CHAPTER IX: More Senseless Slaughter? (Reeve's Story)
NOTE: As noted in previous chapters, I am continuing the story from several points of view. This is continuing with Reeve's story.
Here's an intro thing:
Jack: Whoa! Where am I?
Liz (Jack's Friend): Yea! You finally made it!
Jack: What? Is this that intro thingy that so many people do that I don't understand?
Liz: Yep!
Jack: Damn, I was hoping never to end up here.
Liz: Hehe… too late!
Jack: Oh well… Hey! I can talk to my characters here, can't I?
Barrett: What the hell are you talking about 'YOUR' characters? We all belong to Squaresoft (Now Square-Enix)! And you forgot to add a disclaimer in Chapter 1!
Jack: Really? Oohh… well, ya know, this IS my first fanfic. And there's the disclaimer right there!
Barrett: Damn straight!
Jack: Alright. Well, maybe we'll get a chance to talk again next chapter Mr. Wallace!
Roll it!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was nearing dawn as the Shin-Ra FC-11 hit turbulence, startling Barrett from his dreamless rest. He was tired, as was I, but anxious to get to Kalm by sunrise. Moaning and rubbing his forehead, he let his head fall back against the hard metal walling, to which he winced and again held his head. Barrett and I were sitting in the back of the chopper, facing the cockpit door and three of the SOLDIERs that were working with me. Although Barrett was having an easy time falling asleep except for the occasional turbulence, the guards and I were struggling to get a wink of rest. Their cold and fearful stares reminded me of what we were to expect at our destination: resistance and death.
The four of us excluding Barrett all knew what was really going on, or to say, what was going to happen. Beneath all the partying and celebration gripping the planet worldwide, leaders, generals, and elders were now pondering on the potentials of this new world. Ergo, war was most certainly imminent.
After Shin-Ra's fall and just days before the threat of Armageddon had been dispelled, I and several other officials of what was left of the corporation met at Junon, where our temporary 'headquarters' now lies. What remains of us do not represent the evil and corruption of the defunct company, rather we are struggling to keep the global economy in order. However, not all believe in us. Many are likely to think that Shin-Ra is again attempting to rise and rule; the exact opposite of our true goal. Ambassadors are being sent to all the cities and countries across the world, so that we can establish a link of communication and begin a new era of prosperity: An era in which the several countries often concede at a council and all are united in the greater good. Junon, of course, would serve as the senate table.
Yet again, who will trust us? That is the real question. It is a time that worries me greatly, for the tension in the air is so thick that it could easily be gutted much like a fish. And of all rebellious nations, we were heading for Kalm first, the town that had long despised Shin-Ra's oppression the most.
A green light flashed above our seats, interrupting my train of thought.
Barrett was awake now, still rubbing his temple and wincing. Looking out the window, I saw the stormy sea lapping against the rocky, fog-covered cliffs of the Galbadia mountain range, a landmark not three miles south of Kalm. The copter shaking tremendously due to the extreme turbulence, I noticed Barrett turning pale. We had been lucky not to catch too much of the storm until now, but it seemed to be making up for lost time.
Finally, we arrived at the coal mining city of Kalm. It was a dreary, wet morning and now none of us were in a good mood, each for our own reason. Opening the door, the musty air met me in a rush, in which there was a hint of something reminding me of… spices.
"Oh god… that's gunpowder… lots of it." I realized, motioning for the guards to arm their weapons.
"What!?" Barrett yelled, getting up from a crouched position from which he was about to vomit. "What are you talking about?"
"Barrett, I'm not here simply to take you to your little girl. I've been charged with neutralizing any and all opposition to the SA72 Act."
"What the #$%^ are you talking about!? Why didn't you tell me about this on the way here? And what IS this 'act'?" he inquired, beginning to worry as he stared at the seemingly quiet town in the distance. It began to rain.
"You don't want global warfare do you? Let's just say that Shin-Ra's keeping this world stitched together until everything can be permanently settled." I explained, cocking a 14-gauge shotgun. "…By any means necessary."
"SHIN-RA!?"
"NO! IT'S JUST A TEMPORARY RULING UNTIL COMMUNICATION AND TRADE ARE ONCE AGAIN ESTABLISHED! WE HOPE TO ONE DAY CREATE A COUNCIL, SO THAT THE NATIONS ARE UNITED! NOT ANOTHER DICTATORSHIP!" I yelled loudly, for the rain was now pouring fiercely. The head SOLDIER tapped me on the shoulder and nodded, and we began our short trek to the town, concealing our weapons beneath our clothes. As we approached, we heard loud yelling noises over the slopping of our boots through the wet mud and grass and the pouring rain. Halting, a SOLDIER spotted a sentry in the window of the nearest building. We had been spotted.
As we got to the town entrance, the guards began to cut and pry the heavy metal gate open. Once in, we noted the silence. On the far end, a woman rushed inside with her baby. As we approached the center of town and the fountain, I motioned to stay quiet. Slowly revealing out our weapons, the sick, tired Barrett made a sudden outbreak:
"SCREW THIS! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I DON'T GIVE A $@#& ABOUT ANY GOVERNMENT ANYMORE! I JUST WANT MY GIRL BACK!" he said, sniveling in the rain and coughing.
"MARLENE! MARLENE!" he cried, directing his shouts to the quiet, seemingly empty houses that surrounded them. Suddenly the shutters at the top of the tallest house burst open.
"Daddy!" a small voice cried, causing Barrett's eyes to water.
"I'M COMING MARLENE!" he screamed, rushing for the door to the house in which her daughter was waiting. I looked around anxiously, something wasn't right. My heart began to race. My shotgun loaded, the guards and I readied for the inevitable.
There was a sound of thunder.
I gave the signal to spread out a bit.
"Why is everything so quiet? What are they doing?" I muttered under my breath. The guards pointed their machineguns in all directions, scouring for a target nervously. Meanwhile, Barrett was pounding at the door hysterically.
"MARLENE! I'm coming—LET ME IN!" he roared, slamming his fists into the wet, warping wooden door that was slowly giving in.
Again, lightning struck, and then I heard a *clack-clack-clack* as something hard bounced along the cobblestone path. I knew exactly what it was.
"GET DOWN!" yelled a SOLDIER. But not a second after we had dropped to the floor, I felt the heat run across my face and sear my eyes.
"AAAAAAH!" the guard yelled in sheer terror. The grenade had thrown him into the air, and his smoldering carcass landed roughly on the ground before me, burning brightly despite the rain.
"OPEN FIRE!" I heard someone yell, and as I swabbed my burning eyes to get the rain out of the way, I saw the doors burst open and the villagers toting rifles, yelling and screaming.
"DIE SHIN-RA BASTARDS! YOU'LL NEVER TAKE OUR TOWN BACK!"
*KA-BLAM* The man who had uttered these words fell to the ground with a gaping hole in his chest as I again cocked my shotgun. Surrounded, we continued pelting the stubborn and ill-equipped miners. While we were outnumbered, we were certainly 'winning', as this was not what we had hoped for (although we all had figured). There was obviously no time to tell them of their mistake. Sprinting towards their demise with rifles and machetes, one got close enough to take an arm off of the SOLDIER captain. Screaming profanities he shot the man right in the forehead, and continued slaughtering the villagers.
While we felt rage towards them for their arrogant and pointless rebellion, we felt sorry that we had to kill so many for no reason. We were not here to take anything back over, per se, we were simply trying to let them know that they WERE free and to stop anything like this from ever happening again.
It was over quickly. 13 miners and villagers dead. 1 of our SOLDIERs dead, one injured from a bullet to the calf, and one slowly dying as he bled from the point where an arm was supposed to be. Getting up from a defensive position, we took the two injured into the house that Barrett had already broken into. While the other 3 SOLDIERs tended to their hurt comrades, I followed the stairs up to the highest room. Upon entering, I was met with a machinegun barrel to the face.
"Good, its you." Barrett said grimly, holding the weeping little girl close to him. "Why the hell did you do that?"
"I… had no choice. We knew this would happen. It's going to happen everywhere. But if we don't… eliminate, although we'd like to simply convene with the resisting parties… it would only lead to more trouble. That's the price to pay after a worldwide government is overthrown so suddenly…"
"How can you expect to… you're KILLING these people!"
"The SOLDIERs that came with us are staying here to ensure the protection and well-being of this town. As soon as I make an announcement to everyone and explain the situation, I'll be heading back for Junon. I'd like you to come."
"…Why?" Barrett asked, still deadly serious.
"…Unless you want to stay here of course." I said, beginning to feel the same fear of him that I felt back at Costa Del Sol, now that the excitement and adrenaline of the fight had worn down. "You see, that's where all will be meeting and hopefully the place that the golden era of this new world will commence. Also, since your home is Midgar, I thought you'd want to go with me on a search-and-rescue mission. There have already been a few but there is a LOT of rubble to go through. The city itself is still quite a bit intact, but there is no way it will ever be stable enough to function as a city. We've already found many survivors."
"……Alright. I'll do it. I think that's where Marlene and I might end up living anyways. Junon it is."
"Okay, we'll leave tomorrow." I said, smiling down at Marlene and heading back out to confront the terrified civilians of Kalm.
"Daddy? Why is there still so much dying even after the meteor went away?"
"…I don't know, honey. But it will all be over soon, okay? I promise."
"Daddy?"
"Yea?"
"Where's the flower lady? Her momma said she was coming soon."
NOTE: As noted in previous chapters, I am continuing the story from several points of view. This is continuing with Reeve's story.
Here's an intro thing:
Jack: Whoa! Where am I?
Liz (Jack's Friend): Yea! You finally made it!
Jack: What? Is this that intro thingy that so many people do that I don't understand?
Liz: Yep!
Jack: Damn, I was hoping never to end up here.
Liz: Hehe… too late!
Jack: Oh well… Hey! I can talk to my characters here, can't I?
Barrett: What the hell are you talking about 'YOUR' characters? We all belong to Squaresoft (Now Square-Enix)! And you forgot to add a disclaimer in Chapter 1!
Jack: Really? Oohh… well, ya know, this IS my first fanfic. And there's the disclaimer right there!
Barrett: Damn straight!
Jack: Alright. Well, maybe we'll get a chance to talk again next chapter Mr. Wallace!
Roll it!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
It was nearing dawn as the Shin-Ra FC-11 hit turbulence, startling Barrett from his dreamless rest. He was tired, as was I, but anxious to get to Kalm by sunrise. Moaning and rubbing his forehead, he let his head fall back against the hard metal walling, to which he winced and again held his head. Barrett and I were sitting in the back of the chopper, facing the cockpit door and three of the SOLDIERs that were working with me. Although Barrett was having an easy time falling asleep except for the occasional turbulence, the guards and I were struggling to get a wink of rest. Their cold and fearful stares reminded me of what we were to expect at our destination: resistance and death.
The four of us excluding Barrett all knew what was really going on, or to say, what was going to happen. Beneath all the partying and celebration gripping the planet worldwide, leaders, generals, and elders were now pondering on the potentials of this new world. Ergo, war was most certainly imminent.
After Shin-Ra's fall and just days before the threat of Armageddon had been dispelled, I and several other officials of what was left of the corporation met at Junon, where our temporary 'headquarters' now lies. What remains of us do not represent the evil and corruption of the defunct company, rather we are struggling to keep the global economy in order. However, not all believe in us. Many are likely to think that Shin-Ra is again attempting to rise and rule; the exact opposite of our true goal. Ambassadors are being sent to all the cities and countries across the world, so that we can establish a link of communication and begin a new era of prosperity: An era in which the several countries often concede at a council and all are united in the greater good. Junon, of course, would serve as the senate table.
Yet again, who will trust us? That is the real question. It is a time that worries me greatly, for the tension in the air is so thick that it could easily be gutted much like a fish. And of all rebellious nations, we were heading for Kalm first, the town that had long despised Shin-Ra's oppression the most.
A green light flashed above our seats, interrupting my train of thought.
Barrett was awake now, still rubbing his temple and wincing. Looking out the window, I saw the stormy sea lapping against the rocky, fog-covered cliffs of the Galbadia mountain range, a landmark not three miles south of Kalm. The copter shaking tremendously due to the extreme turbulence, I noticed Barrett turning pale. We had been lucky not to catch too much of the storm until now, but it seemed to be making up for lost time.
Finally, we arrived at the coal mining city of Kalm. It was a dreary, wet morning and now none of us were in a good mood, each for our own reason. Opening the door, the musty air met me in a rush, in which there was a hint of something reminding me of… spices.
"Oh god… that's gunpowder… lots of it." I realized, motioning for the guards to arm their weapons.
"What!?" Barrett yelled, getting up from a crouched position from which he was about to vomit. "What are you talking about?"
"Barrett, I'm not here simply to take you to your little girl. I've been charged with neutralizing any and all opposition to the SA72 Act."
"What the #$%^ are you talking about!? Why didn't you tell me about this on the way here? And what IS this 'act'?" he inquired, beginning to worry as he stared at the seemingly quiet town in the distance. It began to rain.
"You don't want global warfare do you? Let's just say that Shin-Ra's keeping this world stitched together until everything can be permanently settled." I explained, cocking a 14-gauge shotgun. "…By any means necessary."
"SHIN-RA!?"
"NO! IT'S JUST A TEMPORARY RULING UNTIL COMMUNICATION AND TRADE ARE ONCE AGAIN ESTABLISHED! WE HOPE TO ONE DAY CREATE A COUNCIL, SO THAT THE NATIONS ARE UNITED! NOT ANOTHER DICTATORSHIP!" I yelled loudly, for the rain was now pouring fiercely. The head SOLDIER tapped me on the shoulder and nodded, and we began our short trek to the town, concealing our weapons beneath our clothes. As we approached, we heard loud yelling noises over the slopping of our boots through the wet mud and grass and the pouring rain. Halting, a SOLDIER spotted a sentry in the window of the nearest building. We had been spotted.
As we got to the town entrance, the guards began to cut and pry the heavy metal gate open. Once in, we noted the silence. On the far end, a woman rushed inside with her baby. As we approached the center of town and the fountain, I motioned to stay quiet. Slowly revealing out our weapons, the sick, tired Barrett made a sudden outbreak:
"SCREW THIS! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I DON'T GIVE A $@#& ABOUT ANY GOVERNMENT ANYMORE! I JUST WANT MY GIRL BACK!" he said, sniveling in the rain and coughing.
"MARLENE! MARLENE!" he cried, directing his shouts to the quiet, seemingly empty houses that surrounded them. Suddenly the shutters at the top of the tallest house burst open.
"Daddy!" a small voice cried, causing Barrett's eyes to water.
"I'M COMING MARLENE!" he screamed, rushing for the door to the house in which her daughter was waiting. I looked around anxiously, something wasn't right. My heart began to race. My shotgun loaded, the guards and I readied for the inevitable.
There was a sound of thunder.
I gave the signal to spread out a bit.
"Why is everything so quiet? What are they doing?" I muttered under my breath. The guards pointed their machineguns in all directions, scouring for a target nervously. Meanwhile, Barrett was pounding at the door hysterically.
"MARLENE! I'm coming—LET ME IN!" he roared, slamming his fists into the wet, warping wooden door that was slowly giving in.
Again, lightning struck, and then I heard a *clack-clack-clack* as something hard bounced along the cobblestone path. I knew exactly what it was.
"GET DOWN!" yelled a SOLDIER. But not a second after we had dropped to the floor, I felt the heat run across my face and sear my eyes.
"AAAAAAH!" the guard yelled in sheer terror. The grenade had thrown him into the air, and his smoldering carcass landed roughly on the ground before me, burning brightly despite the rain.
"OPEN FIRE!" I heard someone yell, and as I swabbed my burning eyes to get the rain out of the way, I saw the doors burst open and the villagers toting rifles, yelling and screaming.
"DIE SHIN-RA BASTARDS! YOU'LL NEVER TAKE OUR TOWN BACK!"
*KA-BLAM* The man who had uttered these words fell to the ground with a gaping hole in his chest as I again cocked my shotgun. Surrounded, we continued pelting the stubborn and ill-equipped miners. While we were outnumbered, we were certainly 'winning', as this was not what we had hoped for (although we all had figured). There was obviously no time to tell them of their mistake. Sprinting towards their demise with rifles and machetes, one got close enough to take an arm off of the SOLDIER captain. Screaming profanities he shot the man right in the forehead, and continued slaughtering the villagers.
While we felt rage towards them for their arrogant and pointless rebellion, we felt sorry that we had to kill so many for no reason. We were not here to take anything back over, per se, we were simply trying to let them know that they WERE free and to stop anything like this from ever happening again.
It was over quickly. 13 miners and villagers dead. 1 of our SOLDIERs dead, one injured from a bullet to the calf, and one slowly dying as he bled from the point where an arm was supposed to be. Getting up from a defensive position, we took the two injured into the house that Barrett had already broken into. While the other 3 SOLDIERs tended to their hurt comrades, I followed the stairs up to the highest room. Upon entering, I was met with a machinegun barrel to the face.
"Good, its you." Barrett said grimly, holding the weeping little girl close to him. "Why the hell did you do that?"
"I… had no choice. We knew this would happen. It's going to happen everywhere. But if we don't… eliminate, although we'd like to simply convene with the resisting parties… it would only lead to more trouble. That's the price to pay after a worldwide government is overthrown so suddenly…"
"How can you expect to… you're KILLING these people!"
"The SOLDIERs that came with us are staying here to ensure the protection and well-being of this town. As soon as I make an announcement to everyone and explain the situation, I'll be heading back for Junon. I'd like you to come."
"…Why?" Barrett asked, still deadly serious.
"…Unless you want to stay here of course." I said, beginning to feel the same fear of him that I felt back at Costa Del Sol, now that the excitement and adrenaline of the fight had worn down. "You see, that's where all will be meeting and hopefully the place that the golden era of this new world will commence. Also, since your home is Midgar, I thought you'd want to go with me on a search-and-rescue mission. There have already been a few but there is a LOT of rubble to go through. The city itself is still quite a bit intact, but there is no way it will ever be stable enough to function as a city. We've already found many survivors."
"……Alright. I'll do it. I think that's where Marlene and I might end up living anyways. Junon it is."
"Okay, we'll leave tomorrow." I said, smiling down at Marlene and heading back out to confront the terrified civilians of Kalm.
"Daddy? Why is there still so much dying even after the meteor went away?"
"…I don't know, honey. But it will all be over soon, okay? I promise."
"Daddy?"
"Yea?"
"Where's the flower lady? Her momma said she was coming soon."