Sinner's Descent
Chapter Ten-A Man Going Mad And A Silent Killer
His head hurt so bad.
And the voice... It just wouldn't go away. He was doing everything it asked, but it wouldn't go away...
"Stop whining. You will have the materia delivered to Devil's Anthem."
Yes, whatever they wanted. As long as the throbbing in his head went away... With a wince, he lifted his head from the desk, buzzing someone and asking for a messanger.
For a moment, the voice disappeared, and he had a fleeting jolt of hope that it was gone for a while.
"You will tell the messanger to gaurd it with their life."
Seifer groaned in pain, clutching his temples fiercely and nodded his head and nobody as his door swung open. When a small girl stepped inside, he blinked, confused. Who was she.
"The messanger, you fool. The package."
Yes, the package. Mutely, he shoved the materia into the girl's hands.
"To... Devil's Anthem," he panted, ignoring the strange look the girl gave him. She nodded, and, without another word, disappeared from his office. "Hurts, so bad..." he muttered, the thought of banging his head on the desk becoming so appealing...
"That is all for now. You will pursue the Alliance leaders."
He was blissfully aware that the voice had disappeared, and the huge grin that broke out on his face showed it. The throbbing diminished and he was left relatively peaceful.
Except for the fact of not knowing where he was. He studied the pens and pieces of paper littered about the desk in front of him with avid interest. He leaned in closer, peering at a name written on the table.
"Seifer..."
Was that his name? He had a flashing image of another man, a blonde guy with a patch over one eye. Gippal... Who was Gippal? Where was he?
He clutched the desk hard, turning his knuckles white as he used his free hand to shove other papers out of the way, searching for another name, something he could recognize. Maybe if he found it before the voice came back...
"The Alliance leaders."
Kill the Alliance leaders. He nodded absently at the desk. Of course. The mercenary had already been dispatched, and he was waiting for results.
"Very good. You have done well."
Yes, he had done well. He stared wistfully at the desk he was sitting at. Why did it seem like he was forgetting something important?
Eiko trudged sullenly through the narrow path of the dark tunnel. The only lights were the occasional ones positioned on the drainage pipe, and they only made the place more spookier than it already was.
Grimacing as she accidentally stepped in a muddy puddle, she shook her shoe off, watching as the brown water flew to the tunnel walls and made an abstract decoration. Glowering at everything in particular, she stomped forward, not caring if she splashed mud anymore.
Stupid Seifer. The man was a lunatic, if you asked her, which nobody did. She was just a child, anyways, and here she was, delivering personal packages to Devil's Anthem, the Alliane full of even more loony people than her own boss.
Reminding herself that she had joined Northside for the sheer pleasure of causing others pain, she stopped when she reached a large, mechanical door. Now what? How was she supposed to open it? She searched thoroughly fora latch or something, but found only metal. What kind of door was this, anyway?
She jumped in fright when it started to click open with a rickety sound, revealing a tall, intimidating figure. He had a funny looking staff in one of his hands, and a small, black beard that came to a curvy point at the end. Had he not been glowering at her, Eiko would have laughed at his outdated appearence.
"From Seifer," she said, coming to her senses and handing the package to him. With a nod, he snatched it from her small hands, turning on his heel as the door started to click shut. Eiko could just make out a dusty bookshelf and a large, rectangular table before the door closed completely.
Turning back around with a mulish expression, she started back out of the tunnel. She wanted extra for this. And somebody had better be paying for a new pair of shoes.
"It has come," Jafar announced, holding the package up in his hands.
The room fell silent, only to be broken by the sound of chairs scraping against the floor when everyone took their seat. Jafar motioned to Maleficent, who stood off to the side.
"Maleficent, if you would."
She took the package, setting it on the table as she slowly slit it open. Before she reached inside to take out the materia, she looked up, observing the expressions of her fellow Alliance members.
Hook looked positively bored, his eyes instead focused on his gleaming, metal claw. Ursula was waiting patiently as ever, alternating her tentacles from one chair leg to another. Hades yawned loudly, giving Maleficent a meaningful look to get the show on the road. Kuja sat with a blank expression on his face, his eyes narrowed on the package in her hand.
Straightening her robes, she lifted the materia from the package slowly.
"I believe you all know what this is."
The seated members gasped softly, Ursula's tentacle dropping with a slick thud to the ground and Hook's claw hitting the table with a loud thunk.
"Not possible," Hades said immediately, the flames jumping to life atop his skull. Maleficent waited for him to finish. "Materia was destroyed, all of it, when that Strife man fought with the lunatic who tried to use Meteor," he continued.
Maleficent nodded curtly, rubbing the materia held in her fingers. "So it was believed. It appears, however, that it was not all destroyed. This discovery, however, also leaves us with another mystery," she added, her eyes coming to rest on Kuja. He had remained very still, his eyes glued to the materia.
"Where there is materia, there is Mako," Kuja murmured, drawing the attention of those sitting around him. "It is simply a question of where," he added softly. Maleficent nodded in agreement, setting the materia down on the table.
"As you can tell, the materia is undeveloped and fresh, which means it was crafted not too long ago. Ten years at the most," she added, surprising others with her knowledge. "We have other dealings than Ansem's silly goal to dominate the city," she added, picking the materia back up.
"Well, what should we do?" Hook asked, his voice taking on a desperate strain. "Ansem's getting suspicious as hell, and it won't be long before he confronts us about this whole thing," he added, sweeping his hands at the others seated around him.
"Yes, he has approached me with threats for such information," Kuja agreed, resting his hands in his lap.
"However, if we reveal the materia, there will be the question of it's wherabouts. Then he will also discover our control over the Seifer boy," Jafar said, stepping forward next to Maleficent, his Staff of Snakes clutched tightly in his hand.
"There's also the matter of Hook and the violence. If Ansem finds out that I've been supplying Hook with all those cadets and men to kill off, what'll happen to us?" Ursula asked, looking to Hook for backup. He stood, flashing his claw.
"I'm with Ursula. There's toomuch invested in this situation to let that bastard know," Hook added bitterly, scowling in disdain. Hades finally stood as well, offering his own words of wisdom.
"There's also the books. As far as Ansem knows, my financial department is doing well, and when he finds out we're millions in debt, it will be all of us," he piped in, twirling a whisp of smoke around his finger.
Maleficent nodded her head after a moment's thought. "Then it is agreed that we will not inform our leader of this." The others nodded. "Good. Now, where shall it be kept?" she asked, raising a sleek eyebrow. A silence followed. "I'm assuming that none of you wish for the dangers of personally keeping it? Jafar?" she asked, turning to the man.
"I will keep it," he offered abruptly, jerking his hand from under his sleeve. He forced his arm out, collecting the materia in one quick gesture and stuffing it into his robes, a strained look on his face.
"Very well. That adjourns the meeting," Maleficent added, curling her hands around her staff.
Kuja stiffly exited the tunnel, taking in a breath of clean, fresh air. He appeared cool and collected on the outside, but his mind was reeling. He needed to inform Sephiroth of this new information as soon as possible. A wry smile twisted his lips. He had no intention of ending up like Kadaj, after all.
It also presented the problem of another besides Strife knowing of the Mako. It had been he, himself, who had located the man with the tail. He had not killed the messanger boy, due to the fact that he wished to bring the information to Sephiroth before Kadaj did.
Kadaj had proved to be a problem, and the easiest way to rid of him had beenthrough Sephiroth. It had been why Kuja had considered Kadaj repent for withholding the information on the Mako from Sephiroth and himself.
He nodded silently as he passed the gaurds near the entrance to Devil's Anthem headquarters. They knew who he was and opened the doors automatically, springing to the side to allow him entrance. Kuja mentally contemplated his situation.
It would only be a matter of months before the Mako was thawed and Sephiroth created the materia. Then the only problem would be eliminating Sephiroth himself. The man was extremely powerful, with or without a weapon, and Kuja knew he could not do it by himself.
However, should he take on another ally, there would remain the same problem of finding one with the same intentions. He also needed one weaker than himself, so that he, too, could be disposed of when his purpose was fullfilled.
He rubbed his temples painfully, stepping into the cool air conditioning of his office. Such an easy feat, yet so time consuming and frustrating at the same time.
With a sigh, he seated himself behind his desk. He was in charge of the strategitc department, along with Maleficent, in the Alliance, which left him with little paperwork. Shuffling through the meaningless list on his desk, he finally settled back in his chair.
He needed to obtain the materia. Rubbing his aching temples once again, he gritted his teeth when someone knocked on his door.
"Yes?" he called, sighing when a familiar face came into the door. The woman sauntered into the room, wearing a skimpy skirt-suit that could have been very entertaining, had she been a stripper.
"Hello, Kuja," Ultimecia said sweetly, seating herself on the edge of his desk. Kuja resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The pathetic woman had been coming onto him since the day the Alliance had formed, and it was becoming rather taxing on his patience.
"Ultimecia," he greeted quietly, waiting for her to get to the point. She shifted her position on his desk, leaning in and capturing a tendril of his hair. Kuja had a sudden thought as he casually lifted his head back, causing the hair to slip from her fingers. Perhaps the bothersome woman could be more useful than he thought. "Ultimecia," he said once again, lowering his voice to a near whisper.
A pleasant expression settled on the woman's face as she shifted her leg once again, revealing a tanned, toned thigh. "I'm here to tell you that you and I will be working together," she announced brightly.
"Oh, really?" he asked, feigning interest. She nodded her head, the pleasant grin still on her face as she rested her hand next to his arm. "Speaking of which, there is something I must inform you of," he added, standing gracefully.
"Oh?" she asked, leaning back. He nodded his head, looking toward the door.
"Would you shut the door?" he asked, strolling over to his filing cabinet, where a documentation of each of Maleficent's meetings was kept. A lustful light settled in Ultimecia's eyes as she hopped up to do so, closing it softly and turning to face him.
"You were saying?" she asked, resting her hands on his desk and leaning forward, her head cocked to the side. Kuja ignored the exposure of her cleavage, instead withdrawing the files.
"You will find a file in each of these folders," he started quietly, sitting across from her. He did not miss the disappointed lookin her eyes. "I need your help," he added, resting his hand softly on hers.
"I'm willing to offer it," she replied immediately, staring directly at him. Kuja nodded his head, smiling faintly.
"Jafar," he started, "Is currently in posession of materia. It is unhealthy that he remain so. Were you to retrieve this materia, perhaps we could... work something out?" he offered, careful to keep his tone low.
Ultimecia perked up. "Materia. Wow," she breathed softly, nodding her head at the same time. "I'll be back in a flash," she said, winking before slinking out the door.
Kuja stamped out the flood of irritation that swelled up. He would have to kill her as soon as she came back, it seemed. However, she had been a good solution to his current problem of obtaining the materia. He slowly extracted a small dagger from his drawer, concealing it in his sleeve as he stood and leaned against the desk.
He was startled when she appeared not five minutes later, reaching into her shirt to withdraw the materia. She held it out to him with a huge grin plastered on her face.
"Is this what you were looking for?" she asked, strutting toward him. When she was mere inches from his face, he captured her hand in his own, slipping the materia out of her palm into his. Silently, he slipped the dagger from his opposite sleeve.
With an air of grace, he slipped his arms around her back, his eyes lighting in eagerness as he lifted the dagger and expertly plunged it into her spine, immediately ending her life. When he lowered her limp body to the floor, he kicked her aside, using the back of her shirt to wipe the blood from his blade.
"Pity," he muttered, shaking his head with disgust. He put the dagger back in the drawer.
"Now, where to find Sephiroth?" he asked, giving the materia a satisfied look. Things had been much easier than he hoped.
"So, Tidus, I heard you were hittin' it withthat girl from the west sectors," Serge said casually, standing next to the blonde. They were both waiting for their boss to get back from his visit with the associates. They had been assigned as bodyguards.
Tidus could feel himself blushing and he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Nah, we just hang out," he replied, trying to sound nonchalant. Serge's mocking laugh told him it had been a complete failure. "Seriously," he insisted, turning his head.
Serge punched him jokingly in the shoulder. "Sure thing, Tidus, sure thing," he said, his laughter finally dying down. They remained silent for a moment.
"So, what about that girl you saved? Seifer wasn't too pleased you helped someone from a different Alliance," Tidus finally said, nudging Serge in the ribs.
"What about it?" Serge said defensively, scoffing at his friend. "I didn't even know she was from a different Alliance! And I thought the people were shooting at me!" he protested, scowling at his shoes.
Tidus was silent once again. He finally chuckled. "You sure are getting loud for someone who don't care," he said. Serge finally shoved him off the wall, shouting out obscenities as they chased each other around the courtyard.
Ah, how good it is to have Tadpole back! She edited this, so blame mistakes on her! Read and review!