The Last of an Elite
Chapter Twelve: An Old Friend
By InterfaceLeader
-~-~-~-
Elena sighed. So far being a Turk had involved lots of waiting and reading. She paced the room, then glanced at the CCTV screens which were currently focused on an empty elevator tube. She glanced at the controls, her natural impatience overcoming her inhibitions about touching anything in the room.
"Shouldn't be too hard to figure out...." She pushed a few buttons, watching as the screens flickered. "Ok, that one adjusts the brightness and contrast... how about this one? Hmm, that makes it stripy. This one? Oops, that turns them off. Back on – ah there we go. Now to find Tseng...."
She went up the building quickly, finally coming to rest on the top floor – the Presidents Office. The room was huge, an enormous open space dominated mainly by the large raised desk towards the far end. The room was so large it needed extra support in the form of pillars.
Standing in front of the desk, hands and feet bound, stood the 3 Avalanche members and the lab animal. Tseng and Rude stood at the back of the room and Elena wished she was there too. Behind the desk sat the President, his overly bright blond hair and shiny purple suit somehow overpowering the rest of him so that his face seemed faded and unimportant.
The President was speaking, Elena wondered how much of the conversation she had already missed.
"Cetra, or the Ancients will show us the way to the 'Promised Land'. I'm expecting a lot out of her."
"The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" The lab animal raised its head, speaking in a calm, evenly modulated tone. Elena blinked. A talking animal? I would have expected it to sound all growly... But it talks like someone from Cosmo Canyon! He sounds intelligent too – I've never heard of "Cetra" or "The Promised Land"... Great, an animal is more intelligent than me!
"Even so, it's just too appealing to not pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile." The President paused, looking at each of the people standing there in turn. "...If the land is fertile..."
"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret – Elena was now familiar with all the members of Avalanche from their files – sounded angry. He too had strange accent, a mixture of North Corel, and a particular sub-set of the slums.
"Exactly. That is why our money sucking Mako Reactor is a necessity. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built. Shin-Ra's new glory..."
At these words Barret leaped forward, struggling against his handcuffs and swearing at the President. Elena blushed.
"Quit dreamin'!" He finished.
"Oh really, don't you know? These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and science. Well, that is all for our meeting."
As Elena watched, Rude hurried over to the group, telling them to move out of the way. Three of the four complied, but Barret leaned forward, snarling. "Hold it! I got a lot I wanna say to you!"
Rude doubled back, and grabbed hold of the huge muscular man. There wasn't much height difference between the two. Elena thought that Rude might be a shade taller, but Barret was definitely broader. As she watched, Rude hauled Barret out of the room, leaving the President alone.
"If you need something else... talk to my secretary." The President polished his jacket buttons, smirking.
Elena flicked the screens back to the elevator, reluctant to let the other Turks know she had eavesdropped.
I suppose they're going to be put on trial next... For the plate. I wonder why nobody mentioned that? All they talked about was "The Promised Land". A legendary place with lots of Mako. Does that mean we're running out of Mako? Why would they look for it if they're not?
Elena considered. There was a lot going on here, more than she had thought. It might be worthwhile investigating...
-~-~-~-
Tseng and Rude led the members of Avalanche and the lab animal down to the cells near the science department. They didn't speak, the whole group was silent, reflecting on what had been said and what was about to happen. The only noise came from an occasional muttered swear word from Barret when Rude yanked him too hard.
Tseng was thinking about the Cetra. He had never made the link between Hojo and the President's talk of Ancients with the legendary and powerful species that had formed a large part of his education when he was younger.
He had been brought up in a small village some distance from the main city of Wutai. The village was now gone, not a trace remaining except in history books and memories. The village had been thriving when he left but just two months later a tidal wave had swept it from the surface of the planet. Many people considered it Leviathan's doing.
The village had formed as a splinter group of a religious cult. Rejecting the current belief in Leviathan and most of the rituals surrounding him, they harkened back to a much more primitive belief system. They sought to revive the Cetra, finding out all they could about them, and struggling to mimic their ways. They called themselves the "Chuujitsu", the Faithful.
Tseng still wasn't certain how their underlying principles – worship and care of the Planet – had developed into the rigid, dogmatic and tradition bound religion he had been born into. Growing up he had observed all of the rituals, but had questioned their purpose. He had attended the sacrifices, had prayed to the Planet, and had even tried listening dutifully to hear if the Planet replied. It never did. If it had he would have become a "Shisai", a Priest, one of those who communicated with the Planet and told the rest of the people what to do.
Strange how the main way to placate the Planet was to turn a beautiful virgin over to the Shisai. Tseng thought bitterly.
Tseng had been born to one of those woman after the Shisai had done with her. No longer a virgin and therefore no longer useful in placating the Planet, she had lived with her father. From him Tseng had learnt his fighting skills, enjoying the old mans teaching far more than that which he got at school.
One of the main beliefs of the Chuujitsu was that a son should take on the same job as the father. As Tseng had no father his only option was to become a farmer or fisherman.
And that's when I started making trouble, thought Tseng, when I realised my whole life was preordained.
They had reached the jail, Rude was already unlocking the door of the far cell. Tseng did the same, glancing in at Aerith as he passed. She was sat on the bed, eyes lowered, hands folded in her lap. A strand of brown hair fell loosely down her face, just past her nose, and Tseng had an overwhelming urge to walk in and tuck it behind her ear.
He didn't, slamming the door behind Cloud and Tifa rather harder than he would normally have done, and leaving without a word.
-~-~-~-
Elena was back on her chair when Tseng and Rude entered the office again. Glancing up as they came in, she smiled brightly.
"Did you catch them?"
"Yes" said Tseng "We did." He glanced up at the clock. "You're both dismissed. Elena, be here at 6.00 tomorrow morning."
"Six?! I uh – I mean yes sir!" Elena hastily left the office, Rude following her out.
-~-~-~-
Reno looked up when Rude entered the ward. The tall bald man sat down beside the bed, expressionless as always.
"Did ya bring food?" Reno asked hopefully.
Rude shook his head, his sunglasses fixed on Reno's face. Reno glowered at the Turk, feeling strangely off-put by his obvious scrutiny.
"What are you looking at!?"
".........you." Rude thought that was obvious.
"I know that... Why? I suddenly grow horns?"
"....."
"Hello? Planet to Rude, come in!"
".......Where did you get your scars from?"
Reno blinked. It was a question he had been asked a lot, but somehow he had never expected it from his silent companion.
"Which version do ya want? The one where I was attacked by a rampaging elephant horde or the one where I was tortured for hours by evil psychotic women?"
"The truthful one."
Reno cocked his head on one side and grinned at his friend. "The truthful one? I don't have that version."
"You don't know?"
"Nope. I really don't"
"Was it Hojo?"
"Hojo?" Reno's grin disappeared "Why d'ya say him?"
"Do you remember your Mako infusion?" Rude did. The Mako infusion process was extremely painful, but you had to remain conscious during the procedure – at least according to Hojo, although many Soldier's reckoned that he was just a sadist.
Reno shrugged, trying to think back.
The sky arced above him. A great empty space, with a golden glow. It was pure, a pure colour. Not an object with shadows and reflections but a great sweeping space of pure rich vibrant colour.
But something was trying to draw him away from it. Something was penetrating through his awe, scratching at his conscious mind. A dark shadow. And he feared it.
Rude saw something cross Reno's face, a shadow of an emotion. It was there so briefly, Rude wasn't sure if he'd actually seen it. Then the familiar cocky smile was back.
"Don't remember a thing." he lied.
-~-~-~-
Night fell, the deep dark clouds that smothered Midgar gradually merging with the colour of the sky behind them. Pale flickering green lights came on in most of the sectors, although there was a triangular gap where the hole that had been Sector Seven lay.
At the centre of the city, lit from top to bottom with both green crude Mako lights and the more expensive refined blue lights, stood the Shin-Ra HQ.
As the night lengthened a few people who were still out – for whatever reason – looked up as the lights of the Shin-Ra HQ suddenly flickered and died. In a second the whole building was dark. The people wondered at it for a moment, and then returned to their business.
-~-~-~-
President Shin-Ra had stayed late that night. Normally he would have been home, or at the Honey Bee Inn, by now. However the plans for Neo-Midgar were time consuming, and the President knew instinctively that if people at the top didn't occasionally make sacrifices they didn't stay at the top for long. Power had a price.
When the lights went off he at first assumed it was a power failure. He thought of copycat terrorists, perhaps even now bombing the remaining reactors. However, when he looked at the window he saw the rest of the city was unaffected. Somehow Shin-Ra HQ had been disconnected from their own power supply.
He pushed the button on the intercom, trying to call through to the guards that patrolled the building. The attempt was fruitless, as he knew it must be. Without power there was no way to communicate.
I'll have to wait until they come to me... or until someone has the sense to turn the emergency power on.
He picked up the papers that were on the desk and locked them securely away in a drawer. If there was an invasion he didn't want anybody getting their hands on his plans.
Damn.. maybe I should have told Tseng to stay late as well.
His eyes, slowly adjusting to the lack of light, picked up faint edges and grey shadows in the surrounding area. His ears searched for a sound he could latch onto.
The faintest of sounds, a strange metallic chink... a wet thunk, a drawn out gurgle...
Something dripping...
The President felt something akin to fear bubble up in his mind and stomach. This is crazy... no one could make it past all the guards, the security robots, the monsters...
The dripping sound's coming closer.
He sat at his desk, seemingly unable to move. They won't get this far. They can't.
Was that a darker shadow moving up from the stair well? The dripping sound was close, almost in the room with him.
He tried to focus, tried to follow the shadow. But it disintegrated before his eyes, just a figment of his fear. He breathed deep, closed his eyes.
When he opened them again the room was full of a strange luminance. It emanated from the eyes of a man. A pair of eyes so bright they could light a room. A pair of icily brilliant green eyes, the pupils overpowered by the sheer strength of the irises.
President Shin-Ra was unable to break away from the gaze of those eyes. They held him trapped, rigid, without movement or sound.
Then the man turned away, moving silently around the edge of the desk and behind the President, who stared glassily into the distance.
"You... you're..."
A metallic chink behind him.
"If it wasn't for Shin-Ra you'd not even exist!"
A sharp point, resting in the small of his back. The President felt sweat beading along his forehead and slipping gently down his face.
"What do you want? Money? Power?"
"I have what I want." The voice that spoke was so cold, so distant it seemed to freeze all the hope left in President Shin-Ra. "My Mother and I have been united once more."
"Then you needn't kill me!" The President heard his voice squeak, several octaves higher than usual. "You've got your mother again, that's good! Take her, take her with you! Just go!"
The point pressed harder, and he felt warm liquid suddenly seep down his back.
"The Promised Land belongs to the Cetra. You don't even understand what it is. You will never reach it. I will not allow you to reach it."
Further into his body. The President could feel it inside him, pain blossomed from its razor sharp edge and exploded throughout his body. His hands clenched on the edge of the desk.
"Your blood will flow. Your life spirit will desert this useless flesh which it is trapped to. It will join with the lifestream, carrying all your knowledge and power with it. Your body will die."
The President made a choking sound, scrabbling fruitlessly at the desktop.
"Do not fear. When the time comes you will live again, as a part of something so powerful you cannot even comprehend its magnitude."
The sword withdrew suddenly, leaving a gaping wound from which blood flowed unchecked. The President slumped, his breath coming in painful gasps.
"....Septhiroth ......you madman...... should never... never have... been created"
The sword came quickly this time, slicing clear through his body and into the desk below. The President gasped, his eyes bulging, before his life fluids ran dry and his body gave up the fight to stay alive.
-~-~-~-
Palmer sat behind the pillar, trembling, hands clenched around his knees. He heard the President's final gasp, heard the killer give a harsh laugh. Then there were footsteps, and a click.
Palmer peered round the edge of the pillar to see Septhiroth standing at the door that led onto the roof. Strands of silver hair blew in the sudden wind. His profile, hard, sharp and commanding was outlined against the sky visible through the door. He was carrying a cold blue-white figure of a woman, dripping with a clear fluid ran through with streaks of blood.
Then the man shot upwards, disappearing into the distance in seconds. The room lost its eerie green glow, and returned to shadows. Then the emergency lighting came on, and Palmer slowly crawled out from behind the pillar, and looked at the President.
"Wow..... scary."
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A/N: Lengthy chapter this time. The trouble with Septhiroth is he has no sense of humour ^^ Hopefully when Reno gets out of hospital he can make up for the lack of humour in this chapter. Let me know what you thought ~ I've never written a cold-blooded extended murder scene before.
Next Chapter: Rufus turns up, Elena and Rude investigate, Tseng broods.