'll show those Kapps that they can't mess with us!"
Ralf hopped down from a higher platform and slapped me on the back. "I saw you fighting, man...damn you're something. This is great, it's a new era for the Fangs! And we helped make it happen!"
I was ecstatic. The gang was my life, and I'd done something grand for it. I finally had something to be proud of.
I've noticed a pattern in life. Just when things seem like they're all going so well that nothing could bring you down...you go down HARD. The sound that slowly replaced the whoops and cheers of our victory was the most horrifying thing a gangster can hear.
Sirens. Accompanied by the terrible sight of armored figures on chocobo-back. Booking our buddies outside the warehouse.
"Damn! A police raid!"
Before we knew it, they were on us. The knights of the Treno Police Force burst into the ruined warehouse and began beating us into submission. It was pandemonium...and unlike the previous battle, this wasn't the fun kind. Naturally, we all fought back, but trained, fully-armored knights are a very different animal from street-brawling gangsters in shabby clothes.
Ironically, it was I who kept most of them occupied. After all, I'm a beast on the battlefield, and even then I was too much of a handful for just one or two knights to handle. And as the police ganged up on me, a lot of my buddies got away...
My fear of being killed by one of my own because it was most convenient never came true. But I was left for dead by them...
They got away because of me, and thanked me by running and hiding as I and a few of the others were arrested. They would go on as they always had, just as they did when Clyde was killed.
And now that I was the victim...I'd rot in prison. The legendary Scarlet would die in obscurity.
And Scarlet did die in Treno Prison. But it's the very same spot where Amarant Coral was born...
By HighWind
Okay...so it was STILL forever between chapters. Sorry everybody. I'm trying, really I am...anyway, this is a big one.
Oh...and it's come to my attention that the spelling of Ralf's name was accidentally changed to Ralph during the last chapter. Stupid spell-check...anyway, the real spelling is supposed to be RALF. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused (if anyone even noticed...).
You know the drill, Amarant Coral and any other FFIX characters/locales/references are copyrighted to Square. Hasn't changed in all the time since I last updated. I did check.
Chapter Four: Now or Never
I've done a lot of terrible things in my life. I can admit that. However, looking back on it all, I can also find a reason, a good reason, for every mistake I've made. No matter how low I sunk, no matter how stupid a move I made, I had motivation every time. Every time but one.
I don't know why I went back to the Fangs after the ill-fated mission at Giovanni Manor. Maybe it was because I had nowhere else to go. Maybe I felt like I'd never make it on my own. Maybe I thought if I left, I'd be treated as a traitor...hunted down and killed. Killed the way Clyde was...without a second thought. And so, I was held within a world where I had enemies who wished to kill me, and comrades who were willing to. Held there by a fear of dying, no less. Sometimes, it's good to know that whatever gods there may be have a sense of irony.
But the point is, I did stay on as a member of the Fangs despite my knowledge that it was dangerous to do so. After all, I'd fought alongside them for years against the cutthroat, savage, self-serving Kapps. It was only then that I realized my gang wasn't so different from theirs.
For a few months, life went on as it always had. I spent my time collecting protection fees, robbing hole-in-the-wall shops, taking out high-ranking Kapps...business as usual. But one day, I was called aside by Bruce while hanging around in the run-down old building where the younger members of the Fangs lived.
"Scarlet...you remember the incident back at Giovanni's place, right? The mission that was really just a Kapp set-up?"
Of course I remembered. How could I forget? "Uh, yeah, of course...but why?"
He spat on the ground. "It wasn't a setup after all. The job was legit...but the Kapps found out somehow."
"But...our connections are so well-protected...how could the Kapps have ever found out?"
He sighed. "A leak. We had a double-agent within the Fangs...they just found him yesterday."
"Oh yeah? Who was it?"
"Nikolai...one of the highest ranking of all Fangs. One of Mary's most trusted advisors. Needless to say, she ain't pleased."
'Mary' was better known in Treno as Bloody Mary. She was an aristocrat, the daughter of a man who had made a fortune off of an honest trade business. Unsatisfied with her tremendous inheritance, the greedy Mary had put her assets into crime; in other words, she herself had founded the Fangs and was our biggest source of funding. If any one person could be called the leader of the Fangs, it was Bloody Mary. Because of this, her true name and identity were kept a secret, even to most of us. Only the very highest ranking members had ever met her, which is why it was such a big deal that one of them had become a traitor. If the Kapps found out who she really was, no one would be able to protect her...and if she went, the Fangs went. Period.
"Damn...what are we going to do?" To me, this was like the end of the world was coming.
"We strike!" Bruce exclaimed, slamming his fist on a table for emphasis and getting the attention of several of the other guys. "I told you they caught Nikolai? Well he's been interrogated, and they managed to get the location of one of the Kapps' key hideouts outta him. It's a storehouse on the eastern docks, by the big lake...and that's where the big fish of the gang usually hang out. If we launch an all-out assault and take out those key members, this war will be over, and there'll be no stopping the Fangs then!" This got some rousing cheers out of the growing crowd around Bruce. He was a true leader.
"I'm to choose a strike force out of you all tonight," Bruce continued. "We will report to Bloody Mary's mansion tomorrow to receive our briefing. And tomorrow night, for better or for worse, this war comes to an end..."
Naturally, I was picked. I couldn't sleep all night. Not only was I going to be privileged with meeting Bloody Mary herself, but I would have the honor of going into one of the most important battles, no, THE most important battle, in the history of Kapps vs. Fangs. They thought I was THAT good. They had that much faith in my skills. And so did I.
Our strike force met the other teams at a pre-disclosed location early the next morning. It was a small group...this truly was the elite of the Fangs. Ralf and Bruce, my two best friends in all the Fangs, were right there with me. I couldn't have been more confident, for as nervous as I was.
"So, this is is Bloody Mary's place..." As we passed inspection from the guards and proceeded into the top-secret estate of our leader, Ralf sounded like a kid in a candy store. To a born thief, a place this rich was hard to resist, even if it did belong to one of your own. Had I been in a more thoughtful mood, I might have seen the irony in the fact that a gang whose ideals were based on fighting the rich, was run by one of the richest people in Treno. I was broken out of my thoughts by the sound of Bruce smacking Ralf in the head and forcing him to return some pearls he'd snatched off a table in the hall as we walked through.
We reached a grand dining hall with walls that looked like pure gold, and there, sitting at the head of a very long table in a throne-like chair, was a rather attractive woman with a slightly devious face. Her hair was long and dark, she looked to be in her late twenties, and naturally, she wore a long, blood red dress and various jewelry. An appropriate appearnace for our fearless leader, I thought.
"Gentlemen, welcome..." she said in a voice that seemed conditioned for making speeches. "Sit, sit, and partake of this grand feast as I bestow upon you your responsibilities for this, the climax of our glorious battle against the Kapps." Yep, she'd done this before. We sat down at the various seats on either side of the table and many people began to grab portions of several expensive-looking food items laid out about the table.
"Not a bad spread," Ralf whispered from the seat next to me before he began stuffing his face with a savory rotisserie chocobo leg. I was inclined to agree, and though I'd intended to give my undivided attention to Bloody Mary, in the end my teenage appetite took over and I too began to partake of the luxurious food. It crossed my mind at this point that being rich wouldn't be so awful after all.
I ate a lot, but not so much that I didn't hear a word Mary said. The concept was simple, but effective: according to intel, our current force would outnumber the Kapps residing in the storehouse by a considerable amount. One smaller group of us would launch a decoy attack on the front of the storehouse, drawing out the guards and, in theory, many of the fighters. After that diversion, the main strike force (which I was a part of) would break in through several side windows and take out any Kapps inside. Finally, the two groups of us would both move in on the Kapps fighting the first group at once, effectively surrounding and overtaking them. With their storehouse in our possession and many of their key members eliminated, we would effectively have taken out much of their leadership and frozen many of their assets, all but completely crippling them as a criminal power.
"Naturally, this victory will come at a price..." admitted Bloody Mary. "Several of you are likely to be forced to give your lives in this battle. But fear not, for to die fighting for your cause is honorable, and when we are victorious, Treno will be ours for the taking! Fight with fierceness in your heart, cunning in your mind, and with your eyes on the glory-filled horizon! You truly are the bravest and freest souls in Treno."
Cheesy speeches aside, I knew Mary was right. And I knew that I could truly make it big within the Fangs if I played a major role in winning the ensuing battle.
I was ready.
"Damn...can't see a thing," Bruce muttered as he stared through his binoculars at the storehouse. We were lying in a large ditch by the waterfront, just a few hundred feet from our target. It was dark, very dark. It was so cloudy that the moon was completely covered, the fireflies I'd often watched flitting over the grass were nowhere to be found as though they feared what was about to happen, and the only real source of light in this out-of-the-way section of Treno were the lanterns hanging from the walls of the storehouse, and carried by the wandering sentries. I have to admit, the Kapp storehouse was looking pretty ominous in the darkness.
I jumped a bit as I felt a figure slide down into the ditch next to me. I felt a bit silly when I realized it was just Ralf, returned from a scouting mission.
"The decoy team is all in position and ready to go, Bruce," he reported. "At your signal, they will attack, and then we're free to make our move."
"Good work," Bruce offered with rare praise. "Everyone, stay sharp."
With that he cracked his neck, cleared his throat, threw his head back and let out an animal cry I'd heard before in the night but couldn't identify. It didn't take long after that before my sharp eyes spotted arrows sailing into a few of the enemy sentries. They went down hard, a few of their lanterns shattering and starting small brushfires. The remaining sentries, alarmed, cried out for help and before we knew it, a crowd of Kapps poured out of the storehouse and ran out in the direction of the disturbance. As they left the light provided by the lanterns of the storehouse it became more difficult to see what was happening, but we heard the sounds of battle and knew that the final rumble had begun.
"Strike team, forward!" came Bruce's cry. Automatically, like a single living entity, we poured forth from the ditch and stampeded towards the storehouse. A few of those running at the front raised their crowbars and axes and took them to the wooden sidewall and glass windows of the storehouse, and before long we'd broken our way in. There was no need for stealth now, just quick action and the element of surprise.
Almost immediately after we entered, there were Kapps on us. As I entered the fray that had become so familiar, almost involuntarily kicking and slicing at anonymous blue-clad adversaries, I could tell that while we certainly DID have them outnumbered, there seemed to be a lot more Kapps here then we'd suspected. Perhaps we had another leak...
But there was no time to ponder! Fight, fight, fight! Punch, stab, kill, dodge, run, fight! They're on you now! FIGHT!!
Then, as more and more Kapps seemed to realize what a threat I was and tried to team up on me, I felt one of the few sensations in battle I was unfamiliar with:
The feeling I could lose. A panic rushed over me as I was hit with glancing dagger blows, and as I felt the blood pour from my wounds, I felt another new sensation: anger. And let me tell you, when your adrenaline rushes through your veins and you are in a life-or-death situation, anger can be quite an asset.
I've always been an animal in battle, but never like this. Nothing could stop me. I tore through the crowd of enemies that had swarmed me, barreled over yet more, and in a rage I fear I may have even begun to kill a few of my own allies. Never had I felt like that before...never had I had such an insatiable lust for blood, such a violent rush. It would be a long time before I ever felt like that again.
As I came to my senses, I looked around and surveyed the scene. The large warehouse was littered with debris of shattered crates and tables, dead bodies from both sides, and blood spilled in the vicious battle. The air was filled with the stench of fresh kill and the sounds of moaning wounded and whooping, triumphant Fang survivors. It looked like a scene out of a violent nightmare. But somehow, I didn't mind.
"Yes, excellent work everyone! This warehouse is ours, now!" exclaimed Bruce, limping slightly. "We'll show those Kapps that they can't mess with us!"
Ralf hopped down from a higher platform and slapped me on the back. "I saw you fighting, man...damn you're something. This is great, it's a new era for the Fangs! And we helped make it happen!"
I was ecstatic. The gang was my life, and I'd done something grand for it. I finally had something to be proud of.
I've noticed a pattern in life. Just when things seem like they're all going so well that nothing could bring you down...you go down HARD. The sound that slowly replaced the whoops and cheers of our victory was the most horrifying thing a gangster can hear.
Sirens. Accompanied by the terrible sight of armored figures on chocobo-back. Booking our buddies outside the warehouse.
"Damn! A police raid!"
Before we knew it, they were on us. The knights of the Treno Police Force burst into the ruined warehouse and began beating us into submission. It was pandemonium...and unlike the previous battle, this wasn't the fun kind. Naturally, we all fought back, but trained, fully-armored knights are a very different animal from street-brawling gangsters in shabby clothes.
Ironically, it was I who kept most of them occupied. After all, I'm a beast on the battlefield, and even then I was too much of a handful for just one or two knights to handle. And as the police ganged up on me, a lot of my buddies got away...
My fear of being killed by one of my own because it was most convenient never came true. But I was left for dead by them...
They got away because of me, and thanked me by running and hiding as I and a few of the others were arrested. They would go on as they always had, just as they did when Clyde was killed.
And now that I was the victim...I'd rot in prison. The legendary Scarlet would die in obscurity.
And Scarlet did die in Treno Prison. But it's the very same spot where Amarant Coral was born...