E Revolution

by Giampi

The end is here.

7. 7th Revolution: Veracity

E. Revolution

-=7th Revolution=-

::Veracity::

Beep…beep…beep…

I wonder if he's dreaming?

The pages on the book in Jeff's lap were ruffled when the boy let out a profound sigh of discomfort.  The chair he was sitting in was hard, uncomfortable, and way too small for it to do any good to his back.  He had been fighting the urge to up and leave the infirmary by diving into the heaps of text he had carried with him, but the strain was becoming too much.

The door behind him opened with a hiss, and Kai Poo marched in.  After scanning the stark-white room his eyes settled on Jeff's blonde head, which was facing away from him.

"You're still here?"

Jeff scoffed. "Of course I'm still here. I'm the only person in here who cares about his fellow man."

Poo adjusted his sunglasses, but did not remove them. "You know that's not true."

Jeff bolted up, and the white plastic chair he was occupying clattered to the floor.  For a moment his blood-red eyes bore into Poo harder than the agent could ever hope to himself.

"That's bull and you know it!" He jabbed at Poo threateningly with his finger. "Everyone knows that if you people had bothered to take a look around yourselves we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Poo's face did not waiver.  This angered Jeff even further. "Are you even listening to me?!"

The agent shook his head and pointed to a spot behind Jeff. "Quiet. You'll disturb him."

The blonde whirled and looked at the spot Poo had pointed to; the spot he had been trying not to stare at, and failing, for several hours.  It was the bed where Ness lay, with a heart monitor hooked up to his body and a bandage around his hand, which was still firmly clutching the green stone that had put him into a coma in the first place.  The bandage had a few red stains on it—Ness' hand was holding the stone so hard that it was injuring itself.

Jeff remembered where he was, at least briefly, and took a step back, taking a moment to pick up his chair and straiten his books, intent on ignoring Poo.  In the meantime the agent stole a quick glance at Ness and removed his sunglasses.

"That's not why I'm here, though. I was sent by Professor Andonuts to summon you."

Jeff finished organizing his things. "Figures." He walked past Poo, making sure to bump into his side roughly as he did so, and then left the room.  Poo lingered for a second, staring at Ness, and finally followed the youth.

"I wonder…"

Ness' eyes flittered open slowly.  When they finally regained focus he noticed that he was laying face-down in an enormous desert.

I wonder if I'm dreaming…

There was a moment of confusion while he pushed down on the sand and rose slowly to his feet.  He remembered everything up to the point where he grabbed the stone, but for some reason he still felt disoriented.  How did he get to this place? What had happened to Jeff?

Having no other real course of action, Ness decided to do the first thing that came to mind: walk.  He trudged silently towards a sand dune in the distance, not really sure if that would take him anywhere; it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Ness wasn't sure why he chose to walk in that particular direction, but he felt like there was an invisible force that was pulling him, calling to him from there.

When he reached the top of the dune he realized why.

In the valley below were swarms of people crowded around a monumental pyramid made of a reflective black stone.  From Ness' vantage point the people looked like ants, and apparently there were thousands of them gathered there.  To the left of the pyramid was a giant oasis; the blue and green of the small lake and the palm trees surrounding it contrasted with the yellow of the desert sands.  Despite the heat of the desert climate, no one was near there; whatever was going on near the pyramid was more important to the masses walking about.

Ness slid carefully down the sandy slope and made his way down to the crowd.  For some reason unbeknownst to him his head was not swimming with questions, like he expected it to; as a matter of fact, everything that was happening felt somehow right, like he was being manipulated into this particular situation….like he was being shown a message.

Silently he made his way through the crowd, pushing the oddly-clothed people out of the way.  They, in turn, did nothing, seemingly ignorant of his presence.  Within minutes Ness had reached the front of the mass, and he stood face to face with an elegant man in a black robe.

The man held an ankh-shaped scepter in one hand and a golden goblet in the other.  He was chanting in a language Ness could not hope to understand and making grandiose gestures at the people in front of him and the pyramid to his back, which shone in the sunlight.  After this went on for a few minutes the man, apparently a priest, strode over to a large, wooden platform in not too far from Ness' left.  Sitting there, in a throne made of gold, was another man dressed in ornate clothing.  The jewelry hanging from his arms and neck obviously made him out to be the ruler of this place.  

The priest kneeled before the ruler and lowered his head submissively.  He held the goblet up as a sort of offering while the ruler took a knife from a green pillow offered to him by a servant.  Without so much as a word the ruler made a deep cut in his wrist and let the blood flow into the golden goblet until it was full.  Once that was done the ruler retrieved his hand with a grimace, and a servant nursed his arm by clamping a white bandage over it.  Ness could almost feel the ruler's pain, but he refrained from making any sort of sound.

The crowd fell completely and absolutely silent, and then dropped to their knees.  Ness didn't move, opting instead to continue staring at the priest as he made his way ceremoniously to a large, golden scarab incrusted on one of the lower stones of the pyramid.  He thrust the hilt of the ankh into a hole on the scarab's back, and then twisted it clockwise.  Immediately part of the wall began to rumble and shift until the mechanism on the inside of the pyramid was activated and the entire panel slid to the side, revealing, of all things…

"That tablet…"

The green stone was incrusted in the back of the small niche, surrounded by several carved hieroglyphics.  At the base of the tablet was a small pool of water, barely large enough for one person to submerge both feet inside.  The priest knelt before the pool and emptied the contents of the goblet into the pool, turning the water a murky red, and left the golden vessel in a specially crafted stand for it next to the bloody fountain.  After exiting the pyramid for the last time the door with the scarab on it closed and the priest removed the ankh.  Finally, in one broad motion the priest lifted the ankh over his head with both hands and snapped it in two with a fierce cry.

Ness creased his brow, sweat trickling down his right temple.  He began whipping his head around, suddenly aware of where he was, and he felt suddenly very vulnerable.  The people in the crowd, the ruler, and the priest had yet to notice his presence, but Ness knew that there was something wrong with the entire situation…something about what was happening here was just not right.  In desperation he looked straight up and uttered the first plea he could think of…

"Please…get me out of here…"

Please get me out of here…

Jeff crossed his legs and arms, rocking back and forth impatiently while Poo sat in the chair next to his inside Professor Andonuts' office.  The agent had removed his glasses, but his eyes were closed; Jeff inwardly made an aside in which he asked himself how the foreigner could remain so calm at all times.  He also asked himself why he couldn't do the same.

The wooden door, now fully repaired, swung open, and Jeff's uncle's cane thumped against the floor of the office.

"Hello, Jeff. I'm glad to see you up and about," said the researcher as he eased himself into his chair.  It, like everything else in the office, was completely new; it was hard not to think ill of the way SANCTUARY allocated its funds.

Jeff did not in any way acknowledge his uncle's presence, and merely sat there.  The professor was expecting as much, although it still pained him slightly to see his only remaining relative like that.

"Kai, would you mind checking up on Paula? I haven't heard from her today."

The agent opened his eyes slowly and nodded, understanding the true request hidden behind the fake one. "Absolutely not," he said. "I'm on my way."

Within moments the two members of the Andonuts clan were left to themselves.  At first neither spoke; one was too stubborn to speak first and the other was too busy struggling to find the correct words.  Finally all that the old man could come up with was, "Talk to me."

"I have nothing to say," replied Jeff. "Not to you. Not after what happened."

"I already told you what happened," retorted Professor Andonuts. "It was not you I shot, but—"

"Giygas? You told me that already, and I still don't buy it. I wasn't in control back there but I still saw everything. The shot hurt me too…" Jeff lowered his gaze. "…it still hurts now."

Andonuts leaned forward. "I did what I had to do to assure the safety of the tablet. Right now that's all that matters."

Jeff's eyes glazed over with tears as he stood abruptly and pounded his fists on the wooden desk. "And what about my family?! They died and you haven't even thought about it! All you think about is your damn tablets and those stupid prophecies!!"

"I did not," interrupted Andonuts, his tone suddenly deep and threatening, "wish for things to be this way. I brought you here because you are all that I have left. Do not make accusations like that ever again."

Jeff averted his gaze to avoid making eye contact and sat back down. "You say that but you called me here anyway."

"Meaning?"

The blonde scoffed. "Please, don't patronize me," he growled. "You called me here because you want to run tests on me, just like you did to Paula, and just like you want to do to Ness if he gets up, didn't you?"

Andonuts remained silent, but his eyes dropped.  He did not have a reply to that.

Jeff rose once more and headed for the door. "I'll be in the Silent Garden," he commented as he opened the door. "This place is too much for me."

This place is too much for me…

Ness was standing in the same spot; however, now the entire desert was blanketed by darkness, and stars littered the sky.  It was difficult to describe just how the change occurred, since Ness was too bewildered to try and make heads or tails of it.  The people simply disappeared, and the sky became dark, just as if someone had turned off a very big light switch not too far away.

Ness was about to turn and walk in another direction when the sound of someone approaching reached his ears.  He didn't bother to hide, knowing that he could not and would not be seen; instead he staid there and watched silently as the priest from before ambled up to the pyramid's entrance.  Ness saw him walk up to the pyramid and brandish the ankh scepter from before, which he had apparently mended himself.

Ness frowned and whispered to himself. "What's he doing?"

The priest slammed the scepter into the scarab, and the door opened once more.  He stole into the niche and nearly disappeared from view, causing Ness to run forward and catch up.  The cover of night made it very hard to see.

The priest had his hand over the green stone and was speaking in the same language as before while he held his wrist over the small fountain.  Unlike the ruler, who drained his blood into a goblet, the priest was letting his blood fall directly into the small pool of water.  Once he was finished speaking he wrapped his arm in a bandage, retreated from the niche, closed it, and broke the scepter once more.  This time he made sure to break it several more times so that no one could rebuild it again.

Ness saw the priest stalk off once more. Why did he come here?

"Why did you come here?"

Professor Andonuts turned around and found Paula standing in the entrance to Ness' room in the infirmary.  She was carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"I needed to think some things through," replied the old man. "Some very important things concerning the decisions I've made lately."

Paula placed the bouquet on a nearby table and walked up to the professor, placing her hands daintily on Andonuts' shoulders. "Things have not gone how you wanted them to."

"No," replied Andonuts. "They have not."

Paula's grip tightened around her sponsor's back. "I trust you," she said simply.

Andonuts smiled and placed his hand on top of Paula's. "Thank you," he replied. "But I'm not too sure I've done the right thing by bringing you here…by bringing anyone here."

"Jeff?"

"Yes."

"I am sure that, deep down, Jeff thanks you for what you have done for him." Paula released her grip and picked up the flower bouquet again. "Now come. I finished that piece I was telling you about and I would like to play it for you."

Andonuts smiled weakly. "Of course."

He leaned on his cane and staggered to his feet with certain effort, and as a last measure placed his hand over the green stone in Ness' fist.  To his surprise, there was a spark, and he was forced to pull his hand away.  The noise drew Paula's attention very well.

"Did something happen? Are you hurt?"

The professor waved her off dismissively, not willing to alarm her. "Not at all," he mused absently. "I…accidentally bumped my foot against the bed. Nothing to worry about."

Paula smiled, content, and left the room.  Andonuts soon followed, but his mind drifted to this new event. What happened? He thought to himself.

"What's happening?!"

As if things could not possibly get any more confusing or bizarre, the world around Ness began to change for the worse.  The sky began flickering from day to night rapidly, while the oasis dried up before Ness' eyes and the plants within it withered away.  The black pyramid lost its sheen, and soon it was no more than an amorphous mound of black stone with a door on its side.

Before Ness could adjust to these new circumstances the fast-forward effects ceased and settled on daytime, and a fierce wind began flowing around Ness, lifting eddies of sand around him. 

"Hey, wait up!"

The voice of a woman drew Ness' attention to a point not too far to his left.  When he turned to identify the speaker, he was nearly bowled over by a man marching quickly towards the remains of the black pyramid.  He could not touch the man, and could not, therefore, be knocked over by his hurried march, but the surprise he felt was more than enough.

A young woman in her mid-twenties followed the man, trying and failing to keep up with him.  Ness was unable to identify either of the two individuals, so he followed them.

Upon reaching the pyramid Ness noticed that there was a team of men standing inside a tent near the entrance, talking amongst themselves.  A few of those stood by the deteriorated monolith, sweating in the blistering sun while they examined the door to the pyramid.  All of them wore tattered clothing and looked like they had been there for quite a few days now.

The man and the woman greeted the workers politely in another language; presumably a linguistic remnant of the tongue Ness had heard the priest use.  The workers indicated the door, and upon the man's command the others brandished large crowbars.  Within minutes they had pried the large stone door off its ancient hinges, and it fell onto the floor before the workers, defeated.  The man took a swig from a canteen dangling from a loop in his belt, and then stepped onto the now-collapsed door and into the niche; the woman followed.

"I'm not too sure about this," said the woman uneasily as they stepped into the niche, with Ness right behind them. "Professor Andonuts specifically instructed us not to disturb anything."

Ness frowned. Professor Andonuts?

"You worry too much," retorted the man. "It'll be fine. I've gone over the papyri at least two times this week!" He turned to face the woman, but the sunlight that poured in from outside only illuminated him up to his chest, and his face remained an unidentifiable silhouette in the shadows. "Besides, you know that the sooner we finish this, the sooner we get out of here…" He placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "…and the sooner you can get back to your children."

The woman nodded. "…maybe you're right."

Ness stepped into the niche as well.  The woman's face was still obscured from view, but he could tell that she was smiling.

"In any case, you have to take a look at this!" The man kneeled and pointed to the small pool that Ness knew all too well. "There's still water here. I think it's been contaminated by the acid naturally found in the stone, but it still hasn't evaporated. You think that means…" He drifted off gradually.

The woman nodded. "I think so…" She knelt down besides Max. "Oh Max, this is really it, isn't it? We finally found it…"

The man, now known as Max, nodded. "Giygas…"

Ness gasped.  If Giygas was here, then that meant that…

"No! Don't touch it!" Ness held out a hand to try and stop the two researchers.  The woman, apparently hearing Ness' plea, turned to face him, and Ness was able to glimpse at her face before Max dipped a gloved hand in the pool and there was a loud explosion…

Ness' pupils dilated. "Mom…"

"Mom!!"

The green stone in Ness' hand shattered and disintegrated, and then fell to the floor in pieces.  Ness shot up, sweat covering his face and his breath coming in raspy bursts.  Automatically he ripped off the IV tube in his arm and the hear monitor hooked up to his chest, and bound off the hospital bed.  He barged out of the room, bumping into his nurse in the process and knocking her down.  Too flustered to apologize, Ness rose and kept on running through SANCTUARY, barefoot and in his hospital robe.

Ness barged into the offices where he knew he'd find Andonuts, shoving aside anyone who got in his way, eliciting angry screams and swears from everyone he ran over.  Eventually he came upon the wooden door and swung it open.

"Why was my mother working for you in Scaraba?!" Ness blurted out the question without thinking, without caring.  He almost didn't notice Dr. Andonuts' shocked expression, or the person who was in the room with him.

"Ness!" the old man rose from his seat. "You're…awake…"

The teenager pointed an accusing finger at the researcher. "You knew about Giygas! You knew and you still went to that pyramid! And my mother was there!" His hand dropped suddenly. "…she died that day…didn't she…"

Professor Andonuts hobbled over to Ness and put his hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "I know you must be very confused, but I can give you the answers you want if you just calm down. Do you understand?"

Ness' breathing became slower, and after a moment of silence he nodded. "But why…"

"Ah! This must be the other one you told me about. Ness, isn't it?"

Ness' eyes drifted over to the chair in front of Andonuts' desk.  Who he saw there almost made him faint once more.

"I believe an introduction is in order," said the man dryly while walking up to Ness and extending his hand. "My name is Maxwell Labs, chief officer of the advanced chaos extermination squadron, DREAMERS."

Ness looked the man over in a panic, from his copper-colored hair to his green military uniform, down to his polished shoes. "You…you're the one…"

Instantly Ness leapt on him and grabbed his neatly-folded collar. "That wasn't acid in the water! It was blood! The blood was keeping the door sealed! You set it free and you didn't know it!"

Maxwell Labs frowned. "How did you…"

"That's quite enough," interrupted Andonuts calmly. "Ness, you have just suffered a very traumatic experience, and you have not fully recovered. Please, go back to the infirmary and rest."

Ness turned to Andonuts, panic in his eyes. "But I—"

"Please. This is for your own good…consider it a direct order."

Ness tried to protest, but he quickly realized the veracity of his commander's words.  He let go of Maxwell Labs slowly and left the room without saying a single word.

Maxwell Labs straitened his tie. "Your taste in recruits is awful," he said despondently.

Andonuts shook his head and headed towards his chair once more. "That boy is more capable than you can ever imagine," he retorted. "As are all of my recruits. Never forget that."

"Please spare me the attitude, Professor," scoffed Maxwell Labs. "First that orphan from Dalaam, then the girl…"

"You were just as interested in Paula as I was."

"…then your nephew, who's possessed by Giygas…"

"And in full control of it, I assure you."

"…and now this lunatic boy. I daresay I have my work cut out for me."

Andonuts swiveled his chair around to face the watery curtain over the window. "I told you, I will not relinquish command of SANCTUARY to the Eagleland military."

"You don't have a choice. Starting tomorrow, DREAMERS will take control of any further military operations undertaken by SANCTUARY. Soon I'll be able to integrate your facilities into DREAMERS directly."

Andonuts sighed. "I will not allow you to carry out another Operation Giant Step."

Maxwell Labs cringed, as the professor had hit a soft spot. "The past is the past. All that matters now is victory." With those words he turned and headed for the door. "See you tomorrow, Professor. I'll let myself out," he added before leaving for good.  When he did Andonuts slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair and threw his cane to the floor.  Maxwell…what has become of you?

"What has become of the green stone?"

Ness looked at Paula from his hospital bed. "I don't know. I think it shattered when I woke up."

Jeff piped up from the plastic chair slightly behind Paula, without looking up from his book. "Maybe it really was a message, like from those spy shows where it self-destructs when it plays."

Ness shrugged.  He really couldn't make heads or tails of the issue, and he still didn't know why a message recorded millennia before had within it scenes from the not-so-distant past.  He decided to cast that problem aside for now and focus on a more accessible issue.

"What else can you tell me about this Maxwell Labs guy? I mean, besides what we already know," he asked Paula.

The girl shrugged and ran her hands over her blue dress. "I do not remember him at all," she replied. "He must have been here before my time."

"Poo's pretty tight-lipped about it," added Jeff. "He says it's none of our business. You think he's hiding something bad?"

Ness shook his head. "That man, your uncle, my mother, and Giygas…they're all connected somehow…"

Paula grabbed Ness' hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "I am sure you will figure it out soon enough. For now, it's better to get some rest. Will you come by my room later?"

Ness nodded halfheartedly.  Apparently satisfied with that answer, Paula bade Jeff a quiet farewell and left the room.

Jeff smiled, still not taking his eyes off his book. "Dude, she totally has the hots for you," he giggled.

The teenager chuckled softly. "Does not."

The chuckles soon grew into laughter, and that laughter soon turned into a cavalcade of guffaws as the two boys let out their worries.  After a few minutes of laughing they calmed down, and silence filled the infirmary.  Ness stared at his sheets and grabbed them tightly.

"Jeff…is what you said true? About your family?"

The blonde closed his book and laid it down on the table next to him.  His red eyes turned glassy for a split second.  He didn't seem too eager to answer that question, but there was no escaping it now.

"I found them the afternoon of the attack," he said. "I had to bury them in the park because there was no more space." His face turned grim. "Lots of people were buried there that day."

Ness sighed. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked you about that."

Jeff shook his head. "It's okay. For what it's worth, my uncle is still around." Suddenly his face donned a cheerful expression once more. "Besides, you need to worry about your own hide right now."

Ness smiled and extended his hand, which Jeff clasped with his own.  After flashing smiles to each other, Jeff grabbed his book and left the room. "I'm turning in for the night. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Sleep tight."

Jeff gave Ness a thumbs-up as the door slid open and he stepped out.  When he was in the hallway his smile disappeared once more, and he looked down at his hand, the one he had used to take Ness'.  His palm was red and swollen.

"It burns…"