As I mentioned in the last chapter, this chapter marks the beginning of the "Final Fantasy VII" portion of The Servant, and will be, by far, the game that gets the most time in it. (This is because the middle portion of The Servant was originally an FFVII sequel I wrote years ago.) Although it won't matter for a few chapters, this part of the story takes into account the events of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. So if you haven't seen it yet, you may get confused or have some things spoiled.
"Can you tell me again what you saw?"
Bahamut didn't think this would make things any easier on Shinza. Already, she was nervous about this. It was obvious she wasn't going to get accustomed to the idea of Bahamut acting on this vision that he had seen, no matter how many times he told her about it. However, his mind was made up. He hadn't made this decision lightly. He considered this vision a gift. He wasn't going to toss it aside so easily, regardless of his fears.
Currently, the esper and his friend were back in the transport. They were being taken out to one of the launching pads at C'Kardenell. The entire movement was secret. Bahamut, for once, used their personal communication devices to organize the whole thing as quietly as possible. He didn't need fans or reporters knowing that he was going to be leaving Etteca. Aside from Shinza, the only other people who knew anything about it were the people he had called to have a personal navigation device delivered to him, and Dr. Maester. The latter he had called to find out exactly how his new body would work in space. With all of that done, he and Shinza found themselves here, rushing onto the campus of the University.
"When I found that part of my mind, I saw the person at last." Bahamut explained. "I finally got a look at his face. Everything I knew about him until now was bogus. He looked nothing like what I was led to believe. It must have been another distortion based on the drugs. But I saw him now. He was a young man…almost a boy. He couldn't have been older than 20. He was in a city made of shells and white trees. And I heard his name too…Ragnar Vice."
Shinza still looked puzzled, and gave a shrug. "But who is this guy? Do you know anything about him at all?"
"Not yet." Bahamut answered. "But I knew he was a human…and I could have sworn I've seen that city before…ages and ages ago… He's on Gaia. I have to go back and find him. As for more about him…the Planet will reveal everything to me. Now that my abilities have increased, I'll bet I could look into his past and his mind."
The Ettecan sighed. She turned and looked down at the ground of the transport uneasily. "I still don't like this. Not for a minute. You haven't been anywhere near Gaia for years. Why would you have to go back now? What's so important?"
Bahamut's eagerness diminished a little at this. He took in a deep breath and stared out. In reality…he was a bit nervous about that too. He hadn't planned on returning to Gaia. There was nothing for him there. The self-fulfilling prophecy that the boy spoke of echoed in his mind…how he might not have ever gone back to Gaia if he didn't know that he had to go there. What more…Shinza's unease made him uncomfortable too. He knew why she was upset. Much as she had recovered, Bahamut was still her only true friend. Seeing him leave would disturb her. And Bahamut kept remembering the choice he had made…and wondered what the consequences meant…
At last, he looked up and back to Shinza. "…You remember what I said before, right?"
The Ettecan sighed again and bowed her head lower. "I know…but…"
"I have to do this, Shinza. Just like you had to do your duty. This is mine. This is a goal for my life. This is an objective…a purpose. I can't let it just slip me by."
Shinza continued to look down at the ground for a few moments. She kept seeming downcast. Her hands clasped together and wrung themselves uneasily. "…I know." She finally admitted, ruefully doing so but forcing herself to acquiesce. "I know this is what you have to do…and I do want you to have a purpose in your life. I trust you more than anyone, and I know you're doing the right thing… And I don't want to get in the way of you and your goals. But…" She hesitated here. She slowly exhaled, and then looked back up to the esper. Her soft eyes pierced his strong ones.
"…I'll miss you."
The esper hesitated, looking back at her. A twinge turned in his heart, and he formed a rueful expression as well. Currently, Shinza was his only friend too. He was used to being a loner, but he still wanted companionship. There was no one waiting for him on Gaia. No one who even thought he still existed. He had a place here. It had taken time to forge, but there was a place on this world for him. There was someone for him. He'd miss Shinza and dislike going back to Gaia alone. In the end, he managed a small smile, and gave her a shrug.
"It's not like I'll be gone forever." He responded. "I'll come back. I promise."
Shinza forced herself to smile a bit at that, and looked up to him again. The two looked to one another for a moment, but then looked away and back outside. The rest of the trip was silent.
They were emerging onto the launch field right now. The transport stopped only at the gate to swipe clearance, and then was allowed in. All around the field were launch and landing towers, jutting up into the air. It was into one of these that the ship had landed years ago, when Bahamut had first arrived on Etteca. Seeing it now brought back a few memories. It was night right now. The sky was black, as it would be for some time, and the field was empty just as they had wanted. Their story was that they were going to a book signing, so the media wasn't out there right now. Bahamut was glad he hadn't put out any reports of his new ability yet. That would only make him a new highlight in the public eye.
The transport continued to move out until they were in a wide open space in the field. Much of it was still open, after all, to protect against threats of explosions or to allow more construction and work crews in. Most had put up for the "night" at this point. The workers wouldn't be there for another hour, leaving Bahamut and Shinza alone. Once they were there, the hovering ship slowly came to a halt. The craft powered down, and slowly it lowered itself to come to a rest against the stone substance that made up the floor of the launching area. Once it was there, the side doors on the craft slowly opened up and extended down to form a bridge to the ground. A moment later, the esper came out, followed closely behind by the Ettecan.
The two put a distance between themselves and the transport. One of the reasons for starting out here was the inevitable shockwave that Bahamut knew he would produce when he took off. He had been advised about that by Dr. Maester. However, it still seemed pretty simple. He looked down to his hand and saw the navigation device. By now, the Ettecans had managed to deduce the location of Bahamut's homeworld. They had programmed the coordinates into this, which was a simplified version of the navigation computers inside their vessels. Like a cosmic compass, it would point Bahamut in the right direction of where he needed to go, and would signal him when he went too off course. After that, it was just a matter of moving through space. His new wings incorporated a "solar sail" model that could harness the power of the "solar winds" in space to generate thrust. And they were rather efficient at it too. The trip was estimated to take at least a month. However, that was no problem. Dr. Maester informed him that so long as he was doing nothing more than traveling through space, his efficient body could survive on a single deep breath for two months. It was still a long time…but Bahamut was the very picture of patience. It was no problem to him.
And now that he was actually here…actually about to go…a thought occurred to him.
I'm actually going back to Gaia…
Now a good distance from the craft, both people halted and turned to one another. They stared into each other eyes, and moved a bit uneasily. This was the moment. And now that it had come, both of them began to feel nervous anew.
"Well…" Shinza finally said. "I guess this is it."
"I'll be back as soon as possible." Bahamut assured her again. "But while I'm gone, I'd like for you to do me a favor."
The Ettecan looked up at this with more interest. "Really? What?"
Bahamut paused a moment, but then smiled softly. Slowly, he raised his hands, reached them over to Shinza's face, and touched her glasses. Shinza blinked in confusion, but didn't move. Slowly, the great esper pulled them up and off of her face. Her beautiful green and blue eyes were revealed. The woman swallowed a bit, and started to turn a bit red. But Bahamut continued to smile softly back.
"…I'd very much like you to show your eyes more." He finally responded. "They're beautiful."
The woman blushed more at this, and bowed her head and raised a hand to her mouth shyly. However, she did manage a smile as she did this. Both of them snickered. However, Shinza eventually looked up and back to Bahamut. She hesitated and licked her lips again. But after a moment, she merely snorted and gave a shrug while still smiling. "What the heck." She said aloud…before bending over and giving Bahamut a kiss on the cheek.
The esper's eyes widened as he too turned red. He hadn't expected that. However, it was just a short peck, and soon Shinza leaned back and looked at him with a smile again. Bahamut smiled a bit nervously too, trying to suppress his sudden embarrassment. However, after another pause, both of them inhaled and exhaled. It was time to depart.
"Take care of yourself, Bahamut."
"You too."
Shinza stared at the esper for a moment longer. But then, she turned and began to walk back to the transport. After all, she had to get clear as well. Bahamut looked to her and stared for a moment. His smile slowly faded, and he watched her walk away with a bit of pain inside him. However, it did pass eventually. When it did, he turned back, and breathed to steady himself. Then, he balled his hands into fists at his sides, and let it go.
In a flash, Bahamut ZERO exploded out of the puny Ettecan. The wings ripped off his skin and unfurled, and a great scaly body shimmering in the dim light on the field emerged. Bahamut cracked his new extended neck and craned his head to the sky. His flexible antennae-like crest swished in the air. He felt tremendous power coursing through him, and it felt good. He had been an Ettecan so long, he forgot how great it felt to be in his true body. Once he had stretched, he turned and looked back to Shinza. She had stopped now, back at the transport a distance away. She raised up her hand and waved to him again, smiling all the while.
Bahamut ZERO smiled too and waved back. Then, after that was done, he turned back to the sky, and let out a long breath of air. Lightly, he leapt up into the sky. He spread his wings out afterward, and the airfoils immediately made him hover. He hovered up a bit more now, getting about fifty feet off the ground. After all, he didn't want to fracture the pavement on takeoff. Once that was done, he stopped a moment. He turned and looked back to Shinza, who was still smiling and waving. He stared for just a few moments more, and then turned back. Opening his mouth, he inhaled a deep breath. He filled his lungs all the way to capacity as he did so, and he was so powerful that he actually created a vacuum briefly around himself. But once that was done, he closed his mouth, stretched out his wings, grasped the navigation device tighter…and launched.
Like a crack of thunder, Bahamut ZERO exploded from where he had been, leaving only a clap of thunder in his wake…and a shockwave so strong that Shinza felt the clothes nearly ripped from her body. Despite his intentions, the pavement below him did fracture and press into a small crater. But Bahamut could no longer see that. Within one second after launch, he had vanished into the night sky, and all he could see below him were the gleaming lights of Etteca far below, partially obscured by the clouds. He continued to push, however, feeling a slip stream of air generate around him. The air grew cold, but his body was more than resistant enough for it. It grew silent except for his own movement, but he kept looking up and into the heavens. The stars became clearer and clearer as he ascended, and space seemed much bigger and darker. Still he pushed on and on…
At last, the air around him seemed to vanish all together. Some sort of ripping sound was heard for a moment, and then Bahamut found himself rushing silently into space above him, without any ripples or gasses around him. This puzzled the esper for a moment. He continued to push a bit farther, but then halted himself. Despite his blindingly fast speed, his body readily halted. He hovered where he was now, and turned and looked back behind him. Could he have said anything, he would have gasped.
Below him loomed Etteca. It was the dark side, but his eyes could see everything. Billions of lights dotting the continents. All of the landforms slowly changing on their plates through eternity. Clouds sweeping around the planet, twisting and churning in massive forms. He could see it all. The massive orb of this world was something that could be grasped only by his eyes. And all around him…space. Vast and empty…but filled with billions of stars, clouds of gasses, nebulas, and everything else. Bahamut hadn't risked a look back when he traveled to the Lunarian Moon. He had never been able to look out when he was on Shinza's vessel. For the first time…he saw the majesty of Etteca framed against the universe. It was breathtaking…if there was any breath to breathe. And now, he was able to see it here, without feeling pain or strain, but able to enjoy it himself.
Bahamut looked at it a bit longer, marveling at its size and majesty. But then, he looked down and looked at himself. He could hear nothing. After all, there was no medium in space's vacuum for sound to travel in. But he was there. He was no longer in agony. His body moved freely and held strongly against the pressure loss in space. He felt neither the tremendous heat nor blistering cold. Even his eyes were reinforced with organic polymers that kept them from bending at all in this environment. He was now a creature of the cosmos…the first living thing from Gaia that could travel through space without fear.
It was quite a lot to take in, but Bahamut didn't indulge it forever. He finally looked back to his navigation device. It showed the directions he needed to go. He would have to circle Etteca a bit before he was in the right direction, but then he could take off in a straight shot. After that…in a month…he'd see this same breathtaking view over his own world, from his own moon.
Keeping that in mind, Bahamut looked back to the planet. He waved one last time far below, to wherever Shinza was waiting. Then, he turned and took off at full speed to get to the right position, and begin his long journey home.
Far to the north of Gaia, in the middle of an icy plain, surrounded for miles by sentries, security robots, and a wasteland of snow…was a fortress. None had seen the like of it yet in this world. Few were around to report its existence to others. However…it was large. Easily fifteen to twenty stories tall. It spread out even farther, easily encompassing an area of a small town. However, the most incredible thing was its incredible simplicity. The fortress was essentially a giant dome rising out of the cold wastes that surrounded it. It was metal when one got close, but from a distance, no one could tell what it was made of… Perhaps it was some great ball God had been playing with and dropped on Gaia. Only when one was much nearer to it did they see that, in fact, there was a rather great stone pavilion built in front of it. It was kept clean dispite the constant snowfall, and it stretched out for a square mile in front of the dome. Looking closer to the ring around the bottom of the dome, one could see that it was indented slightly, revealing an area that was concealed from the heavy snowfall and storms. Here were the docking bays. This was where the security robots and other vehicles came and went. There were a few main entrances, but nothing that betrayed much else.
Inside the dome, there were hundreds of halls and chambers, and thousands of security measures keeping them safe. For now, this early in the morning, only the night watch was out. The rest of the soldiers were still asleep in the barrack areas. The mess halls were just firing up. Lights were just starting to come on in key areas of the efficient military machine that had been constructed. However, many of the soldiers were awakening, dressing, and getting to work. Dawn was coming soon.
And for one small young man, deep in the bowls of this cold fortress, that meant his time was running out.
Toward the bottom of this fortress, inside one of the sub basements, was the prison level. This was the only place not modern and advanced on the dome. It was made on concrete foundations painted black. Dimly lit…iron barred…leaky…and, of course, rat infested. It was dank and cold…far too cold for the health of the prisoners who were unfortunate enough to be put here. However, no one cared what the prisoners thought. As for the higher officials, well…prisoners who came down here were just "passing through" anyway.
There was only one here right now. Only one who had caused enough trouble. Shivering in his cell in his flimsy, dirt-stained clothing, which was only a tattered "wife-beater" and loose, torn pants with threadbare boots, was the proverbial "man-of-the-hour". Deep in his dark prison, nearly choked by the smell of rot and his own feces (for they didn't give latrines to prisoners, just drains), he rubbed one of his grimy hands where it had been burned yesterday. He had been branded like a cattle, adding another number one to the other four that were already there. Five marks. Five marks would have meant death anyway for him, but considering what he did the mark system was pointless. He was sentenced to death already. That was the penalty a slave paid for having committed his atrocity. Now, after having lived through three long years of hell, he was going to finally get away from it. Death was going to be his way out.
However…not if he had anything to say about it.
The boy was not stupid. He was rather clever and intelligent, and he used his wits frequently. It had helped both him and his fellow slaves in the past. He had been complying the past few times he had been thrown into this grimy cell. He had done as he was told, submitted to the beatings (which he was still scarred from), and been treated like a human piece of garbage. But that was all so that he could be free to examine his surroundings…listen in on what happened…decipher the radio noise…and commit all to memory.
All for the one chance that he was going for now.
Ragnar inhaled slowly and exhaled. He was scared. He knew he was going to die if he stayed here until dawn, but the first part of his plan could kill him as well. This seemed to literally be suicide to him. Nevertheless…it was the only way out.
The youth flexed against his bonds for a moment. The guard had left him hog tied on the floor since last night. He had been making trouble, after all. Now, he lay on the ground in the filth of the cell with his dirty face pressed against the ground. However…he wasn't completely without means of movement. Although he could only wriggle like a worm, he could move. And that was what he did. First, he felt out with his hands behind his back to see if the capsule from last night was still there. It was. Now, he inhaled sharply, and wriggled as noiselessly as possible down to where it was. It took some time, but it was at the back of his head. Grunting, he lifted his body up and threw it back, so that he could get his head behind the capsule, and put his mouth in front of it. Moments later, he went back down, and saw it. Hovering just ahead of him in the darkness, resting on the ground, was the white capsule.
It's now or never.
Ragnar inhaled sharply. Then, as best as he could, he formed a gruff, unruly voice in his throat. With that, he called out snidely. "Hey guard!" He barked. "Where's my breakfast in bed?"
There was no answer in response.
"Hey! Wakie-wakie! Eggs and bacie! Don't I get a last meal?"
Still no answer. Ragnar swallowed. He had to do worse.
"Hey dumbass! What's the matter with you? You too stupid to answer one of my questions?"
Still nothing. Ragnar began to sweat. It would be just his luck to get an obedient guard. He needed to do more. He had to try something more serious. Making himself even more snide, he called out again.
"I didn't see you in here last night! Guess once the boys are older than 18, you just lose the excitement, eh? Was that you I heard banging around in that cell next door last night? Were you looking at me through a hole in the wall? Or were you just picturing your mother? You know, I was thinking about your mother last night. I mean, I'm going to die anyway, might as well live it up, you know? And your mother…whoa… Hey, if she was mine, I'd feel the same way…"
Click.
Normally Ragnar didn't enjoy talking like a pervert, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And it seemed to be successful. He heard the key in the lock. However, that nearly made him panic. The capsule! Quickly, he reached out with his lips and sucked in air. The result pulled the capsule up to them and held them. Then…moving as carefully as he could…Ragnar put his lips around it and held it in between his teeth. He tried to keep it as dry as possible. He didn't dare break this thing open in his mouth…
An instant later, the cell door swung open. A dark silhouette, wearing a helmet and uniform…and brandishing a nightstick…glared at him from within it.
"…Alright, jackass." His dark voice sneered. "You want me to beat the hell out of you so badly? Fine by me."
With that, the man began to stomp forward. He was on Ragnar in a second. When he reached him, he leaned over and seized him by the neck of his shirt and yanked him off of his feet. Once he was at eye level, Ragnar saw him in the darkness. His eyes blazed violence, and his jaw clenched as he glared at him. He could smell his foul breath. The man yanked back the nightstick and prepared to bring it down.
That was when Ragnar acted.
Suddenly, he threw his head forward, and kissed the man on the lips.
Just as planned, the man was shocked. He ripped his head back and opened his mouth to cry out some obscenity. That was what Ragnar had been waiting for. Now, he opened his mouth fully, and with a thrust of his tongue launched the capsule out of his mouth and into the man's mouth, as close to his throat as he could make it. The soldier was shocked. Immediately, he dropped Ragnar and let him fall to the ground painfully. He gagged and reached for his throat. However, it was too late. The capsule was already thinned out by Ragnar last night. It dissolved and dumped its contents down the man's throat in an instant. He gagged and grasped for his neck for an instant, stomping around the room. However, that only lasted a moment. He gagged again soon after, and then began to stumble. He groaned once or twice and finally collapsed to the ground. He moved no more.
Ragnar sighed in relief. He had no idea whether or not that was going to work. He had nearly killed himself planning it. Before being sentenced and dragged into the dome's prison, he had the foresight to go by the doctor's dumpster. Along with assorted medical waste he found empty capsules that had been malformed on arrival. Ragnar had taken one of these and hid it in his teeth, using his nose to pump air through his closed mouth to dry it out. Once he was thrown in here, he remembered that there was white powder in here from last time. That was some sort of rat poison they were using, now that it had gotten so bad that the guards complained. He had first used his tongue to erode the capsule until a slight bit of moisture would make it break. Then he manipulated it back into his fingers and filled it with the white powder. After that, it was a matter of waiting until now.
He had been as sparse as he dared with it. He hoped the man was merely knocked out and not dead. Despite all of the anger he felt to these people for what they did to him and his town, murder didn't set well with him. That had been a spur of the moment killing that got him in here. And he had no choice anyway. At any rate, now was not the time to be debating morality. He had to go.
Ragnar inched himself over to the fallen man's side. The keys were right there. Luckily, he had paid attention to the keys when he had been locked up, and had noticed their texture. Using only his hands he was able to move along them until he found the one that matched the texture in his memory. Just another clever little trick the youth was good at. Once he found it, he drew it out and began to insert it into his cuffs. He had practiced this too, late at night in the quarter beds. He had to make sure he could do it one day. It was hard if you hadn't stretched your wrists and muscles, but he had, and so after a minute the cuff was undone. He quickly moved around and undid his other arm, then bent forward, drew his legs up to him, and did the same.
Ragnar was stiff and sore from his night of bondage, but there was nothing for it now. He quickly stripped the fallen man of his clothing, particularly his blue uniform. Once it was off, he quickly took off his slave clothes and dressed himself in his. They were baggy on his thin frame, but he had no choice once again. He just tightened the belt as best he could, tucked in the uniform shirt, and put his pant legs in his boots. As for the now nude man, he dressed him in his clothing and hog tied him the same way he had been. With that done, Ragnar felt in the man's pocket for a tool he had seen him use before: a pocketknife. He drew it out, opened it, and then went to the man's side. He quickly made ragged cuts along it in order to make it look more messy and unkept, like his. He then took it to his own head and cut off some of the longer strands so that it would all fit under the helmet. At last, it was done. He replaced the knife, put it in his pocket, lowered the visor on his helmet, and then turned and left the cell. He hesitated only to turn back and lock the cell behind him. With that done, he stayed as calm as he could and walked back to the guard post. Once there, he stood and waited.
The youth hadn't always been a slave. Up until he was seventeen, he had a fairly good life. He lived in Icicle Inn with his mom and sister. His dad had never been there…but he hadn't minded much. The town wasn't mean spirited enough to go around calling little kids "bastards". Most people didn't live in a year-round snowdrift because they wanted to…but because it was the only place they could. They ran the clothing store in town. The money wasn't great, but it was consistent. Everyone who went up there, even in the middle of summer, needed new clothing when they got there.
The summer of that year had been eventful, to say the very least. It had started the day that all of the Shinra types started showing up. They didn't interfere with the townspeople at that point. They just ran around poking their noses in things and making themselves a nuisance. Then…they showed up. Eight of the oddest people anyone in Icicle Inn had ever seen. Ragnar had no idea who they were…but something about them attracted him. There was something with them that seemed more than ordinary. They didn't stay more than a day in town. On their way out, Ragnar managed to overhear that they were headed to Great Glacier. At that point, he told them they should stop by his store first if they didn't want to freeze to death when they got there. The more gruff ones among them shrugged him off…but the older woman in the group was nice and thanked him for the advice before going on. After that, Ragnar assumed the people were dead.
But then everything changed. A few days later, one night, the Great Northern Crater erupted. Lights and eruptions shot into the sky that could be seen from hundreds of miles away, including in Icicle Inn. The ground quaked, and it felt like the world would end. Five beasts came out from the ground and shot out to every corner of the world. Shortly after, worse happened. That was when Meteor showed up. No matter where you were on the Planet, at some point you could see it in the sky. It didn't rush into the world like a regular Meteor. It just hung there…very slowly making its way down. It was almost as if it was trying to draw this out…wanting to drive the people below into panic and fear before it killed them all.
Things went crazy all over the world, and Icicle Inn was no exception. People started preaching to repent. Others gave away their possessions, knowing it wouldn't matter soon. Some began to riot or take up a crazy, carefree, lawless existence. Others just spent their days praying. But Ragnar? He watched it. He wasn't eager for it to fall. Of course not…that idea terrified him. But somehow…he felt he had to watch. He felt he had to wait for something…that something was going to happen. And so, every day, he sat on the roof of his house and watched it as it slowly made its way to the ground.
Then it happened. The night it was to strike and annihilate all life, Ragnar could see it from across the ocean. It looked as if the moon was going to touch the ground. That was when he, along with millions of people all over the world, saw it happen. Strange ribbons of green light came from the world. All over they burst forth, and all of them began to interconnect and swish together. A faint tinkling was heard on the sky, and everyone who saw the light felt peaceful and happy. Ragnar, unable to resist, stood up on his roof and touched one as it passed. It felt warm and light…and for the briefest moment…he thought he heard a woman laughing in his ear… All of these strands gathered together overwhere the Meteorwas landing. And then…something happened. Meteor was just swallowed up by the light. It fractured and broke into pieces, and they evaporated like dust in the wind. After that…the light ceased just as soon as it had come, and all was at peace. Ragnar called out to his terrified family and his neighbors and told them to look and see. They did at last…and everyone praised this event as a miracle.
Their joy lasted all of thirty minutes.
That was when they arrived. Ragnar saw them coming for miles away. The whole town did. He was still thankful at this point that his mother and sister and a few other citizens had decided to get out of town before they arrived, taking one of the secret mountain trails. The others weren't so lucky…or prudent. They spread across the valley up to Icicle Inn like a carpet of ants. All of them were headed up toward the village. When they came here, they marched through the streets in numbers far greater than they had in town. Tanks…sweepers…and thousands upon thousands of troops. And over it all, Ragnar saw one insignia. He never saw it again after that, because it changed, but he remembered well what it was.
Shinra.
It wasn't until much later after that night that Ragnar found out why they were there. The President had ordered a weapon to be fired on the Great Northern Crater. He never knew why. There was a shield or something there that they had to break in order to get to someone… At any rate, this army had been deployed to move on the Crater. However, Midgar was blasted by something right after the shield was blown up. The President died in the attack. So they had been stuck there for a week without orders, before their Colonel, some man named Leers, had taken control. He was the one who marched them north.
He said that since their leaders were dead, he was naming himself the Heir to Shinra, being the highest ranking officer left in the military branch. He wanted his troops quartered in Icicle Inn. Realizing the obviousness of the threat that this posed, the mayor stepped forward and refused, telling them to go back and take the matter up with the rest of the company. In response, the Shinra Army did whatever it did whenever something stood in its way. Leers shot the mayor in the head and had the town taken control of, saying that in the wake of the disaster at Midgar, it was necessary to "procure" a "temporary new HQ".
After that day, Ragnar didn't know what happened in the rest of the world. That was because he wasn't allowed to leave, and neither was anyone else. Everyone was put to work for them under supposed "temporary impressment". So far…it had lasted three years. Essentially, the people were made slaves in their own town. The first thing they were ordered to do was construct a temporary landing strip. After doing so, planes began to arrive almost continuously. They seemed to carry other officials, ones that had fled being lynched in their towns by the populace. They also carried even more troops. This continued for about two weeks until they stopped coming. But the townspeople weren't finished yet.
That was when they had to build this. The official name was the New Shinra HQ Dome. "New Shinra" was the title that the commander, who now called himself General Leers, took on this area. It was supposed to be a reorganization of sorts to save the company. To Ragnar and the rest of the citizens…it was just a takeover, a seizing of property and land. If there was any opposing army out there to help them, it never came. They were alone here. The only people who ever went out were on the Gelinkas, and where those soldiers went Ragnar had no idea.
Next, the people were supposed to manufacture. They were put to work building factory areas both in the Dome and in the surrounding area. There were few of them at first, and they lacked manpower. But then other people started arriving on Gelinkas, people who were as run down and ragged as Ragnar. He wasn't allowed to talk, and most of them were isolated to separate sections, but from what he got they were drunks, homeless people, and prisoners…the people that no one would miss. They provided more power. Then they had the citizens build one of those reactors… Icicle Inn had always resisted the construction of one, despite the desperate need to heat the town year round. They had one now though…and it seemed to make the city colder as well as put out more high toxic waste. They had been working on a second one last Ragnar had seen…which was actually the third, for the Dome itself was powered with one in the center.
With their factories and power plants at work producing more weapons for them, the citizens now were to obtain resources. There were mines in the area of Icicle Inn. They were considered impossible to work before because of the environment. However, they did heat the areas using the new reactors, and had the people go to work on them. Now they supplied raw ores as well as precious minerals. Somehow, they sold these and used the funds to buy more equipment. Ragnar had no idea how. Didn't anyone know they were fueling a military machine by doing so? He himself was worked to the bone along with everyone else, constantly tunneling out ore. Now that it was becoming obvious that this wasn't temporary, and that they were not indentured servants but slaves…the officers no longer bothered being courteous to them, but treated them like work animals. Anyone who refused was quickly subjugated.
Just like animals, they started to brand them. On Ragnar's upper arm was a burn that designated his serial number. Below that were the marks. Every prisoner was allowed five marks. On the fifth one, they were executed. Each one was a progressively worse punishment. Ragnar got his first mark when he refused to dig the airfield. That was ten lashes. He got the second soon after, for he still refused. That was twenty. By then, he was too weak to work on it anyway. He would have continued to defy them…until one of his workmates tried to intercede. When they started hitting him…he quickly complied. That was how he became part of the work crew.
The third was when he was building an area of the Dome. They had doubled his shift, and he complained he was too tired. That was when they drug him into a back room with five, strong-looking men with nightsticks. After ten minutes, he could barely stand and move, and his eyes were nearly swollen shut. By then, he was considered a troublemaker. The officers began to regularly pick on him. He usually got a twice-as-hard job. Sometimes they would give him a pointless task just to make him sweat. And if he looked at them the wrong way…he got dragged away from the others and beaten with a rubber hose. One day he had enough. He actually managed to get one of the nightsticks away from the taskmaster and gave him a blow to the patella. The person never walked straight again. However, Ragnar got his fourth mark for that…and after being beaten, he got taken into one of the lower sub levels of the Dome. His mouth was gagged, he was handcuffed behind a chair, his legs were put into a pool of water…and then the electrodes were brought out. He couldn't remember what happened after that, but he knew somehow he was shoved in the cell he just escaped from. For a week, he couldn't even remember his name. When he was let out a month later, he had to go back to work.
A few days ago, he had been working at the mine when the taskmaster came by and kicked him in the back of the legs as best he could with his bad leg. This sent the young man sprawling. After that, he called out that Ragnar wasn't getting any water that day. He had sat down on the job. The young man said nothing and went back to work for a while. Then…he suddenly felt his head shoved forward and smacked into the rock. A bruise formed, along with some blood. He turned around, just in time to see the taskmaster walk away. An hour later, he came up to Ragnar and said he wasn't working fast enough. He'd have to work a triple shift to make up for it.
That did it. Ragnar went back to work long enough just to chip off a fist sized rock, then threw it at the back of the taskmaster's head while no one was looking. Everyone soon stopped in the wake of the angry cursing that followed. Ragnar tried to go back to work, but he knew it was pointless. Soon, the taskmaster had him by the scruff of his neck, and led him away from the others. He took him deep into the mines, into places that were just zoned out but hadn't been deemed safe to work. Once he was out of earshot, the taskmaster took up a two-by-four and began to beat him. He cursed him the whole time, saying he should have been worked to death long ago, but now this was it for him.
Ragnar had been writhing on the ground, his face covered with blood, and trying to drag himself away… He never knew how the pick axe had gotten there, in this unused section. But he grabbed it, and he turned around and flung it right at his head…
The young man tried to cover up the body. He removed the axe from the head, dug a small hole, and buried it. He broke away some of the supports, and actually caused a minor cave in. He ran back out, bloody and covered with dust, and told everyone that the taskmaster was dead. In the end, however, it was futile. It took no time at all for his body to be uncovered, and for them to find the puncture wound in his skull that wasn't caused by any rock. And the rest, as they say, was history.
But this was enough. Even if he wasn't scheduled to die, Ragnar knew he had to get out of here before they killed him. That…or broke his spirit until he just went along with everything like the Shanghaied people.
The young man inhaled and exhaled. He coughed once, and then said a few random words. They weren't in his voice though. Since he had first heard his guard, he had been practicing mimicking his voice. He was pretty sure he had it by now. Once he was sure, he quickly recalled the names and codes of a few things he had overheard. With that done, he decided to act. He only hoped the walkie-talkie that was mounted on the shoulder of the uniform was on the right channel. He turned to it and pressed the button.
"Hey Dex," He called into it as casually and as mimicking of his guard as possible. "Have the guys come yet to take the guy away?"
A moment of static…but then, success. His voice came back, perfectly normal. "Yeah, Karl. They're coming in right now. I'm just going to clear them then send them down."
Ragnar pressed his button again. "Great. Listen, this has been a rough night for me. The guy was giving me all sorts of crap. You mind if I go up a bit early? I need some coffee before I pass out."
A light chuckle came back through the radio. "Sure thing, Karl. I'll cover for you."
"You're a lifesaver, Dex." In more ways than one. Ragnar thought secretly.
With that done, Ragnar turned and immediately made his way down the hall. Luckily, there wasn't far to go. Just ahead of him was the elevator out. There were a few secure doors to pass through first, but "Karl's" keys took care of those. Normally, there would be sentries here too. But this was the night shift. Most prisoners were still supposed to be asleep. Plus there had never been a breakout before. He knew that cameras were watching him while he was here. However, there weren't any cameras in the individual cells. They had seen one soldier go in, and one soldier come out. Nothing more. And so far, he hadn't done anything that the guard wouldn't normally do.
However, another obstacle was coming. He soon reached the elevator, but it would take more than a key to enter this. He had the passcard that he needed to activate the door lock, but after that he had to enter a four-digit code on the keypad. That was more troublesome. He had a few ways to get around it, but there was no guarantee if they would work. He knew that if he didn't succeed after three tries, the computer would consider him to be an intruder and would lock him out. Then he would be stuck.
At any rate, he made it to the control. He slipped his keycard in. After doing so, a metal panel slid aside, and the keypad came out. He looked over it, and felt relief. Good. The buttons were glass or plastic, and were clear. This was another bit of good fortune for him. Immediately, he reached down to his belt and pulled out the flashlight that came with the utilities on the guard. Once out, he turned it on, and shone it down on the keys in front of him. He waved it slowly from side to side, looking at them carefully as he did. As he shone down, he finally saw it. Four of the keys had smudges on them from finger oils. 2…6…7…9… Of course, that still left which order was best, but he had to test that out on his own. Swallowing a bit, he tried the first one.
2679. Enter.
A red light flashed alongside the control panel. Ragnar swallowed and slowly exhaled. He tried another.
7296. Enter.
Another red light. He felt himself starting to sweat now. He only had one more shot at this before he had to pretend to be a bumbling security guard when the others arrived, and had even less time than before to run.
2769. Enter.
Green light.
Ragnar sighed in relief. He quickly pulled his keycard out as the panel once again closed up and concealed the keypad. The elevator dinged to his right, and opened. It was empty inside. Immediately, Ragnar turned and walked into it. He pressed the ground floor button, and then stood in front of the elevator buttons as it closed and began to rise.
As the elevator slowly ascended, Ragnar swallowed again. He knew, right behind him, a camera was watching him while he was in the elevator. However, he hoped that he was just in front of the controls, and that his back was in such a way that one couldn't see what he was doing to them. Moving slowly, trying to keep his back from moving, he raised one of his hands and went to the elevator buttons. There was a small metal hatch next to the main buttons. He pulled this one open. Inside, the emergency stop button, the door close, and the door open buttons were located. He didn't act right away. He waited. Waited until the elevator went higher… Waited until it reached the top…
Slowly, he felt it slow down and stop. He was on his floor. Now was the time. As the doors cracked and began to open, he quickly pulled the lever and slammed the hatch door shut again. The elevator doors continued to open after that, and soon were wide. Looking as casual as possible, Ragnar stepped out from the elevator and into the security hall.
He struggled not to turn white. Six heavily armed guards were standing there, waiting for it to open. No doubt, they were going for him. However, he forced himself to smile and gave a nod to them. "He's all yours, boys."
The lead one smiled a bit back at this, and gave him a nod in reply. After that, they walked by him and into the waiting elevator. Ragnar forced himself to stand calmly as they all filed in, and then turned and began to walk out as fast as he dared. This was a short hallway, luckily. There was a keycard swipe at the door, but he already had his out and swiped it. As he opened it and walked out, he started to hear sounds of confusion behind him as the guards had trouble getting the elevator to work…
In the next room, there were three safeguard doors, all controlled by one guard located in a bullet-proof glass chamber at a desk. Ragnar emerged from his room and went to the first door. He paused and turned to the guard in the chamber as he heard the door close behind him. He waved to the man. The guard smiled and nodded in reply, and pressed a few buttons. The doors ahead of him unlocked, and Ragnar smiled and began to walk through them. As he went, the guard in the chamber spoke into an intercom that Ragnar could hear.
"Get some sleep, Karl."
"Sure thing." Ragnar called back…secretly eager to get out of this room as soon as possible. At last, he reached the third door, the one leading out of here. He passed through that, and emerged into the hallway.
Ragnar sighed in relief. He was now out of the prison area. He found himself in one of the many military corridors throughout the New Shinra HQ Dome. It was very technical and metallic. Girders, conduits, and pipes lined the walls. It was very sleek and without much design. Everything was metal, including the floor panels. Only the fluorescent lights overhead weren't covered with metal. The halls wound their way throughout the Dome, connecting everything. There were soldiers walking the halls, some in divisions. But in his disguise, Ragnar was just "one of the guys".
Nevertheless, he knew he didn't have long. It would only take about a minute for the people to find out that the emergency stop button had been pressed, and they would reset it to go to the basement. He had another minute after that, assuming they didn't immediately suspect something was up and went after him, for them to get to the basement. Another minute to get to the cell…about thirty seconds to find out that the guy in the cell wasn't him…and then they could radio in to Dex to trigger a lock down. That left him about three minutes and thirty seconds to be on a vehicle and out of the Dome. He hadn't a second to lose. Ahead of him, on the wall, Ragnar saw a directional arrow pointing to the left, toward Docking Bay 94. He immediately turned and made a fast march down the hallway. He didn't care if someone saw him now. The people around him would think he was just in a hurry. And hopefully…it would take too long for whoever was running the security cameras to find him out.
He had to make more than one turn to get there. After going down the first hallway, he had to turn left again, turn right at the next corridor, go down another long hallway, and then turn right again. After turning down left to go to one last hallway, however, the area began to widen. He looked around, and felt some relief. No one was there yet. That meant no one saw him come. That was good. Hopefully, it was close enough to shift changing that he could pull this off. Unfortunately he had no time to narrow it down any further.
He turned left one last time. The corridor was rather wide and tall now, able to let rather large objects through. Just ahead, there was a series of metal shutter doors, stretched out down the hallway. Right next to that was a regular door. This was it. This was the exterior of the Docking Bay. He quickly went to the door. However, he didn't open it right away. Instead, he turned and tried to look as calm as possible.
By now, a minute had passed. Ragnar tried to keep calm. He had to just pray now, and maybe think of an alternate plan. If nothing else…he could try to run for it. Hopefully the manager within didn't have a gun. But with a lockdown, it probably didn't matter. Sadly, he could only wait and continue to hope. Nothing came at first, and he nervously tapped his feet and awaited someone to come along.
Finally, a miracle happened. After about thirty seconds, another private turned the corner Ragnar had come from. In one hand, he had a white form. Seeing it, Ragnar thanked God and prepared himself. He quickly stood tall, and placed himself like a guard at the door to the chamber. He waited until the man was close, and began to move to go through the door. At that, he called out in a regular voice.
"Are you on a Code 237?"
The soldier stopped at this. He turned and looked to Ragnar. "…Yes, yes I am."
Ragnar sighed in response. "You're going to hate this…they changed the code designations again."
The soldier's mouth dropped and he gaped at Ragnar. "…You've got to be freakin' kidding me… They just changed those damn things last week!"
Ragnar grimaced and gave a shrug. "Hey man, I don't make the orders. I'm just the one who gets blamed for all of them."
"Do they want another mess around here like last week?" The soldier added.
Ragnar shook his head. "I dunno. At least they had the foresight to send us out this time. I'm supposed to be standing here and collecting all the old forms from some odd hundred aggravated privates today to make sure they don't float around and cause procedural issues."
"I don't believe this…" The soldier griped again. He angrily stamped in place for a moment, but then turned back to him. "You know…maybe I'll go in anyway…maybe he'll cut me a break…"
Ragnar paled underneath his helmet, but stayed calm. "Oh…sorry man, no dice. They got a new guy here today and he's a real stuffed shirt. I let the last guy who came by go in to see if he'd let him. Not only did he give him all this red tape crap, he yelled at me for letting him through."
The soldier grunted again. "Terrific." He mumbled. He crossed his arms and hesitated for a moment. He tapped his foot against the ground and grunted slowly. At last, he shrugged and held out the form to Ragnar. "Alright…take it. No sense in getting him mad at you too, I guess."
The youth reached out and took it from him. "Thanks a lot." He answered. "Thanks for understanding. The last guy…man, he threw a cursing fit. I thought I'd have to call security."
"Well, lucky for you I woke up in a good mood." The soldier responded. He began to turn away as he said this. "I lost it now, but I was in a good mood…" Mumbling to himself, he turned and began to walk back the way he had come. After a few moments, he turned the corner, and was out of sight.
Ragnar swallowed once he was left. He had to have less than a minute by now. Quickly, he turned, walked up to the door, opened it, and entered the Docking Bay.
The basic interior looked like a long garage. It was industrial-like inside, lacking paneling but exposing all the pipes and conduits in the ceiling and walls. There was a lot of equipment out for retooling, maintenance, oil changes, tire repair, and other procedures. Arranged in neat rows all up and down from where Ragnar entered were lines of vehicles. Some were sweepers. Some were motorcycles. Some were ATVs. Some were tanks. A great multitude was located here. Ragnar paused only to look at his form for a moment. He quickly saw what his new "name" was, and saw that he was supposed to report to take an ATV on morning patrol. With that in mind, he looked ahead. There was a small enclosed office just inside the door. This was where the Docking Bay gatekeeper was holed up. He was sitting in his chair right now, sipping coffee, standing in front of an open terminal, and looking out through a small window, just big enough to slip small items through. Behind him, hanging on a wall in prearranged rows, were hundreds of keys.
Ragnar made for this person at once. He saw him coming, and immediately put down his coffee and got ready for him. Once Ragnar reached him, he stood in front of the window and looked down.
"May I help you?" The gatekeeper asked.
"Yeah. Code 237. I'm on patrol for the morning shift." Ragnar ended by slipping the form under the slot.
The gatekeeper took it, and held it up to examine. It seemed to take him forever to glance over the correct filled out items, the proper signatures, and all other levels of clearance. However, in the end, he gave a nod to it. He turned over to the wall, looked along it for a few precious seconds, and then found one particular set. He grabbed it, turned, and slipped it under the slot to the youth. Ragnar had to restrain himself not to snatch them away as he took them.
"ATV #3."
"Thanks a lot."
Ragnar turned and immediately went for the line of ATVs. No longer caring, he broke into a jog to get there quicker. Still nothing, but he knew he had no time left. They had to be there by now. He had no idea how to drive a vehicle either. He never used one before. However, he knew enough to know how you turned one on, which was the gas, and which was the brake. He hoped that was all he needed. He was nearly free. The Docking Bay doors were already open just ahead, exposing the frosty tundra outside.
Ragnar finally made it to his ATV. He quickly jumped on after doing so. Taking the key, he reached down and fumbled for a moment, trying to find where it went in. But at last, he found the ignition. He turned it once after doing so. To his surprise…nothing. The electricity went on, but nothing else. Ragnar was puzzled. Maybe he needed to turn it more. He did so now. The starter sputtered, but Ragnar held it too long. It began to irritate the engine rather than start it. He quickly released. That didn't do it either. How did they do it? They only held it for a little… He tried doing that this time. At last, the starter worked. The engine rumbled, and then roared to life.
Smiling a bit at his success, Ragnar looked down to the pedals. Right was gas…left was the brake. He shoved his foot down on the gas. In shock, the ATV spluttered forward so violently and fast that Ragnar was nearly snapped off of it. It was only because he was gripping the handlebars so tightly in fear that he didn't get thrown off the vehicle. He reflexively released it, and immediately he nearly came to a total stop ten feet from where he had parked. He sighed in relief. That was a bit nerve wracking…
"Alert. Alert. Escaped prisoner. Station lockdown in progress."
Ragnar turned white as a sheet as the recorded voice blared on the loudspeakers. It was like the voice of doom surrounding him and screaming at him. The yellow lights of the Docking Bay turned red and began to flash. From his office, the soldier within rose and began to call out to Ragnar, telling him he'd have to cancel. But Ragnar didn't stop. It was now or never. Immediately, he shoved his foot all the way down on the gas. He was snapped violently again, but he didn't care. Soon, the ATV was taking off full tilt for the Docking Bay shutters.
Ragnar panicked. His heart began to race, both from the speed and how much time he had left. At this speed, he felt he was barely in control. But it only continued to go faster. Within a second, he was nearly to the Docking Bay doors. At this point, machinery clicked on, and the door began to shut. Luckily, it was still more than high enough when Ragnar tore out from beneath the garage and out into the early dawn. Cold air slapped his face. A numbing, cool blast filled his nostrils. It was the greatest smell he had in ages. He had never been so pleased to be in such dim light. But he wasn't clear yet. Continuing to hold down the gas, Ragnar raced across the field.
The young man struggled to maintain control of his vehicle at this speed. The New Shinra HQ Dome was located in a great basin some twenty miles across. He had to travel a good ten miles before he was in the clear. To his terror, he looked around, and saw other black dots in the snow along the landscape. Other sentries were out, going about their business as well. Not only that, but a few moments later, and he heard another horrible sound. The siren at the Dome went off. It was sounding that he was gone. Ragnar's heart began to race. Terror grasped his mind. Not only could they go after him now, but the Dome itself was armed with cannons. So long as he was within a ten mile radius, it was possible to shoot him. He had only gone one mile so far. By now, they knew that he had taken a soldier's identity. In another minute, they would have known he used it to escape prison. But they didn't knowthat this driverwas him yet. The engine…he might have just gunned it in time to not hear thegatekeeper call out to him. If he did…if the man thought that he had simply not heard him rather than ignored him…he might just let him go. He did have a properly cleared form, after all.
Ragnar began to pray again as he rushed across the snow field. Two miles…three miles…four miles… The Dome was left further and further behind. But now he saw sentry towers as well as sentries roaming the area. The thought occurred to him to drop speed and be more casual. He'd stick out less if he did that. By now, the towers had to be getting radioed that he had escaped. However…they still didn't know if he was on an ATV. He had used another identity for that. Every second felt like it would be his last. He decided to risk it, and still went full speed. He knew enough to know he was going south. South was safe. There, there was no Shinra.
Six miles…seven miles went by… The sentries still surrounded him. Despite the crazy speed he was going at, he risked a look behind him. The sirens of the Dome were far in the distance now, but no cannons had deployed yet. At the speed he was going, it had been less than six minutes since he had left. The cold was blasting his body numb. This wasn't a durable winter uniform. But he cared nothing for the numbness. He wished there was a storm now. Unfortunately, the sky was as clear as day. Cloud cover wouldn't help him now.
Eight miles…nine miles… At last, the sentries and towers began to clear. He was nearly out of range of the Dome. He looked around. So far, none of them were going after him. By now, they had to be getting a good idea of what he had done. They could still go after him. His tracks were as clear as day in the snow. But he had to keep going. He had to go until he was in the clear.
At last, he passed the ten mile barrier. He was out of range. Ahead of him, the world reached the top of a hill. He kept going up this, still going at full speed, and then went down again. To his joy, the world was growing more uneven from there. More hills. They were still snow covered, so he continued to gun it. He kept the machine going as fast as he could, not caring that his lips were cracking from the cold air by now.
Ragnar drove for a straight half hour, putting as much distance between himself and the Dome as he could. He didn't risk stopping to listen for noise. The ATVs were one of the fastest crafts that New Shinra had. Luckily, the snow was powdery and white, allowing some of it to blow back and cover his tracks. But he had to keep moving. He had to try and find a better area…somewhere where he had a chance of losing them. For a while, he rode on, fearful and alone, through the world of cold white.
Then, at last, he saw it. There was a peak of a hill up ahead. Some of the snow had blow off of it, leaving a large area of snow and rock ground. This was it. Immediately, he rolled up on this. As he went along, his tracks were frequently broken up by bare rock that poked above the snow. The result was a very haphazard set of tracks to follow. Here, Ragnar slowed his speed at long last. It took much longer than he wanted to slow down, but once he did he began to drive the ATV all over this area. He shot out in one direction, curled around, rolled back, and then repeated somewhere else. He muddled his tracks as much as he could for about five minutes. After he had done that, he took off again. This time, he went southwest. Up ahead, he saw that this course would run him by some snow-covered mountains. The ground would be rough, and it would be hard to follow. It would also take him further south.
As Ragnar took off again, he at last reached up and zipped up his collar around his near frozen mouth. His heart began to slow down. He was beaten…bruised…starving…thirsty…and cold. But he was free. The icy air was the most wonderful thing he had ever felt on his face. The smell of its dry rawness was better than the sweetest perfume. He didn't care if he had to run across this field until he was half-dead from exposure. He was free. He had to keep going south…as far as the ATV would go. He had to get to the forest down there. From there, he could truly lose the enemy…find some place to hide. After that, he needed to find food and shelter.
But for now, the taste of freedom was worth it. As painful and long as this ride would be, it would be the greatest ride of his life.
To be continued...
