Disclaimer: All characters involved, except Major Boyer, belong to Square. Those lucky bastards.
Author's Note: For any of you who may think Major Boyer is too evil and scary, blame Ntrophi. His evolution into an FF villain is entirely her fault. He was meant to be almost-nameless-cannon-fodder.
OUT OF THE ASHES
Chapter Ten
Grave Matters
It was a dispirited group that made their way back to Aki's spacious room. The Deep Eyes had decided to stay with her when they noticed how nervous others acted around them. Although the trio took it in a stride, Aki could see it hurt them. They'd been granted a second chance at life, but seemed doomed to live that life as freaks.
Neil, the only one not exhibiting any strange abilities, seemed to be the only one oblivious to this. When Ryan and Jane silently entered the apartment, making straight for the new cots Aki had requested, Neil was cheerfully calling up room service and ordering as many exotic dishes as possible.
"You're paying for all that," Aki said as she passed by.
"It's not free?" Neil wailed, dismayed.
"I warned you about this place," Aki said dryly. "The temptation's a killer."
Neil quickly changed his order to a large pizza.
Aki smiled faintly and went to her room. She stood in the darkness for a moment, thinking. General Hein is alive… I can't believe it. General Ryder seemed quite convinced, however. "I've known that man for several years," Ryder had snarled, "and I wouldn't put it past him to run to an escape pod while everyone in the Zeus died around him. It would explain Boyer's presence; I knew the two of them were still in contact!"
Aki sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers digging into her sheets. That bastard… Why couldn't he just die? He'd killed Gray, and now was returning to ruin the lives of others.
Or… what if he did die, but he was revived, too? The thought of Hein with powers like what Jane wielded chilled her. It could explain how they knew what to expect with New York…
A flashing light on her comconsole caught her attention. Someone had left her a message. She leaned over, her fingers brushing the near-solid icons and the holo-screen flared to life.
"Dr. Ross? I'm Alice Webber from the city morgue. We would like you to contact us as soon as you can. Thank you."
The morgue? Aki checked the time and, realizing it wasn't too late in the evening, put in a call. Webber answered almost immediately. "Dr. Ross?"
"You wanted to speak to me?"
"Yes… We've cleared up most of the debris from the fire, and I wanted to tell you we found more bodies, and that Captain Edwards was among them."
Aki's stomach clenched. Gray… "So I'll be able to have a funeral for him after all," she said tonelessly.
The other woman nodded. "There isn't much; the remains are charred, and we had to identify him using dental records. But yes, just make the arrangements, and we'll keep the remains until the burial."
The remains… She wished the woman wouldn't sound so impersonal. "Thank you. I'll contact you when I've made the arrangements." She cut the communications, and wiped away the tears that had sprung to her eyes.
Numbly, she returned to the main room, where Neil's pizza had just arrived. The Deep Eyes were crowding around it like hungry vultures, and Aki realized dully she hadn't eaten anything since early that morning. But she was too saddened by the thought of Gray to feel really hungry.
"Hey, Doctor, what's wrong?" Ryan looked up first and caught the look on Aki's face.
"They found Gray's body," she said slowly. "We need to plan his funeral."
A part of her had hoped against hope that he had been restored too, that he would return to her at any time and take her into his arms… But that was never to be.
Aki ignored the concerned looks on her friends' faces and collapsed onto the couch, sobbing.
* * *
Dr. Sid wasn't certain if he resented being held prisoner. While being forcefully taken against his will by armed soldiers wasn't a pleasurable experience, what they had him working on was fascinating.
He had never seen a green spirit before. He wouldn't have thought it was possible. But the military had supplied him with scans from several people, most of them quite young, that were entirely green. His captors wouldn't say what the scans were from; only that they wanted Dr. Sid to analyze the anomaly… and duplicate it in a normal human spirit.
Why? Why would they want to alter a spirit? What was so special about these people? He'd asked to examine someone with a green spirit, but the military had declined. They'd given him clumsily taken tissue samples, which were of little help to him.
"Have you made any progress?" The voice was casual, but Dr. Sid could sense the hard edge behind it. He turned to face Major Boyer, whom he hadn't seen since he'd first been taken.
The man's pale, silvery-blue eyes bored into him, and Dr. Sid had to force himself not to shrink back from the man's gaze. "So you've returned. Did you find what you were looking for?"
Boyer smiled, an expression that didn't reach his eyes. "Yes and no. I found something that could help you, though." He handed Dr. Sid a disk. "These are scans from New York citizens." His lips quirked at Dr. Sid's startled look. "Oh, you didn't know? They're alive… and their spirits are now a patchwork of blue and green. I'm sure they weren't like that before their rebirth. I'm confident you can solve this little puzzle."
Dr. Sid hadn't really heard that last part. "They're alive? How? When?"
Boyer shrugged. "You're the scientist, Doctor."
"Without access to living samples," Dr. Sid began.
"The last doctor who got what she wished for is no longer with us," Boyer said absently. "I suggest you make do with what you have."
Dr. Sid shivered at the thinly veiled threat. "I can't promise you anything," he said.
"Pity," the major said. "It would be a shame to lose your support." Boyer turned and left, sealing the door behind him.
He's going to kill me… even if I do give him what he wants. I'll have to delay as much as possible while still seeming to be accomplishing something.
Sighing, Dr. Sid turned to the console his small lab/cell was equipped with, and examined the scans.
* * *
Aki couldn't keep her thoughts straight as she went to see General Ryder the next morning. Ever since they'd realized there was a conspiracy afoot, the two had decided it would be best to work together. She'd left the Deep Eyes at her apartment, where she hoped they would be safe.
"What's wrong, Doctor?" the general asked her kindly as she sat down in the chair in his office. She sighed, knowing how gloomy she looked.
"They found Gray's body," she said. "Now I need to get on with planning the funeral. And…" she faltered. "I know the media is going to turn it into some big event, what with him being the real 'world's savior' and all."
"Perhaps," Ryder suggested, "you should leave it to us. We can give him a proper military hero's burial. And we can minimize the number of people attending. I won't let you be mobbed by reporters asking how you feel about Captain Edward's sacrifice." He saw her wince. "Have they been after you? I know how persistent the press can be. If you'd like, I can assign military escort-"
"No, I'm fine," Aki sighed. "Have you made any progress on your investigation?"
He'd had his men searching all the available files – hard to do when so many cities had been lost – for information on Major Boyer and his connection to Hein. "Unfortunately, I still think the most likely place to have taken Dr. Sid is New York." He'd vetoed a raid on the city the other day, pointing out that it was easily defensible and contained many USMF soldiers. And when he'd pointed out the citizens could be used as potential hostages, Deep Eyes had grudgingly agreed that they should find an alternative. After all, Dr. Sid had been taken for some purpose before New York's return had been discovered. "We're looking through records of as many abandoned bases as we're aware of."
Aki steepled her fingers and rested her chin on them. "That bastard," she whispered. "General Hein always has to ruin everything I care about."
"I'd have to agree," Ryder said quietly. Aki stared at him in some surprise. "Hein isn't a quality individual, if you know what I mean. Do you know how he got the position in New York over me?" Aki shook her head. "It was because of the fourth Phantom cleansing mission two years ago. I was set to take over for New York because General Worthington was ready to retire. I… wanted a final coup to show I was worthy of the position, so I organized the cleansing mission." There was a strange look on Ryder's face, and Aki got the feeling this was difficult for him to talk about. She'd always wondered why Ryder, a general of more experience and previously more seniority, had lost the position to Hein. "There was a flaw," he said. "A fatal one that I overlooked. Hein, however, saw it. He's intelligent, I'll give him that. He never told anyone about the flaw in my plans, instead, he held back, and was able to save his men as a result. The Council saw him as a hero, while I looked like a fool for losing so many men. And General Worthington voted to move Hein up in rank and have him take over, instead. There was quite a scandal behind that," Ryder smiled wryly. "Hein was accused of getting the position because General Worthington was a sentimental fool, and Hein was his former son-in-law."
Aki's eyes widened slightly. She was surprised by Ryder's rather intimate confession. "And was that why he was in a position to nearly destroy the planet?"
Ryder just grimaced. "And if we don't find him and Boyer soon, he'll be able to do it again. And this time, he'll have these powers at his disposal."
A chill went down Aki's spine. "We'd better hurry, then," she said softly. She suppressed another shudder. It felt as if someone had just walked over her grave…
To Be Continued…