Disclaimer: All characters and concepts from Final Fantasy belong to Square. Ryder and Boyer alone are mine.
Author's Note: This is a short chapter, and I apologize. I didn't like how the last bit was, and I didn't have time to rewrite it, so I deleted it for now. Due to my class ending and my computer being crashed again, I won't be able to upload much, and since the previous chapter made it seem like everyone was dead, I wanted to put up something to reassure you all. Sort of. Also, I just realized how close I am to completing this fic. Yay! After more than a year, I'm almost done! I may put many of my other stories on hiatus so I can complete this and a couple of my others that are near to being finished. But I intend to finish everything I've ever started. By the way, I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but Boyer's first name comes courtesy of Ntrophi. It was a much better choice than her other suggestion: Sue.
OUT OF THE ASHES
Chapter Twenty-One
Resurrection Flames
It was strangely quiet as Boyer strode down the hall, the clicking of his heels on tile the only sound. Ryder must be really pissed if all his guards are hiding. Boyer allowed a satisfied grin to play across his features. Despite the fact that the situation had to be bad if the general had lost his cool, Boyer was amused. I warned him things wouldn't go so easily.
"Sir?" Major Boyer said as he entered Ryder's office. "They're going to execute the corporal in a few minutes. Why do you need to see my now?" Not that he was disappointed at missing the execution. In his opinion, Ryder was turning the runt into a martyr, and Boyer didn't think he deserved it. What he wanted was a chance alone with Fleming to find out what the corporal knew. Ryder had dismissed Boyer's concerns, but there was something about Fleming that was disturbing...
And he wanted to find out just what Fleming was. Boyer hadn't liked what he'd seen in the corporal's eyes. It wasn't normal. It wasn't... human.
"I'm sorry to spoil your fun, Will," Boyer said coolly. "But it's about Project Ash. He won't respond."
Damn! Boyer had expected something like this, given Ash's growing independence. But he hadn't thought it would happen this soon. "You don't think Dr. Ross and the others defeated him?" he asked doubtfully.
"He chooses not to respond," Ryder snarled. "When we last spoke, he said he had them... and then he smashed the communicator."
"I warned you," Boyer said flatly.
"I don't want to hear it," the general said angrily. "Go out into the city and find him. You know him better than anyone else; if anyone can find him, it would be you."
Boyer started. "You want me to go after him? Now? He may return, given time. He's like a child; he only needs to work this off - "
"Now," Ryder said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Go, and don't return until you have him."
"Yes, sir." Not how I wanted to spend my day... If the general had only listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have a dangerous weapon running rampant in the city! Even General Hein had more sense than that! But what do I know? I'm just the henchman.
There was a soft warbling, and General Ryder picked up the earpiece to his phone without switching on visual. Boyer watched as the general's face darkened, and his fists began to shake in rage. "Well, find him!" Ryder finally roared, then slammed down the receiver. He looked up at Boyer, who cocked his head curiously. "They lost Corporal Fleming," Ryder seethed.
Now that was unexpected. "How?" Boyer asked incredulously.
"Incompetence," Ryder said. "This isn't your concern now; go fetch Ash."
"Shall I use Morgan's squad again, or do you want me to bring along another?"
"Ash is proving to be too volatile at the moment, and I don't want to risk any more of my men. No, Will, you're to find Ash on your own." The expression on Ryder's face stalled further argument. "Dismissed, Major."
Boyer sighed. He was going to have to search an entire city on his own, which could take hours. Boyer hoped nothing else would go wrong today; he doubted the irate general could handle it.
* * *
Ryan lay stunned where he had fallen, struggling to breathe. What had happened? He remembered a brilliant burst of light, and being blinded. He'd staggered backwards, over the catwalk's broken edge and plunging downwards just as the flames began to scorch the air around him.
A scream came from somewhere above him, a cry of mortal terror. Ryan's eyes shot open, and he struggled to push himself into a sitting position. "Aki," he said weakly.
"Lie still," a voice said from behind him, and he felt arms holding him down.
"Dr. Ross... Dr. Sid... They're still up there!" But Ryan felt too dizzy to put up much of a fight.
"If they are, then they're done for." Ryan recognized the voice now as Major Elliot's harsh rasp. "Are you hurt badly, Sergeant? We need to get out of here before Ash decides to pursue us."
Ash... The captain... Ryan shivered as he remembered Gray's twisted features before he'd killed Anderson. How can the captain be that... thing? "I just need to catch my breath," Ryan said. Words came more easily now. "We have to help the doctors!"
"They're beyond our help now," Elliot said softly. "I'm sorry, Sergeant, but we must leave. The city isn't safe for any of us anymore."
Ryan gave him an anguished look, but he knew the major was right. Even if he did manage to find a way back up there in time, he didn't think there was anything he could do about Gray... or rather, Ash. Weapons had proven useless, and what good would his healing skills be? "Let's go," Ryan said. He tried getting to his feet again, and this time succeeded.
They moved as quickly and quietly as they could, back to the main rebel hideout. The only trouble they ran into was a lost and confused Bug Phantom, a threat that suddenly seemed very mundane compared to the powerful Ash. The soldiers wasted no time surrounding it and knocking it off the scaffold with well-placed shots.
"Gather all the refugees," Major Elliot said as soon as they reached the rebel hideout. "Make certain everyone's ready to move in half an hour." The leaders of the squads who had gathered when their battered contingent arrived departed quickly, obeying without question. "They know something bad is going on," Elliot told Ryan. "We've been prepared for this for some time."
"You think Ash will follow us, then." Ryan's heart sank. This was his fault; his arrival had endangered the lives of the rebels... and possibly even killed his friends.
"Yes. We have to evacuate immediately."
"I have two soldiers in the city," Ryan said. "I'm not leaving without them."
"Perhaps they made it to your ship," Elliot suggested.
"I don't know." Ryan held up his radio, which had been damaged in the fall. "And I have no way to tell. Somehow, I doubt Neil and Jane had an easier time than us." He prayed that they had. The image of his teammates with their bodies being consumed by flames came to him and he shuddered. "I'm not losing anyone else," he said firmly. Especially not the doctors... If they live, I will find them. They'd be too useful to Boyer to kill!
The major's ravaged face wrinkled in thought. "How will you find them?" he challenged. "It's a big city, and Boyer's men are everywhere." His rough voice was sympathetic. "It isn't that I want to leave your people behind. I've permitted too much to happen to them already." The last came out as a whisper; an apology for his passiveness during New York's final hours. "I have radios, so we may be able to reach your people through them."
"Thank you, sir. If you don't mind my asking, where are you going?" Around Ryan, there was a flurry of activity as the rebels efficiently packed. He wondered what was going on with the less fortunate invalids, the Duos and Undeads that were being cared for here. Could they be mobilized and evacuated in time?
"Before the barriers were built, when the military first became aware of a worldwide crisis that was nearly unstoppable, there were underground bunkers constructed near many of the major cities. They would never have held the entire population - just the 'important' people - but the one outside New York is big enough for the rebels. They'll stay put until I give the word. We can rescue your men and leave - "
"Wait a minute... 'we?'" Ryan repeated.
Major Elliot drew his cloak around him. "I'm going with you." He held up a gloved hand to forestall objections. "You're not going into the city without backup. I may not have been much of a field soldier, but I've gotten to know my way around the city. And you need someone with you who can convince the Council of what's going on, right? I have authority; they may listen to me. I've had to mediate between them and General Hein for years, so I should be of some use to you."
"Yes, sir," Ryan said slowly. Then he smiled. "What are we waiting for? Find me a radio so I can contact my people!"
* * *
He could feel her dying in his arms. He could feel her breathing become more shallow and uneven, feel the beating of her heart slow. The blood continued to stream from Jane's chest, and there was nothing Neil could do but cradle her body and watch her die.
Around them, the soldiers stood with their weapons at the ready, but they were in no hurry; they knew all the fight had gone out of the pair. At least they were giving him a chance to say goodbye. Even Hein hadn't returned to ruin the moment.
"Jane," he whispered. She stared up at him with eyes that were slowly glazing over. "I'm sorry it came to this. If I hadn't been stupid enough to get caught, you wouldn't have come after me. If... if I hadn't kissed you, you wouldn't have gotten so angry with me. I had no right, and I'm sorry." He ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her pale face. "But I... I still have feeling for you, even after all these years. You were the best part of HMA. Waking up next to you in New York seemed like a miracle," he told her, tears welling up in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. Jane blinked as one splashed in her eye. "I thought maybe we were getting a second chance..." the words caught in his throat, and all that came out was an inarticulate sob.
"Neil..." Jane's voice was so weak, he wasn't sure he heard it at first. "I... I lo..." She couldn't finish the sentence.
Neil was dimly aware of someone coming up behind him, fingers closing on his shoulder. "Let's go," a voice snapped.
"No! She's still alive!" Jane still breathed, but there was a longer period between each breath. She was almost gone.
"She's dead," the man said firmly. "Get up, or - " He broke off as a hot wind rustled around them, blowing sparks that collided with their armor in a colorful shower. But... there's no fire... Neil thought dully.
The pavement around them burst into flame, beginning as a small fire in front of Neil that increased in size as he watched. It became a thin wall that moved as though controlled, tracing a pattern Neil couldn't see all around him. The man behind Neil cried out as if in pain, though Neil couldn't understand why. All he felt was a gentle warmth.
"Is it Project Ash?" someone yelled.
Neil protectively drew Jane closer. Maybe they would meet their deaths together...
(Not today,) a female voice said gently into his mind. (Please... Don't be frightened,) the voice continued. (I'm here to help.)
The flame pattern seemed to pull itself up from the pavement, the outline filling with coruscating light of reds, yellows, and oranges. It passed through Jane and Neil, the caress of the flames surprisingly tender. It stretched its wings of flame, and then its body solidified.
A bird? Neil could only stare at the creature suspended above him. A massive bird of flame hovered over them protectively, and the soldiers backed away. A few fired at the creature, but it folded its wings in front of it as a shield.
Then, with blinding speed, the bird struck at the soldiers. It swooped down, grazing them with the trailing flame of its wings and setting fire to the ground beneath them. No one was killed, but the soldiers were too panicked to face this new, impossible foe.
Jane suddenly stirred in his arms, and Neil looked down in surprise. He met her eyes, wide, puzzled, and clear of pain. Through the ragged hole in her shirt, he saw only scarred skin. Jane gripped him tightly as she spotted the creature above them.
It had finished with the soldiers and turned towards them, floating without moving its wings. Neil shifted into a protective stance over Jane.
(I won't kill,) the voice chided. (I saved her life.)
"Who are you? What are you?" Neil finally managed.
(I am the Phoenix,) it answered. It began to fade to translucence, then became only a thin line of flame in the shape of a bird.
"Wait!" Neil cried. "You... you saved Jane?"
(I can restore life to those close to death. I barely came in time.) The magnificent creature's outline became a shower of sparks that slowly vanished.
"Thank you," Neil whispered.
Beside him, Jane shakily got to her feet. "Neil, what just happened? Who was she? She's the one who drew away Ash!"
Neil fought the urge to gather Jane into his embrace. She was alive! But he restrained himself, remembering how badly his last display of affection had ended. "I'm glad you're all right," he said softly. He wondered how much of his little speech she'd actually heard... and what had she been trying to say to him?
"You won't get rid of me that easily," she said. "Now, let's find the others and get the hell out of here." Her tone was brusque, but the hand she placed on his arm gripped him tightly, and there was a warmth in her eyes. She doesn't want to talk about it right now. But something I said got through to her!
"Yeah... let's get out of here." He smiled and followed as she led the way out of the square.
* * *
She was floating in darkness, adrift in a sea of pain. She couldn't open her eyes to face her tormenter, or force any more screams from her raw, torn throat. Was this death? Then... why did it hurt so much?
She couldn't remember where she was, or how she'd gotten there. She wasn't even certain she could remember her own name. No, that much I do know... I'm Aki, Dr. Aki Ross... With that knowledge came fragments of memory: Watching the Deep Eyes die... holding Dr. Sid's mangled body... cradling her beloved's still, cold form to her own... Had her world always been one of pain and death? She tried to remember something good, a happy memory, but her mind drew a blank. The only thing that came to mind was Gray... and he was the one who'd done this to her.
A sob escaped her swollen lips as the image of Gray's face, twisted into a cruel mockery of a grin, came to her. He'd... what had he done to her? She couldn't remember... her mind wouldn't let her remember...
"You have powers," she suddenly recalled Gray - no, Ash - saying. "Use them! Defend yourself!"
She hadn't known what he was talking about. She hadn't died and been reborn like the others. She had no powers.
"I can see your spirit," Ash's voice had risen to a fevered pitch. "All green, like mine!"
He'd lied... he must have... Or she would have been able to keep him from coming close to her, or hit her, cut her, burn her, or... or whatever else he'd done to make her hurt inside and out!
How badly was she hurt, anyway? Aki concentrated on opening her eyelids, finally succeeding in opening one a crack. She was in a dim room - or perhaps her vision was no longer working right - and she was alone. Her hands were tied above her head, likely to a hook in the wall. Her feet were on the floor, but could barely take her weight. Aki whimpered as she saw the ruin of her body: Her skin was flushed an angry red, and had bubbled and blistered in several places. There were lacerations across her stomach and chest, where great swatches of her skin had been removed. I shouldn't be alive... Aki shut her eye again. Do I have magic, after all? Is it keeping me alive?
What good are these abilities if I can't even save the people I love? Tears slipped down her face, the salt of them burning her scoured cheeks. Jane's right, they are a curse. Why won't they let me die?!
* * *
When Ryan had heard their voices over the radio, he'd been weak with relief. Jane and Neil were all right! They'd set up a meeting place inside the city, and he was moving along the labyrinthine underground as fast as he could. Major Elliot struggled behind him, his body still not up to the exertion, but he was uncomplaining. He kept quiet, except to offer a shortcut when one was available. He seemed to fall naturally into the role of follower, Ryan noticed. No wonder Hein had walked all over him.
On their way up, at Ryan's urging, they stopped in the area where Ash had attacked them. He seemed to have vanished, and the area was momentarily secure. Ryan hurried along the catwalk to where several charred forms lay. "Oh God," he whispered. Amidst the scorched metal there was a circle left untouched by flame. Lying in the middle was Dr. Sid... or part of him. Ryan bent over the old man, closing the glazed eyes before turning to look at Elliot. He didn't say anything; what could he have said? The elderly scientist had likely been killed in the blast that had knocked Ryan over the edge.
He backed away, scanning the bodies. "I don't see Dr. Ross," he said.
"Most of the bodies are unrecognizable," Elliot began.
"Or maybe Ash took her to Boyer," Ryan said grimly. "She'd make a valuable hostage; and she's competent enough to take over whatever work he abducted Dr. Sid for."
"You're not leaving without her." Elliot made it a statement, not a question.
"No." Ryan's voice was firm. He wouldn't leave Aki behind. Not after all he'd seen. Who knew what Ash would do to her...
"Let's get the rest of your squad, then," Elliot said in a resigned tone. "I have a feeling we'll need them."
They left Sid's body, though Ryan informed Elliot they were returning for it on the way out. The major put up no argument, choosing to follow Ryan upward and finally into the city itself.
After that, it was only a matter of dodging patrols as they wove their way through the streets towards their rendezvous. "There seems to be a lot of them out," Ryan observed, after they ducked into a building for the fifth time. "They definitely know we're here."
They made good time, reaching a small, empty cafe away from the city's main streets that had been a favorite of the Deep Eyes squad. Ryan found Jane and Neil inside, alert and wary. They'd also chosen to help themselves to some of the canned food still inside, and Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Sarge!" Jane cried as they entered. She'd been poised to attack, and he thought he felt a chill breeze as he neared. Neil's hand was resting on a gun sitting on the counter next to him.
"Am I glad to see you," the tech grinned. Then he caught sight of Major Elliot's shrouded form. "Who's the mysterious stranger? And where are Dr. Sid and Dr. Ross?"
Ryan's delight at seeing his teammates faded. "Dr. Sid is dead. And Dr. Ross may have been taken by the enemy." The others were silent as Ryan continued. "This is Major Elliot. He's been heading the resistance against Boyer." Neil's eyes widened, and Ryan tapped the side of his head, then made a slashing motion across his throat. Don't mention General Hein! he willed. "He's agreed to come with us to provide evidence to the Council. With him, we should be able to convince them to send General Ryder - "
"Ryder's already here," Neil said flatly. "Boyer isn't the leader here; he works for Ryder."
Ryan's jaw dropped as the implications sank in. Their biggest ally was their foe?
"My God," Elliot whispered.
"We're going after Dr. Ross," Ryan said. "And then we're getting out of here. There's more going on here than meets the eye, and the Council needs to know they have a traitor in their midst." But where to begin? How could they possibly find Dr. Ross? They could have taken her anywhere. "Do you have any ideas where they may have taken her?"
Neil's eyes narrowed. "Ryder's quarters - but I don't want to go there unless I have to. And Jane and I know where the power-users are being kept, but they're under heavy guard. Finding her is going to be difficult."
He didn't want to search the heavily-guarded areas unless he absolutely had to. And there was an odd reluctance in Jane and Neil; what had happened to them during their separation? Well, he'd ask them later.
"Maybe we can get answers from one of their own men," Elliot suggested softly, and Ryan jumped. He'd forgotten the other was with them. "We could capture one of his soldiers. They may know something."
"We could overpower one of their squads if we take them by surprise," Jane said thoughtfully. "But there's no guarantee they'll know anything."
"It may be our only chance," Ryan said.
So they set out in search of a patrol. They stayed close together, ready to overpower anyone they found. Unfortunately, they seemed to be too far away from the military headquarters; the patrols were few and far between this far out.
After about twenty minutes, they were rewarded by the sound of an engine coming down the road towards them. Ryan glanced over at Jane, who crouched beside him. "Have they all been traveling in jeeps?"
Jane smiled. "Nope... It must be someone important."
"Ice the road," Ryan commanded. He signaled for the others to stay back as Jane created a coat of ice spread across the road in front of the oncoming jeep. Then they crept back into the doorway of the nearest building, pressing themselves into the shadows.
The jeep hit the ice and slewed sideways, slamming into the side of the building across the road before the driver could recover.
Instantly, the squad rushed forward, trailed by Major Elliot. When they reached the smoking jeep, they saw there had been no need for haste; the driver was slumped over the wheel, unconscious.
Ryan gripped the man's shoulder, pulling him back. "Look what we have here..." he breathed, when he saw the pale face under flaxen hair. "We got Major Boyer!"
To Be Continued...