Red Sky
The Fire Dragon
Barret stomped around the perimeter of Kalm, amongst the old and the ill. The big, black, glowering man, resplendent with tattoos and leather, terrified the people he marched through, and more than one fled at the sight of him.
"There ain't gonna be no Shinra asshole' workin' fer Avalanche!" he roared suddenly, stopping short. Cid, who was chasing behind him, swearing continuously and occasionally coughing heavily, smacked straight into his back.
"Watch where you fuckin' going!"
"Don't just fucking stop in the middle of the fucking road!"
The two men glared at each other, and then Cid took a deep drag of his cigarette and said, slightly more calmly.
"What the fuck is wrong, anyhow?"
"This whole mission is! Avalanche was meant to destroy Shinra, not hire 'em!" Barret stormed, shaking his massive fist. A circle of thin, decrepit looking people had gathered at a safe distance. "What's Cloud thinkin' of? A bunch of greedy, mutherfuckin' corporate slaves ain't gonna be of no use!"
Cid considered the former terrorist leader. It was a tricky problem. Barret bore immense hatred for Shinra, mostly justified, but true hatred always contained a touch of the irrational. Having worked for the company, Cid knew that there were few truly evil Shinra employees. Misguided, desperate, naive, or cynical, every employee had reasons for joining, and reasons for staying. Viewed as individuals, they were blameless. Viewed as a group, they were unforgivable.
"Alright, let's find some people who aren't fucking Shinra then," Cid said.
For a moment Barret looked as if he would argue, and then his shoulders sagged. "I don't wanna do that," he said. "Marlene... she was in Midgar, but I'm sure she got out! I need to find her. I need to make sure she's okay."
Cid sighed.
"She's my daughter, Cid," Barret looked pleadingly at the older man. "She's the reason I ever tried to stop Shinra."
"Go look for your brat," Cid grumbled. "I'll gather up some assholes for guard duty, or whatever the fuck Cloud needs 'em for."
"Dam' straight!" Barret said, clapping Cid on the shoulder, before running into the crowd. Cid watched him go, puffing on his cigarette.
"Must be getting fucking sentimental in my old age," he muttered to himself.
"Ryuu-hi?"
Vincent closed his eyes, composing himself. When he opened them again, all trace of his fear was gone.
"But... how could it be?" Yuffie stared at him.
"I don't know."
Elena looked from one to the other, confused.
"But then... Leviathan?" Yuffie asked, anxiously looking around her for the summon materia.
"I don't know."
"Ryu-hi came out of Leviathan's materia!" Yuffie said. "But... where's Leviathan gone? The materia's disappeared!"
Vincent looked up at the sky, to the sun.
"Ryu-hi is meant to be dead!"
"Yes..."
"Whose Ryuu-hi?" Elena demanded. Yuffie shot her a contemptuous look.
"Stupid! Ryu-hi was the sun dragon!"
"He and Leviathan were the first," Vincent said quietly. "The spirits of the sun and the sea. Together, they created the lifestream."
Elena's mouth dropped. "The lifestream was created?"
"Yes. And for a long time, they watched over the creatures that came from the lifestream, giving them everything they needed. People arose from the lifestream, and separated into two groups," Vincent glanced at Yuffie. "The House of Kiseragi worshipped Leviathan, and they farmed the sea. The House of Hitobito worshipped Ryu-hi, and farmed the land. But both worked together, for the benefit of all people."
"This is a legend?" Elena asked.
"Partly. And partly a history. After time, the Houses grew arrogant. They each believed that they should rule. Every time they met, they argued. The Kiseragi's turned their harpoons and barbs into arrows and shuriken. The Hitobito's turned their ploughs to katana. There was a war. The Great War. The First War."
"The Kiseragi won, of course," Yuffie said.
"They did win. But at great cost. The entire Hitobito family was wiped out, and Ryu-hi also disappeared. After time, he was forgotten. The Kiseragi family ruled over Wutai, and most of the world." Vincent looked into the distance. "A few customs and styles of the Hitobito family remained of course. Styles of cooking, of dressing, of fighting... but they were meaningless shadows. The Kiseragi stayed in power for thousands of years, tracing their birth line back to the original House. Until the Shinra War... the Second War, they were omnipotent."
Elena was wide eyed. Her knowledge of history was meagre, limited to what she had picked up from the propaganda Shinra had fed her about "their glorious past". She had never considered that the small western village might have had a past as interesting, and as bloody.
"So why's Ryu-hi back?" Yuffie demanded. "We kicked his ass before!"
Vincent shook his head.
A dust cloud suddenly shot through the group, seemingly out of nowhere. Yuffie yelped, yanking up her shuriken. Elena dived to one side, but Vincent only raised an eyebrow as the dust cloud sped to a halt and revealed itself to be Cloud and Kiniro.
"Good kill," the blonde warrior said approvingly, indicating the dead elephant. "I'll get it back to Kalm. I hope Cait found Reeve."
"Boy Cloud! You just missed some really weird stuff!" Yuffie said. "Wait 'till you hear what happened! My materia - "
"Later Yuffie. I've got some important things to do." Cloud cut her off, as he leapt down from the chocobo and seized the elephant. "Junon is in trouble, but there's food and shelter there. I need to get Cid and Reeve together, so we can get the Highwind back."
Yuffie blanched. "The Highwind? Why?"
"We need it for transport. You guys just keep this up. Tell Nanaki the same, if you see him." Cloud vaulted back on to Kinirio and dug his heels in. The chocobo warked, and shot off into the distance.
"Man, what a jerk!" Yuffie said.
"There's nothing he could do," Vincent said, glancing again at the sky. "We still have a few hours of daylight left. Let's hunt."
"What about her?" Yuffie indicated Elena.
"What about me?"
"Well, you're a bad guy!"
"No I'm not," Elena snapped. "I'm no more bad guy than you!"
"Gimme a break. You were with Shinra!"
"So? That doesn't make me a bad guy!"
"Yes it does!"
"No it doesn't!"
"Yes it does!"
"No it doesn't!" The two women glared at each other, and then Yuffie suddenly realised Vincent had already started walking off.
"Dammit! Vincent! Wait! Vinny! Jerk!" she chased after him, shouting.
Elena watched them leave, shaking her head. Then her thoughts turned to the dragon of light, and the strange legend she had just heard. A frown creased her forehead, as she debated what to do. She needed a goal, and chasing down this 'Ryu-hi' seemed a good place to start.
Sweat poured off the man, and pooled around him, unable to soak into the veined marble floor. He kept his gaze focused on the foot in front of him, with its silver slipper hemmed with more coils of fire, and ran a dry tongue across his lips.
"Well?" her voice was high pitched, musical, and yet emotionless; a delicate harmony with no feeling behind it.
"Naishinnô, I bring news of the Black Snakes."
"Indeed?" her fan moved slowly, still hiding the lower half of her face.
"They struck fast and deadly, none are left alive."
The fan invited him to continue.
"Junon fell quickly, the Shinra running like the curs they are. They left the fort a graveyard, running red with blood. Now they await your most imperial highness' command, knowing that they will achieve victory with those Chosen of Ryu-hi's blessings."
"They will march onto Fort Condor, leaving a detachment at Junon. They will leave none alive. No word of warning will reach Kalm before my snakes do."
"I will relay the message immediately," the man knocked his forehead against the floor and began to back away from the seated woman. She watched him go, from those dark unblinking, unwavering eyes, but he refused to meet her gaze.
As the screen door slid closed, cutting out the sight of the Naishinnô, the man breathed more easily, and wiped his forehead with one hand as he stood. He was a commander, and a war veteran, had faced many men in battle, and had lived through the disgrace of losing the Second War to Shinra. But in all his life, nothing had scared him so much as a twitch of a finger, or the flutter of a fan from this woman.
She is like ice, he thought, shuddering slightly. Beautiful, deadly and cold.
But she was also the Naishinnô, the only heir of the remaining Emperor, and as such she was Chosen of Ru-hi. Perhaps the Fire Dragon has need of an Ice Woman, the man thought, as he hurried out of the building and into the streets of Wutai.
The town had fared better than most. The destruction had centred on the Midgarian continent, and only a few tremors had reached them. Their buildings were solid, ancient structures that had weathered many storms. People milled about outside, discussing recent events with excitement. They had no idea why Meteor had not struck the planet into oblivion, and many theories were put forward with enthusiasm.
"It was the Planet, I'm tellin' ya, like those crazy sods used to talk about before they got flooded out..."
"It was nothing of the sort, it was Shinra. They took out Meteor, but blew themselves up doing it."
"No, no, no. It was the Gods, they joined forces and..."
"There are no Gods 'cept Leviathan!"
"Are you crazy? What kind of stupid plank doesn't believe in the other Gods!"
"I don't! It was propaganda cooked up by Shinra to make us afraid!"
"I've seen the other Gods!"
"What-freaking-ever!"
The babble of voices faded as he left the centre of town, and headed out into the mountainous country. His chocobo was where he had left it, its head drooping. He cursed it, and climbed aboard. Spurs would have been useful, but nobody in Wutai used chocobos, and it would have been too noticeable if he had worn them. He settled for kicking it in the ribs as hard as he could, and at the same time striking it on the top of its head with his open palm.
"Move!" he commanded, his voice harsh.
It shuffled slowly into a jog, faster than a man could walk but still frustratingly slow. He had been to the Gold Saucer, he knew these birds could move quicker than this! He kicked it again, and the bird gave a low cry of pain, before increasing its speed. Force. You had to force everything in this world. Nothing gave of its best unless you forced it from them.
That included his Snakes. But they had given of their best in Junon. Oh yes. They had sliced through the underbelly of that rotten city and let the infected fluids gush forth to cleanse it. Not one living creature had been left alive, he was sure.
The boat was nestled under the cliff, hidden from casual observation. The chocobo climbed in, its fear of open water less than its fear of the man on its back. The man grunted with satisfaction, and dismounted. The oars were where he had left them. He began to row them out of the shelter, a slow grin dawning on his face despite himself.
They were doing it. Destroying Shinra where the Kiseragi scum had failed. Seizing back the power that had been taken from them so long ago.
He was far enough from the coast now. Nobody could hear him. The thrill of victory rushing in his veins, he stood up and raised his fist to the sun that burned implacably above him.
"Praise Ryuu-hi!"
It was the flowers in the windows that caused the house to catch his attention. Barret stood for a moment, ignoring the crowd that surrounded him. The garden had been overrun of course, but in the windows there still stood pots of spider plants and begonia. He moved towards it determinedly, the crowd parting before his bulk.
He hammered on the door with his good hand, feeling the reverberations through his fingers. It was solid wood, and he approved. If his daughter were in there, he wanted nobody to try and rob the place. Not that the crowd had yet been stirred to robbery, but still... he knew it was coming.
Nobody had answered. He hammered again, with his gun this time. The wood quivered beneath his pounding.
"Who's there?" a woman's voice sounded from the other side, tense with fear.
"It's Barret!" he roared. "I've come ta fe'ch Marlene back!"
"Barret?"
The door crept open an inch. He held his impatience, knowing that the woman only wanted to protect his daughter.
"It is you!" Elmira exclaimed. She pulled the door open the full distance, her eyes widening at the sight of him. "Sweet Holy! Come in!"
He entered, and looked around immediately for signs of his daughter. They were everywhere: in the the drawings tacked to the walls, in the brightly painted wooden doll that leant against a chair, in the tiny shoes that lay haphazardly by the stove.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
"Upstairs, I sent her to hide when I heard you knocking," the woman replied. She looked at him searchingly for a moment, and then went to the foot of the stairs and called up it.
"Marlene! Your Papa is here!"
She came at a run, leaping down the stairs and into his embrace with a squeal of pure joy.
"Papa!"
He sank to his knees, clutching her as tightly as he dared. Her brown head buried into his chest as she sobbed, her tiny arms as far around his thick body as they could reach. Elmira stood nearby, watching them with tears in her own eyes.
She couldn't leave them like that for long though. Clearing her throat, she asked the question she dreaded the answer to.
"Is Aerith...?"
Barret stayed clutching Marlene for a moment longer. Then he gently disengaged her hands, and stood up. His eyes met Elmira's squarely. There was no room within them for doubt, but she clung to doubt anyway.
"What... what happened...?"
He shook his head slowly. "Sephiroth... Sephiroth kill'd 'er. I... I'm sorry."
There was a long minute of silence. Then she sank slowly to the floor, her knees buckling beneath her. No sound came from her. She didn't think she would ever make a sound again. Aerith... her little baby. Her fingers clutched convulsively at the floor. How could this be happening? She felt numb, detached from herself. Somewhere inside her body a great gaping void had just been torn into her. But she viewed it apart from herself, unable to comprehend the vastness of the loss.
Barret watched her helplessly. He felt eminently unsuited to have delivered such crushing news. Why couldn't Tifa be here, with her soft and comforting words? He wished he could pick Marlene up and leave. But he couldn't leave Elmira alone, not like this.
He went over to the woman, and put his good arm around her awkwardly. She reached for him wordlessly, and clung as tightly as Marlene had. Marlene. Barret looked up to see his daughter coming to hug Elmira as well. Elmira pulled the little girl into her lap, and rested her hand on the back of Marlene's head, stroking her hair gently. There was a terrible emptiness in Elmira's face, a blackness behind her eyes. She seemed suddenly very old.
"Is the flower girl dead, Papa?" Marlene's voice was strange. She sounded resigned. Barret looked at his daughter in shock. How could his daughter have become resigned to death?
"Yes, Marl," he said soberly. He had viewed this meeting as a moment of joy and triumph. He would've wiped out Shinra, and been reunited with his daughter. Everything should've been perfect.
Marlene nodded. "I saw her though... before Zen' died too. Maybe they're together now."
Barret frowned at her.
"Zen?" he asked.
"Tseng," Elmira said wearily. "He saved us both. Stayed here for a while. Then he just... died. In the garden. Marlene was upset... she had just started to like him."
"Tsen' saved ya both?" Barret said blankly. "I thought he were dead a lon' time back!"
Elmira shook her head. "I think he 'disappeared' from Shinra, because he got hurt. I don't know what happened, but he had trouble walking, let alone fighting. Some sort of spinal injury. He lived with us for a while... I felt that we owed it to him, after he got us out of the city."
Barret stared at her in confusion that began to turn to anger.
"You let a fuckin' Turk near Marlene?" he demanded.
Elmira pulled away from him, and clutched Marlene to her. The little girl cuddled her instinctively.
"Please don't get angry..." she said. "He kidnapped Marlene, but then he brought her back, gave us a key to the city, and bought this house for us. He never told us why. I don't think he was truly a bad man... and if he was, well, he's dead now and at peace."
"That bastard too' Aerith from ya! If i' wasn't for him, she migh' still be alive!"
Elmira flinched as if she had been physically struck, and her fingers dug into Marlene, who whimpered. Barret swore.
"Ya know I'm righ'! The Turks were the scum o' Shinra, and Shinra were the scum o' the Planet!"
"Shut up!" Elmira was suddenly on her feet, her voice shaking. Marlene held onto her leg, desperately. "You keep spitting out that Shinra is this, Shinra was that! Tseng saved Marlene's life! If he hadn't taken us from the city, she would have died! He didn't catch Aerith for years after he first came to get her... not because he was outwitted by a little girl, but because he didn't want to turn her over to Shinra! He was not the one who... who... killed my girl. Sephiroth did that. Hate Sephiroth if you need someone to hate! But don't curse the man who saved your daughter, and tried to save mine, in the house where he died!"
Barret gaped at her. Then his face went dark with fury.
"After evert'ing, you wanna defend the bastard? After everyt'ing he' responsible fer? He too' Aerith, and oversaw the de'truction of Sector Seven! If it weren't fer him, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie might still be alive!"
Elmira choked on her sobs. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't argue with him, she had never had the strength to last out conflict.
"Get out," she said. "Take Marlene, and get out."
"No, 'Mira!" wailed Marlene. "I don't wanna leave you!"
"I don't want you to leave," Elmira told the girl. "But you must go with Papa."
Marlene sobbed into Elmira's skirts. Elmira glared at Barret.
"Go."
"Marlene," Barret said, and picked up his daughter. She sobbed, not understanding, knowing only that here was another leaving without warning. Barret cradled her protectively, and walked out of the house without a backward glance. Elmira locked the door behind him, and then leant her forehead against the wood.
"Aerith..." she whispered.
Having made the decision to chase down Ryuu-hi, Elena realised she had no idea where to begin. An enormous blazing dragon of fire should, in theory, be easy to find. But it could fly, and she at the moment was too tired even to run.
Therefore, she opted instead for heading to Kalm. It was not the ideal choice, but someone at Kalm would be able to get her something to drink at the very least. She had some gil, after all, and there would be people taking advantage of the situation to make some money. There always was.
When she arrived, however, she found herself standing uncertainly on the edge of town, amongst a makeshift town of blankets and small fires. She brushed her hand through her hair, wondering what to do.
"If Reno was here, he'd have us installed in the Inn by now," she muttered angrily to herself, and could almost hear his mocking comment on how useless she was. Gritting her teeth, she walked to the nearest campfire, and addressed the woman sat, staring into the flames.
"Excuse me, do you know where I might find some clean water?" she asked, politely.
The woman started, and looked up. When she saw who was standing there, her eyes widened further.
"Elena... is that you?"
Elena stared at the woman. She had no idea who she was.
"It is! Oh by Holy! I'm so happy to see you!" the woman leapt to her feet and caught Elena in a bone crunching hug. Elena squeaked. "I don't believe it! I haven't seen you in years! Imagine meeting up here, at a time like this! Oh sweet Odin! I'm so scared and alone! What about you? Is there anyone here you know made it out alive? I've not seen anyone I recognise... I hope things get sorted out soon! I can't believe Shinra let us all down like that... I thought they were meant to have things under control! They should be more considerate of the Above Plate citizens, don't you think? Concentrate on getting them food and shelter at the very least... instead we're just left to wallow in mud like the rest of these slummers."
Elena felt a grimace twist her face, but she forced it back and painted on a fake smile instead.
"It has been a while, hasn't it? Can you remind me of your name?"
"You don't remember? Silly Elle! But you never were very good at remembering names, were you? I'm Christine. Christine Collins, now, you know!" Elena looked at the ring on Christine's finger, and smiled congratulations. Christine pulled a face. "He didn't make it though, he got crushed! Isn't it dreadful?"
Elena felt the return of the grimace, and managed to turn it into a look of sympathy. "That's a shame."
"Oh, I know! I really miss him..." Christine crinkled her nose. She looked strange, somehow, performing the fluttery actions of a society lady, and patting at her dishevelled blonde hair as though to fix a few fly away strands. It was as though all the dust and debris, the ring of camp fires, the loss of her husband, was not real, but just some minor inconvenience, like a broken shoe heel.
"Do you have any water, Christine?" Elena asked, again.
"Oh! I do actually. I had to stand in the longest queue to get it though. And they didn't even serve the Above Plate citizens first! I saw some absolute ragamuffins get served before me!"
"It will probably get sorted out soon," Elena said.
"Oh, more than likely. Shinra are organising things, I guess. Didn't you go off to work for Shinra, my dear?"
"Yeah... yeah, I did."
"Did you meet anybody there? I would hate to have to work all day, I have the hardest time getting up in the mornings you know!"
"Water, Christine?"
"I forgot, silly me! Here you are... I'm sorry I don't have glasses or anything, but I couldn't save anything. It's all insured though, thankfully."
Elena accepted the water canteen without comment, and let Christine's babbling fade away into the background.
She would have to return to Rude. Now that her anger had died away, and the hopeless drifting had ended, she was in a better position to read his words as he had meant them. He would be suffering because of Reno's death, probably more than her... the two had been partners for a long time. She felt her throat constrict slightly at the thought of Reno, but pushed that away from herself firmly. Now was not the time.
Then, together they would solve the mystery of the Ryuu-hi summon. It would be something to do while Avalanche sorted out things here. Wutai would still be standing, surely... they could go there, to investigate the legends Valentine had spoken of.
"And then the guards started battering down my door, the ones with the revolution, I guess. I was so scared, I hid under my bed, but then things started to fall down and I realised I should get out while I could," Christine's voice drifted back into focus. Elena set down the canteen, and nodded to herself. A plan. That was all she had needed all along.
"Christine? Thank you for the water. I have to go now. There's someone I need to find."
"No!" Christine said, eyes flying wide. "Elena, please don't leave me all alone again!"
Elena glanced at the woman, and groaned inwardly. "Christine, I can't help you anymore than anyone else here. I'm as alone as you are."
"Please," Christine insisted. "I can't survive by myself. Elena, you were always so much more sensible than I was. I know you can look after me."
Elena groaned, out loud this time. There was no way to turn this woman away, not with that beseeching expression on her. Shiva only knew what Rude would say.
"Alright," she said. "But make sure you keep up."
"Oh, I will! Elena, thank you so much! You've saved me, you really have... oh, but Elena. That suit does nothing for you, you know. I mean, I realise it's a little knocked out of shape... but the cut, it just swamps your figure! When things are fixed up, we'll go shopping and I'll buy you some nice clothes, alright?"
"Sure, Christine. Bring the canteen, and anything else you want to keep." Elena started to walk away.
"Wait! Wait! Let me get my things together, Elle. I'm not very fast at packing, you know. My husband - " she said the word with pride. " - always used to tell me we were going on a holiday a day earlier than we actually were, so I would have time to pack. He was so sweet to me, Elle."
"Sure, sure, Christine. But you can't have that much stuff, so just grab it and lets get moving. We have a long way to walk."
"We do? Where are we going, Elle?"
"Junon."
"Junon? But honey, you can't get there except by helicopter! There's a swamp and mountains and all kinds of monsters between here and Junon."
"I know, Christine. I came from Junon. There's a tunnel through the mountains, and the swamp isn't so bad if you stick to the dryer parts. The monsters aren't anything to worry about in this part of the world either, really."
"You came from Junon? Honey, what are you talking about?"
"That's where my friend is... or should be by now. Unless he just stayed on the beach... I'm not sure."
"But the monsters... Elle, they attack people that wander around outside!"
"I can deal with the monsters," Elena told her, grinning. "I was a Turk, Christine!"
"A Turk? What in Holy is that, Elle? I don't think we should go outside with someone to keep us safe."
"Christine! I can handle the monsters. If you want to come, then come. If you don't, then stay here. But I have to get to Junon."
"You must love this guy very much," Christine said snippily. "To go all that way to him. Make him come to you. if you act too desperate, he'll never fall for you."
Elena stared at her for a moment, and then started laughing.
"In love with... with Rude!" she gasped through her laughter. "That's funny, that's..." she choked, realising she was on the edge of hysteria, and forced herself back under control. Christine stared at her.
"I'm sorry," Elena said, rubbing wetness away from her eyes. "It's just... I did love someone, a lot. But he's dead now."
"That's funny?" Christine said, peering at her friend, clearly worried.
Elena shook her head. "I guess not. I'm just tired... sorry."
"I'm ready," Christine said, doubtfully.
"Let's get moving then. We'll stop at the farm for a rest before we take on the swamp though."
"Okay, Elle." Christine fell into step beside her friend. Elena gave a sideways glance, noting the flaccid skin about her upper arms. She doubted Christine had ever done much walking before. She hoped she wouldn't slow her down too much.
Junon was abandoned. Rude stood in front of the metal doors of the elevator, his fingers tracing the edges of a great gouge that had been scored into the metal. It looked like a talon mark of some kind. Maybe a mako monster had tried to claw its way in.
Or climb in. More talon marks scored the metal above him. He could probably climb up, if he used them. Was there a reason to break into Junon? Yes, of course there was. Even if everybody was dead, there would be some bottles left unbroken in the pubs. The world would look a lot better the other side of a few slugs of vodka.
The sharp edges of the broken metal cut into his fingers, but his gloves protected the rest of his hand. He'd done harder things in the service of the Turks, that was for sure. Slowly, but steadily, he worked his way up the side of the building.
The sun had become a streak of red light on the horizon by the time he reached the top. He rolled under the railing and stood up, looking around him in the dim light. Bodies littered the space, but Rude ignored them. It wasn't his job to speculate on the whys or hows.
"Wark!"
The black chocobo greeted him cheerfully. It was the one Tifa had ridden, Rude noted. Its feathers were slick, and its eye bright. She obviously took good care of it.
The pouches lining the Chocobo's saddle were bulging. He opened one, and noted the potions, low level materia, and random trinkets stuffed inside. A fire ring burned dully in the darkness, and he touched it, and then paused when he saw the materia next to it.
It was red. A summon. Maybe the same summon that had behaved so strangely earlier. He held his hand over it, not quite daring to touch it. He had never disregarded the SME, the Summon Materia Effect. Discovered by Dr Gast, and later disproved by Hojo, the SME suggested that the Gods were sentient beings, who could turn on people who tried to summon them for evil purposes. Rude shook his head, and picked up the materia. What did it matter if he died now, anyway?
He held it cupped in his hand, admired the red flicker of it against the black leather of his glove. Then it flared suddenly to life, and he dropped it in shock. It bounced and rolled a few feet, its light dying away as it came to a stop.
"..." Rude went onto his knees, and examined the materia closely. Was it a warning? But it had done the same thing to Tifa...
He picked it up again. Almost instantly, the light flared up, beating wildly against the inside of the rock. A tingle began in his hand, his pulse beating as erratically as the light.
It was the Shiva summon. He was not sure how he knew that, the name was just there in his mind. He stood up, the materia balanced in his palm. The sun had disappeared completely, and his face was lit from beneath by the dancing red glow of the materia.
It wanted to be summoned. He didn't know how he knew that, either, he just did. It might burn him up if he did, according to Dr Gast and his SME. But if Shiva wanted to be summoned, he couldn't be punished for obeying her wishes, could he?
He wanted to summon it. Before today, he had never used a materia stronger than a Cure-3. The more powerful stones were difficult to find, and those that had come into Shinra's keeping almost immediately ended up with the President or Scarlet, both of whom were now dead. The Turks were meant to rely on their innate skills, not materia given ones.
He wasn't going to summon it. Slowly, he put the materia back in the saddle pouch. Its light went out almost immediately, leaving him almost blind. The sun had disappeared completely from the sky, and the few stars out were dull. Rude went to push his sunglasses more firmly onto his face, and then realised he wasn't wearing them. He shook his head once, and went to find the bar.