"Oh no…" Tifa remarked, bowing her head again and placing her hand against it.
Cloud slowly exhaled himself. He was standing against the wall right now. He let Tifa sit on the couch, right where the "messenger" had been sleeping last night. The ex-mercenary had his arms crossed and was looking to the floor. The two were silent. This was rather bad news for the both of them. The woman ran her hands through her hair and slowly sighed.
At last, she looked up. "You're sure about this?"
"Even if I couldn't trust Rufus, that kid got that serial number and those scars somehow." Cloud answered.
Tifa slowly exhaled again, bowed her head, and placed her hand against it once more. She slowly shook it. "…What are we going to do?"
"If they are going to move out, which both the kid and Rufus says they are…then they'll hit Midgar first. Maybe they'll just occupy it…or maybe they'll set up impressed labor like they did up north. If that's the case…there's no way I'm going to let them brand Marlene or Denzel like cattle."
"We can't fight them." Tifa responded. "We can't take out an army by ourselves."
Cloud slowly sighed again. This wasn't a good situation. Not in the least. He turned and looked to the door to the chamber, and frowned. Until last night, things had been great. Now everything was going to hell in a handbasket. It was easy to almost think that their "guest" was the cause, but he knew that wasn't true. He was just some poor escapee trying to get clear. He didn't know how he got that sword, but he figured with the amount of trauma his body had been through he had probably become a bit delusional, causing him to make this story about Bahamut and being chosen and everything. Cloud forgave him for that. After all…if anyone in the world should be understanding for implanting false memories in oneself, it should be him…
Finally, the man leaned off of the wall, and walked back toward the door. Once he reached it, he opened it, and poked his head back out. He saw that Ragnar was still at the table with Denzel and Marlene. However, both of them were leaning in close to him now, and he was hunched down next to them, talking in a dramatic voice.
"Then…Master Bahamut would take this long chain and tie me to this tree. He would then set these really big wasps out after me, and I had to dodge them just by running around the tree and trying to avoid them."
"Whoa!" Marlene exclaimed in awe.
"Cool!" Denzel added in admiration.
Cloud cleared his throat. In response, Ragnar looked up from what he was doing, and over to the door. He saw the man standing there, looking darkly out to him. The message was clear. The young man immediately turned back down to the children, and looked to both of them. "I'll tell you guys more later. I think Cloud wants to talk to me right now…" With that, he pushed up from the table, got up, and then began to walk into the back room. Cloud left the doorway and went back in with Tifa. Moments later, Ragnar passed through the doorway, shutting it behind him. By then, Cloud was back over near Tifa. He turned to Ragnar, and gestured to the recliner.
"Sit."
Without debate, Ragnar went over to the chair and sat in it. Cloud's cold look made him nervous, but he said nothing for now. He turned back to him once he was down, and sat up as expectantly and ready as possible. Cloud looked down on him for a moment silently. Tifa turned and looked to him as well, staring anxiously at him and what would come of this.
"…How many escapees are in the City of the Ancients right now?"
The young man hesitated a moment, but then gave a shrug. "I don't know…about a hundred. Seventy of them are able bodied. The rest are children or seniors."
"How many weapons do you have?"
"Maybe sixty guns and one heavy machine gun."
"Alright." Cloud answered simply. He paused again for a moment to cross his arms. "Here's what you need to do. Get back there and get them off that continent before they come after you, if you want to save their lives."
Ragnar paused, but then formed a perfectly serious expression. He shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that."
"You have to." Tifa threw in. Her voice was more emotional, but also very serious. "You can't stand up to them with just that many people and those few weapons. You'll be slaughtered."
The young man slowly exhaled for a moment, but it was only to steady himself. After that, he looked back up to Cloud and Tifa. When he did…the ex-mercenary was a little taken aback. His eyes suddenly became harder…stronger. He suddenly seemed much older than he had a second ago, and much more capable and firm. It was a sudden change that took Cloud a bit off guard, and nearly broke his own cool exterior.
"Currently, we're holed up in the City of the Ancients." Ragnar replied. "It's at the only natural bottleneck on the Northern Continent. The New Shinra has to come through there. If we back down now, they'll be nothing left to stop them from going to the coast and then spreading out wherever they want. The City of the Ancients is the only place we can make a stand and hope to have any defense against them. There aren't any other armies on the Planet. No one will be able to fight them then."
"You don't have an army either, kid." Cloud answered back. "You've got a load of civilians with guns they probably can't even hold steady, let alone fight with."
Ragnar frowned at that, but then shrugged. "It's all we have. It's all the world has. That's why I came down here to try and find help."
Cloud sighed in response. Another stubborn kid. He shook his head as he looked down at him. He used to be like him in his earlier days, he realized. He used to think he could take on the world. He was the big bad SOLDIER that no one could touch…before he realized just how vulnerable of a person he truly was. However…this guy was pretty firm and serious. He could tell that when the change came over him. Whether he was crazy or not, he was perfectly serious about fighting the New Shinra. He looked like he'd do it alone, if he had to. He didn't stand a chance whatsoever, not with what he had. But like he said…they had no other choice. The kid was right. That valley was the only bottleneck. The only way down from the frozen part of the Northern Continent was through there. If they broke through…then nothing would stop them. There was no one else on Gaia would would help now. There were no other armies. Misguided, confused, and inexperienced as this young man was…he was the only one who was trying to stop it from happening. And if he failed, then the whole world would suffer for it.
It was a difficult decision…one only complicated by how his life had changed in the past three years. But in the end…his conscience would only let him make one choice.
Cloud turned to Tifa. The woman looked up to him. She looked into his eyes…and already knew his answer. She leaned up in response and turned fully to him.
"If you're going…then I am too."
"No, you're not." Cloud answered.
"I can defend myself…"
"What about Marlene and Denzel?"
"The first chance they get, they'll go after you. Especially Denzel. I won't be able to stop them."
"There's no way I'm taking them up north."
"There's no one to give them to. I'd feel safer if they were with us, especially after last time…"
"You can't honestly want them to come with us."
"From what I heard, there's already children up there near the front lines anyway. If they break through and come to Midgar, it won't matter anyway."
Cloud bowed his head. He really didn't like this. It was easier when he was a loner. That was one perk to always being off on his own. However…it had also made him feel depressed and abandoned, and it made him hurt a little more inside each time he shut off the phone. If he had only been with Denzel that one day…or with Marlene and Tifa…maybe he could have stopped most of it from happening. He sure as heck couldn't have killed Sin without her help. And the more time he spent with Tifa and the kids…the less he wanted to be away. In the end, despite how bad he felt, he caved in.
"Alright." He stated in response.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Tifa managed a small smile. Cloud knew by now that she didn't care so long as she was with him, not about anything. He only hoped he wouldn't let her down…like he let down…
No…don't think of that again. She never blamed you. Move on.
In the end, the ex-mercenary turned back to Ragnar. The youth looked up to him in response.
"Alright kid…you got yourself two new recruits for your army."
About an hour later, Cloud and Ragnar were outside and marching down the road. It was broad daylight now, and Ragnar winced in the bright sun. Cloud, on his part, seemed to own a pair of sunglasses, and he had put them on and calmly walked forward. There were more people out, now that it was the middle of the day. However, they ignored the two as they continued to walk down the road, despite both of them having large swords strapped to their backs.
Cloud had acted quickly after declaring his intentions. He and Tifa both got on their cellular phones and began to call people. Ragnar had no idea who, but they seemed to be rather earnest about it. After they were done, Cloud called one last person that Ragnar managed to catch the name of. It was some guy named Reeve. He told him to start getting all his employees with military experience or combat training assembled. He didn't know what this meant, or if it meant there would be more recruits soon. But after this, he called Ragnar out, and told him that he'd be coming with him. Now they found themselves walking down the street.
"Well, I guess I should say thanks for helping me out." Ragnar finally managed to say as they walked along.
"You just better be serious about this." Cloud responded, not turning back.
"Denzel said something about you being an ex-mercenary." The young man continued. "So does that mean you have experience?"
Cloud slowly exhaled as they walked along. After drawing in a deep breath, he let out a calm chain of phrases.
"I served one year as a private in the Shinra Corporation Military. I spent the next four years operating as a mercenary. Three years ago I was involved in two terrorist operations that resulted in the destruction of Mako Reactor No. 1 and disabling of Mako Reactor No. 5 in Midgar. For a period of two months, I was on Shinra Corporation's list of most wanted at the No. 2 position. I've infiltrated Junon and Midgar during states of emergency. I assassinated General Heidegger and Mrs. Scarlett for the Shinra Corporation military and made an attempt on the life of President Rufus. I ruined two separate operations of Shinra to obtain Huge Materia. I led a group of hired mercenaries during a skirmish with Shinra forces at Fort Condor. I'm fluent in the use of swords and firearms. I can operate motor vehicles and submarines. My body has been injected with Jenova cells and infused with raw mako power in an attempt to reorganize my cells into a clone of Sephiroth, consequentially making me faster, stronger, and more agile than most people alive."
Ragnar's eyes were a bit wide. Exactly who had he just recruited? He swallowed again after a moment, but continued to walk forward. "…Well…you've certainly got quite a record. But what are Jenova cells, and what's a Sephiroth?"
Cloud turned slightly to Ragnar at that. From beneath his shades, he cracked a smile. "You really have been out of it, haven't you, kid?"
Ragnar frowned in response. "Are you going to keep calling me kid as long as I know you?"
"I was thinking about it. We're here."
The ex-mercenary came to a halt. Ragnar soon came in behind him and stopped as well. He had been so busy listening to Cloud, he hadn't noticed that they had been walking up to a vehicle. And this was quite the machine. It was one of the newer model gas-powered cycles, but it was rather large and formidable looking. It had large pipes and foils on the sides for aerodynamics, and it looked armored as well to avoid heavy fire. The tires themselves were made of a special bullet-proof rubber. As Cloud reached it, he reached into his half-coat pocket and pulled out a small device. He clicked it, and a beep resulted on the large motorcycle.
"Ragnar, meet Fenrir." Cloud spoke as he went closer to it and the front console. "Fenrir, Ragnar."
"The name of the legendary wolf esper…" Ragnar echoed as he stared at the great black motorcycle.
Cloud turned slightly to him at that. "So…you know your mythology. I don't suppose Fenrir came by for a visit up in the City of the Ancients while you were working out with Bahamut, did he?"
Ragnar rolled his eyes and glared at the ex-mercenary. "I didn't make that up…and Fenrir is a she." He responded rather curtly. He looked back to the vehicle soon after. "I don't think I can ride this with my sword on my back…"
Cloud responded by pressing a button on the front. To Ragnar's surprise, two of the foils sprung out of the side, on either side of the driver's seat. There were rows for eight different swords in there. Six of them were filled. Cloud removed his own massive sword and inserted it into another one. He then indicated to Ragnar. The youth hesitated a moment, but in the end removed Ragnarok as well, and slipped it into the one remaining "holster" with that, Cloud pressed a button again, and the foils collapsed. After that, he boarded the cycle.
"I don't have a sidecar, so you're going to have to ride behind me."
"Har har." Ragnar answered with a grim look. "It's not going to be any picnic for me to have to ride around downtown holding onto another man's butt, you know."
"Just get on." Cloud answered. "You said you have a week, so we don't have time."
Frowning, Ragnar stepped forward and strattled the machine as well. As uneasily and carefully as he could, he put his arms around Cloud's waist. There was no other way to secure himself. After that, Cloud started the ignition, causing the massive, loud engine to roar to life. Ragnar winced at the noise, having never heard anything so obnoxious and deafening. Cloud didn't seem to mind however, and merely shifted and took off. He didn't bother turning. He just gunned it and pulled up on the curve, and from there turned onto the street, bumping the motorcycle hard as he went. Then he made it go up to full throttle, and with a snap it was soon whizzing down Midgar's streets.
Much as he hated it, Ragnar soon was holding on tighter. Cloud drove like a maniac.
After a few minutes of traveling at a blinding speed, to Ragnar, they finally came to a halt somewhere in a different sector. This one was more developed. In particular, they stopped in front of some sort of office building, although it was reconfigured for small manufacturing now. It looked fairly new. The lower level had a glass front with glass doors, showing the entrance halls of the building on arrival. It went up a few stories, providing lots of room for offices and personnel. Ragnar himself had only been in one building taller than two stories in his life, and that was only on the sub-levels. He looked up a bit as Fenrir slowed to a stop in front of it, and looked it over.
As Cloud put the vehicle in park and dismounted, Ragnar glanced over the letters over the entrance. "Moogle Technologies…" He read. "What will we find here?"
"Hopefully people willing to help us." Cloud responded as he pulled off his glasses. "Get off."
Ragnar did as he was told, climbing off of the side. After that, he looked to Cloud and pointed to the bike. "I don't know their policy on weapons here, but I really don't feel safe about leaving Ragnarok out."
"From what I've seen, no one can touch it but you." Cloud answered back. "But don't worry." With that, he pulled out his remote and pressed a button. A beeping sound resulted from Fenrir. He then put the remote back in his pocket, and turned to start walking into the office building.
Ragnar looked uncertain toward it, and then turned and began to run after Cloud. "You really think a car alarm is going to keep it safe?"
"That's not a car alarm." Cloud answered without turning. "It's a device that causes a 5,000 volt electrical current to circulate through the outer armor. Anyone who touches it won't be able to move that arm again for six hours."
The youth widened his eyes a bit at this, but then gave a nod. It was a handy security device. He finished coming up to Cloud's side, and the two of them continued to approach the front doors. After ascending a short series of steps and passing some shrubbery, they reached the sliding glass doors. They immediately slid open, allowing the two men to pass unhindered.
It seemed pretty regular inside, although Ragnar didn't realize it. He hadn't been in an office building before. There was a basic map ahead of them showing where everything was, and a secretary was working at the desk, talking on the phone to someone. Other than that, the place was sleek and modern looking, and it led straight ahead into a branching hallway at the very back. Yet the two hard barely begun to start walking across the floor when someone rounded the corner up ahead. It was a fairly tall man, wearing a blue suit, and red tie, and seeming rather clean and well kept. His hair was slicked back, and he had a black beard and mustache. However, he also had a rather decisive look on his face, and a feeling of action about him. He rushed forward in a fast walk right up to the two of them. Cloud went ahead and halted immediately, and Ragnar followed suit.
Soon, the man stopped in front of them as well. He gave a nod to Ragnar's new ally first. "Good to see you again, Cloud. It's been a long time…not counting Cait Sith." After saying that, he turned his attention to the youth. He gave him a smile and extended his hand. Ragnar hesitated a moment, but then reached out and took it. He received a hearty handshake. "Hello, Mr. Vice. My name is Victor Reeve. I'm the president of Moogle Technologies and the head of the World Regneration Movement for the city of Midgar." He hesitated a moment, and looked over Ragnar after saying this. His face became confused. "…Is that Cloud's old sweater?"
"Forget my hand-me-downs." Cloud broke in, cutting this off. "Have you got them together?"
On hearing that, Reeve turned back to Cloud and frowned. He let out a sigh, and then turned and beckoned them. "Follow me." After that, he turned and began to march back the way he came. Cloud and Ragnar quickly fell in behind and stayed hot on his heels. As they walked back and turned the corner, beginning to follow Reeve as he led them in and through the building, he turned back behind him. "You couldn't have given me just one day's notice, Cloud? I could have surveyed the whole company."
"We don't have a day." Cloud answered. "The moment we're done here, we're heading to Junon and getting the first boat to Corel."
"I only managed to get about a hundred and fifty in one hour. Luckily, this meeting is paid. Unfortunately, that means some of them will just be there to get a break."
"Um…excuse me." Ragnar suddenly announced. "But…what exactly is going on?"
Both men turned back to Ragnar at that. Reeve furrowed his brow, and looked back to Cloud. "You haven't even told him what this is about yet?"
"I was in a hurry." Cloud responded. "Ok kid…this is what's up. Reeve here employs a lot of former members of Shinra Corporation. Based on the fact that they're still here and haven't gone north, I'd say they don't have a lot of loyalty to current leadership. What you're going to do is talk to some of them…tell them what you told me…maybe omitting the Bahamut thing…and hopefully they'll care enough to join."
"This seems like a fairly bad idea to me." Reeve responded. "These guys didn't defect because they enjoy dying for a cause. And I'm assuming that the young man here is unable to pay them any wages. Then again, they are all family men. Most of the Shinra Corporation employees came from the slums, underneath the Upper Plate and subjected to constant mako waste. They probably aren't that eager to go back. So who knows."
Ragnar slowly exhaled. "What a way to start…"
"You have to start somewhere." Cloud simply answered.
A few minutes later, and the three men arrived at one particular door in one of the building's hallways. They had made a few turns by now, going deep into the facility. There were several workshops and small manufacturing areas along the way, but there were also a lot of offices and other rooms. This one looked like one of the others. On arriving at the door, Reeve stepped forward and opened it for the other two men. Cloud readily passed through to the inside. Ragnar held for a second, but then followed behind.
Inside was an offwhite-painted, basic carpeted auditorium of some sort. Unknown to Ragnar, this room was normally used for employee orientations, and special safety videos outlining new guidelines. It was basic and rectangular, with a row of ascending seats going toward the back, and a small stage in front with a chalkboard and white screen for projections or videos. It was pretty noisy in here on entering. As Ragnar passed through the door, he gulped slightly. The room was filled with people, filling up all but the last few rows. Many of them were rough-looking and blue-collar in appearance. They also seemed rather stubborn, and kind of surly about having to be here. Enthusiasm definitely wasn't very high. It wasn't just the number that astonished him, which was more than he ever had to address before in one sitting, but it was also the fact that they seemed like they could care less about what was going on up north. That made for a rather bad crowd. He hadn't expected to meet so many people who looked so indifferent to anything else. And he was supposed to persuade them?
The young man began to feel a little warm. His stomach turned once or twice. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should try to look somewhere else. These men didn't appear to be the type of material that would be available to him. He thought of going to Reeve for a moment, and cancelling it all…
At that moment, Cloud moved up to the side of him, noticing that he was staring at the people in the room and looking a bit worried. "Think of it this way…" Cloud whispered into his ear once he reached him. "If you can't handle these guys, then you don't have any business revolting in the first place."
Ragnar turned his head to Cloud at that. However, the ex-mercenary was already standing back and moving to the back of the wall of the auditorium. He crossed his arms and leaned against it, and looked perfectly casual. As for Ragnar, he turned back to the room. They still made him nervous. Many of them were older than him, and looked a bit bigger than him too. However…he tightened his fists none the less and pushed out his fear. Whether Cloud had been joking or not, he was right. If he couldn't handle these guys, then what was he supposed to do against New Shinra? He had seen their armies and artillery in action, and saw how big they could get. If he could stand up to them, surely he could stand up to these guys. And why not? Hadn't he endured as much pain and misery, if not more, than the rest of them? Could any of them honestly do anything to him that he already hadn't experienced much worse? If their idea of chasing him off would be merely shaking their heads, saying he was full of crud, and then walking out…then they had no idea what true torment was. At that thought, Ragnar felt his spirit lift again. He drew himself up taller, and then stood firm. He calmly folded his hands in front of him, and waited.
Once all were inside and a few moments had passed, Reeve stepped to the front of the room. From his posture, he made it obvious that he was about to say something. The rest of the room clammed up after a few seconds. After all, he was still their boss. All eyes were on him after a moment. Once they were, he gave a nod.
"Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'm sorry I had to take you away from whatever you were doing, but something rather important has come to my attention, and I thought it was necessary to call this meeting as soon as possible. What I am about to tell you I will soon be breaking to the rest of the factory in a special newsletter. It's being typed up as we speak. Three years ago, I would have thought that this was worthy of being the top story on the Shinra Media Network, but as it is not, most news can only get around by word of mouth. And because of that, I'm going to serve as the mouthpiece of this event.
"As we speak…Midgar is standing on what could very be the brink of invasion."
This caused a bit of a stir among the men. They formed puzzled expressions at this. They turned and looked to each other a bit uneasily, wondering what that meant. They turned back to Reeve in the end, however, and he continued.
"I received word only this morning that a rather large army has been gathering on the Northern Continent for some time now, and that it is nearly ready to begin a full scale assault on the world below. Midgar is most likely the first target."
One of the men raised a hand.
Reeve looked to this person, and pointed out. "Oh yes…Baxter, was it?"
The man gave a nod, and put his hand down. "Um…sir? Who exactly is planning an invasion? I mean, there's no army left in the world at this point."
"Well, that's what I thought until this morning." Reeve grimly answered. "That was before I received a call from my good friend here…" He gestured behind him to Cloud, who made no reaction in response. "Who had been in contact with Mr. Ragnar Vice, over here." He shifted to Ragnar after that. "Mr. Vice was a former resident of Icicle Inn until he was put into forced labor. He escaped after three years, and he came here to warn the rest of the world that the Shinra army is still alive and well."
"Shinra?" One of the men outburst in the crowd. A chorus of murmuring began to follow it. People began to look to each other and talk about it. Some looked worried. Others looked a bit puzzled. Some looked downright obstinate and grouchy. "They went out of business three years ago! Me and my entire unit defected! There isn't any army anymore!"
Reeve gave a shrug in response. "Well, I'm afraid Mr. Vice may disagree with you, as well as about a hundred refugees that have fled. Believe it or not…the fact of the matter is that while Moogle Technologies has gone global, neither we nor any other industry or market has had contact with Icicle Inn in three years, and I doubt that the fall of Shinra would have made them want to become self-sufficient. As far as we know, if we checked, we'd find no one has returned from there in three years."
"I know this guy who got back just two weeks ago." Someone in the crowd called back.
"I know I saw someone who came back last month…" Another added.
Reeve gave a tired look in response. "I'm sorry…but we can't really base much on knowing 'some guy'. A person who we do know came from Icicle Inn is right here. Currently, Mr. Vice is attempting to arrest the progress of Shinra and keep them from proceeding with this invasion. He's just assembled a new fighting force, and he is looking for volunteers."
A series of groans went through the audience. Some men merely frowned and rolled their eyes as they fell back in their chairs. One particularly annoyed looking man shook his head and muttered out loud that he wasted an hour on a project to listen to a kid from the peace corps. Not all of them were this bad. A few merely looked a bit uneasy at the whole idea. These were the ones who believed the story about Shinra from the start, and had answered with worry. However, none of them looked raring to go. They ranged from outright refusal to timid avoidance. Ragnar looked over all of these people…and his expression never changed.
Reeve had to hold up his hands and ask for silence. It took a little while to quiet down. But once the people finally did, he exhaled again and then stepped back. "So without further ado, I present to you Mr. Ragnar Vice, who will now explain the situation in more detail before he gives his call for volunteers."
With that, Reeve stepped back, and went to the wall. The room was silent in response. Ragnar looked out again, and looked over the audience. Some were frowning at him. Others were still unsettled. Still others seemed bored and crossed their arms, hoping that this would be over with soon. The young man studied them as he stood there. His own face was expressionless, showing no emotion whatsoever.
In the silence that followed, Ragnar remembered one of the early rules of combat Bahamut taught him. Know thy enemy. A strategy that wiped out a division in one situation could be decimated by the next. And right now…Ragnar was getting to know his enemy. Despite what Reeve had said, he wasn't planning on explaining the situation, or asking for volunteers. Neither of those statements would work. It would sound like a cry for help and a beg for pity. Both would fall on deaf ears here, and would fail to inspire or incite anyone. They needed something different. And as he looked over them and studied them, he knew what it was.
At last, the young man stepped forward. Each one of his boot steps echoed against the floor loud and long, sending an echo through the chamber. Once he reached the front, he shifted once to stand, and then looked out at the audience. His face was cold and emotionless. He was hard now…and his eyes blazed with an inner power again. He turned to the audience and let them all see that power as he looked into their eyes. When they saw him, they didn't necessarily break externally. However…they were attracted. They didn't expect this person, looking like a teenager, to have such power in his gaze, and look so hard and focused. He seemed too young or too small to possess it. But again…he seemed bigger, and far more certain of himself and focused.
Cloud too noticed this from where he was. For the first time since he saw Ragnar…he began to look a bit intrigued by him.
"…I set foot on the Eastern Continent for the first time in my life yesterday." The young man began, slowly and simply enough. "Shortly after I got here, I realized how backwards I was…how little I had seen of the world. I had never even imagined a city as large as Midgar before in my life. I didn't know a car could be made to run without mako power. But there were much more extreme things than that that I hadn't seen. I hadn't seen the destruction of Junon or Midgar. I hadn't been higher than two stories in the air in my life. I had never even seen the ocean.
"You may think I'm pretty ignorant or uncultured. That I'm some pretty secluded mountain boy. You'd be right. People only show up in Icicle Inn in two ways: you're born there or you run away to there. I was born there. And I didn't know much about the world or what was going on. A lot of people probably think that they have some edge on me because of that. Maybe they do. What's second nature to a lot of people is still brand new to me, and it's going to be for years to come. That makes me a bit deficient in knowledge of machines and vehicles and stuff…that's true. However…I'm betting you all a hundred gil that I've seen some things you've never seen either.
"Have any of you ever seen someone die of hepatitis? …Ah, I see one hand back there. So have I. I wonder if you saw it the same way I did. I was seventeen years old, and I saw an eight year old child with a shovel going to an already full latrine. It was the colder part of the year, and they wanted him to dig a new one. But the ground was already frozen. The biggest one of you guys wouldn't have been able to do it. So he went to the already full latrine. You see…the feces and urine that constantly were going in there made the ground soft enough that you could dig it, and he was going to try and widen it. But he could barely move the shovel, and the edge had iced over. When he was trying to get around the edge…he slipped and he fell in. He fell right into about three feet of crap, and went under. His parents weren't anywhere around. They weren't allowed to watch him. They wouldn't let any of us get him out. Only the taskmaster was present. Of course, he didn't want to touch him, now that he was covered with it. So he just yelled at him to drag himself out. It took him about five minutes of digging through that scum and filth before he managed to do it. Then the taskmaster dragged him out behind one of the sheds. He stripped off his clothes, so that he was naked out in the snow, and then got out a hose and blasted him with cold water. He got him clean…but by the time he was done he was turning blue. He dragged him back to where he was being held with the rest of his family and gave them back…but not before he hit this barely conscious child because he made him have to clean him up. The kid had pneumonia after that. But that wasn't what killed him. It was the hepatitis. I know…because his eyes and skin were turning yellow before he died. He blacked out the day after the accident and never woke up. He just writhed in agony until it was all over. So yeah…I saw someone die of hepatitis. I saw him die because a New Shinra officer didn't want to get his hands dirty, and because the prisoner's physician came around only once a month.
"I see a few of you wincing. You think that was disgusting? Oh, that wasn't disgusting. Any of you ever see a really bad infection? See someone lose a limb? There we go…two more back there. Again, I wonder if it went anything like this. I had just stepped out of line the fourth time. After taking an iron to my hand and leaving the burn you see right here…yep, this fourth one…they threw me in a cell underground. The floor was covered with urine from both men and rats. There were piles of men's crap in the corner. The rats just went wherever. It was dark in there, and the flies would come in during the summer and land all over you, getting on the feces first and then landing on you, crawling around your mouth and your eyes. It stank worse every hot day, because the bacteria were loving the humidity and the darkness. Anyway…I had this guy who was my cellmate. He got pierced by shrapnel when one of the dynamite charges went off. He ran forward and pierced a soldier's hand with his pick axe while running out of the way. He had five pieces of jagged metal in his body, including one through his kneecap that kept him from walking. But because he 'attacked' a soldier, they branded him and stuck him in the unsanitary prison with me. There wasn't anything we had there to keep it clean. Even the water they gave us was brown. So I had to watch him run a temperature so hot he marinated in a pool of his own sweat, and I watched the spots around where the metal was turn from red to green to black, before it started oozing vomit-colored pus. Then one day, the day before they let him out…he said his knee was itching. I looked down…and I saw he had maggots running around inside the wound. Some of the flies laid their eggs there because they thought he was a rotting carcass. Needless to say, when they took him out, they chopped off his leg. But he wasn't any good to them if he wasn't working. They had to put him back in the mine before he recovered, giving him some metal post for a leg. He never got over the infection. In two weeks, he fell down dead at the pick axe.
"Yeah…I imagine that sounds pretty bad. But that wasn't the worst I saw. Oh no. One of the guys working next to me had a family back in the town. They were supposed to stay there as reserve labor while we all went to work. He had three kids, two older boys and a little girl. She was about ten. When I first met him, he was the meanest guy you ever met. He was always causing trouble. He yelled back in the face of his taskmaster. He broke his chains. He went on one hunger strike after another until they had to shove a tube down his throat. We all loved him…thought he was great.
"But New Shinra wanted to make an example out of him, so that they wouldn't have to just execute all of us when we ran up five marks. They took him out one day, drew him to another part of the mine. But he was still close enough that we could hear him screaming…until he sounded like they put a bit in his mouth. He kept trying to cry out after that. For hours on end…we just heard him scream and scream. Some say they wired an electrode to his package. Some say they just beat him until he screamed, because he was pretty beaten up after he came back. Some say they threw him in a hole of grease and dropped in a bunch of hungry rats. But we saw all the bullies take him back that day…all the men who wanted to prove they were superior to all of us…make us beneath them, if you catch my drift. Personally…I think they passed him around back there. He just kept on screaming…he almost drove us mad. We just wanted anything to stop that screaming…
"But he came back the next day. After that, he didn't cause trouble any more. He didn't say anything to us. He addressed all the officers as sir and madam. He never complained, and from that day on the taskmaster knew he could always count on him to do the extra work when he felt like giving it to him without complaint. A lot of my fellow inmates told me that he was a coward and a turncoat for just caving into them. I didn't. I figured they had to have done something terrible to him back there, and I forgave him that. I just tried to let it slide and thought no less of him…until one day.
"We were all being led back for the day. It was night out, and we had to assume a special position. All of us stood with our fronts to the wall of the officer's barracks, while they went by each man, inspected them, and checked them out. It took about a half hour to do all this. I was standing near the end of the line, but this guy was even further down the line. It was late now, because they had us working a double shift as punishment for low quota. But other than that, it started off as a regular night. But then we heard screaming. Anyone near the inspectors had their head turned forward and was ordered to ignore it. But we on the end turned and looked. I recognized that it was a little girl screaming. Everyone did. We turned and looked, and heard it coming closer. Then, all of the sudden, wearing nothing other than a torn night gown…came this man's daughter. She was crying out in panic and fear…screaming for help. She was being chased by two off duty soldiers. I knew because their helmets were off, their uniforms unbuttoned…and because both of them were clearly drunk. But they caught her none the less. They shoved her to the ground just inside the alley across the road. She kept crying out even then, kept screaming for help. And so…they took out their clubs and knocked the fight out of her…smacked her around until her blood began to stain the snow around her head and she went limp. All she could do was breathe when they were done with her. After that…they began to take off their pants…
"Most of us were getting violent by then. Some of us were trying to break free. We got shoved into the snow face first and pinned down. A few other guys actually yelled out curses and told them to come and try against someone who could fight back. They knocked these guys unconscious, gave them a mark, and carted them off to the brig. The rest of us felt our faces smashed into the snow and we kept watching. However…I say only most of us were getting violent. There was one person who wasn't. That was her father. He looked up to it once, and his look was totally empty and hollow…void of any care or will or spirit left in his body. Until that day I never really knew what it meant to look at a shell of a man. He stared at his daughter as they hit her for about three seconds. Then…he turned and stood at attention, and waited to be cleared. While the rest of us went to the brig or had our bodies hog-tied for the next hour, he was the only one who walked in and went to sleep. He didn't say one word about it up through the day they deported him to a different labor camp.
"Gentlemen…please believe me when I say…I have never once…in my entire life…seen anything more horrible or disgusting. And if any of you tell me that you've seen anything worse…you're full of it."
The room was silent now. Ragnar spoke slowly and deliberately, emphasizing each vivid image he described, seeming to conjure up the pictures as he spoke. Now…many of the men were broken. They stopped looking gruff or hard now…before Ragnar. The young man's eyes blazed with the same horror and revulsion he had witnessed over the past three years, and as he looked around and looked into their eyes, he made them see that same abomination whether they wanted to or not. Now, he had their full attention. And he let the silence linger for a moment longer, letting them stew over what he had just said. In the end, he looked over them once more, and softened slightly, but still spoke with power and conviction.
"All of you in here…all of you listening to me, wondering who I am and where I come from… I'm not about to tell you all to get up and die for some national cause. I'm not going to tell you to die for death and glory either. Both of those things mean nothing to me. A soldier in an army for a nation does what he does out of nationalistic pride or for some benefit. I have no nation to follow. I have no salaries to give, or generous retirement packages, or health insurance, or anything else. I don't have anything to compensate a soldier who does this for a living. And I don't have any medals or ticker-tape parades or crowds of adoring people cheering you on as you trample on the enemy 'over there'. And frankly…I'm glad I don't. If I was giving out compensation or rewards or glory to anyone…including myself…that would cheapen it. It would make it a business. A job. Something you're obligated to do under a contract, and something for which you receive just rewards in recompense. I don't care about any of that.
"I'm glad I don't have any cause for a nation in this, or any reward…because that means to me that I didn't choose to fight because I was going to get money or plunder or land…it was because I saw what I saw for three long years, and I thought it was wrong. I saw what happened to people up there, first physically, later mentally, and finally spiritually…and I hated it. I hated it more than anything else in the world. I chose to fight not for myself or anyone else…but because I never wanted to see that again. Because I was not going to just stand there and let this continue, or for them to make a world where this is allowed to happen. That's my only cause. That's my only reason for fighting. And God help me if I ever reach the point where I can look at this, and then just turn my head, walk into my house, and go to sleep. When I reach that point, I hope someone does the world a favor and kills me.
"I'm not going to blame any of you if you say no to me. I can't give you anything except my own hope for the future, and for right now it is just hope. But I'll leave you with this. None of you have ever seen what I saw yet…but you will soon. Rest assured…you will soon. So take your pick. When your child falls into a puddle of shit, are you going to pull him out then? When you have maggots infesting your own wounds, are you going to demand a doctor then? When you see some sorry excuse of a drunken man having his way with your own flesh and blood, are you going to knock out the guy pointing a gun at you, run over to them, and bash their heads in with your bare hands then?"
Ragnar hesitated after saying this, and cast one last dark glance over the people in the audience, his eyes blazing forth with new passion as his voice lowered.
"…Or are you going to make your stand here and now…before it happens to you?"
The young man turned away at that, and walked back over to the wall. He still looked older and stronger now, his eyes filled with some sort of new glory, and his body radiating a commanding presence and power. He had gone from a confused youth to a commanding man. Cloud was genuinely stunned, especially with the power and conviction with which Ragnar spoke. He found himself staring at the young man as he returned to the wall, crossed his arms in front of himself much as Cloud did, and then rested against it. He stared ahead, unblinking.
Reeve, on his part, looked a bit sick and nervous himself. He was staring at Ragnar with a bit of surprise at how he had changed. He swallowed a little afterward, and reached up to adjust his tie and calm himself down a bit. After that, he managed to step forward again, and look to the crowd. They were still silent now. No one talked anymore. Their heads were low, and their eyes stared at the ground. They were each deep in thought in the wake of the speech.
"We'll…take a brief ten minute recess, and then I'll leave a sign up sheet at the front of the room for the next half hour."
Forty minutes later, Ragnar still had his cold demeanor on. Talking about it had brought back the memories, taking him out of his temporary daze caused by the hospitality of Cloud and Tifa and the wonder of the City. Now, the seriousness of what he was doing came back to him, as well as his conviction for doing so. He and Cloud were in another room now. It was a small chamber with a table and chairs away from the auditorium, normally reserved for think-tank meetings. It too was white, simple, and businesslike. Ragnar was seated at the head of the table in here. His elbows were on top, and his hands were clasped and held up to his mouth. His green eyes stared blankly ahead, showing nothing.
Against the wall near the door, Cloud leaned with his arms crossed. He wasn't stoic and uncaring now. He kept his head up and focused on the young man. He had been staring at him for a while now, but Ragnar hadn't even acted like he noticed him. The two men were silent for most of the time since they arrived. However, the ex-mercenary wanted to say something. At last, he bowed his head a little to him.
"…Kid…" He spoke out loud. "I'm sorry if I said anything earlier that made fun of you. I didn't know the whole story…what you've been through."
Ragnar slowly looked away from where he had been staring. He turned his head slightly to Cloud, and then smiled and gave a snicker. It was halfhearted and quiet. "…Don't worry about it. It's not like you had to live through that hell. You shouldn't have known anything about it."
"You're wrong." Cloud flatly answered. This caused the youth to look up, and focus a bit more out of his dazed state and on the ex-mercenary. As he looked up to Cloud…he saw the man staring coldly down at the floor, in much the same way that he had been.
"I've lived through hell too. You probably wouldn't believe me…but it was likely worse than yours. I know what it's like to be truly miserable and despairing…to not have a single hope left in this world. And I've seen so many things happen before me that I couldn't stop…so many horrible, horrible things…that I lost count." The man hesitated in here, letting out a long, slow sigh. After that, he looked up and stared back at Ragnar. "It makes you forget sometimes that other people have had it bad too."
Ragnar looked back at him silently for a moment. However, in the end, he managed a small smile. "…You and Tifa took me in…fed me…clothed me…gave me a place to sleep…and you joined me though I sounded crazy. I'd say you showed me more than enough generosity and compassion. More than I've ever received from anyone in the New Shinra, at any rate."
Cloud cracked a halfhearted smile of his own at that, and bowed his head again. His voice grew lower. "…Shinra has a way of being rather merciless to those they consider their property…" He led slide over his lips. The words came out like weights being dropped, slowing down with each new one. As they did…Ragnar saw a new fire in Cloud's eyes blaze. A passion burned within his soul…and Ragnar began to detect the slightest traces of a deep pain hidden within him. It was so strong…so fierce…that he could tell its power just from seeing what it did to the stoic Cloud. It was something that shook him to his very soul.
In the end, Ragnar's smile faded. He stared totally at Cloud, forgetting about his own problems or the meeting.
"Cloud…you told me quite a lot happened to you in your life. What happened to you?" He finally asked, very slowly, and genuinely concerned. "…What did they do to you?"
The ex-mercenary kept his head bowed. His eyes continued to blaze…but now they seemed to enlarge, as if the man was seeing something else…or remembering something. And as he did…Ragnar saw his lips begin to part. It wasn't to speak…it was to make an expression of fear and horror…
The door was suddenly flung open with a loud bump. On hearing this, both Ragnar and Cloud snapped out of their respective dazes, and were normal again. Both turned and looked to the now open door. Reeve was standing in it, holding a small stack of papers in one hand. He was grinning, and looked to be teaming with enthusiasm. He walked straight up to Ragnar, and flung the papers down in front of him. The youth leapt back a bit from the sudden act, and then turned back up to Reeve in puzzlement.
"What's this?"
"One hundred and twenty-seven signatures." Reeve responded. "They've volunteered. You've just doubled the size of your army."
Ragnar's eyes widened. Was he serious? The young man turned down to the paper before him. He scanned it over for a moment. After that, he soon realized that they were forms. And like Reeve said…they were filled with signatures. Name, address, and phone numbers for a hundred and twenty-seven people. The youth's jaw dropped. Despite the conviction and passion he had felt when giving the speech…he couldn't believe it. They had listened to him. They had been persuaded by him. And now…they were joining. He had done it. He had obtained new recruits for his army. The youth let out a nervous laugh, and then began to smile as he saw the paper. He picked it up and held it in front of him, like some sort of mystical prize or trophy. He turned to Cloud soon after.
"I don't believe it." He said out loud, genuinely surprised. "I got to them. I made them want to join."
Cloud stared back down at him and cracked a smile. "Congratulations on your first victory, kid. But this is just a start. You're going to need a lot more than that before you can fight New Shinra, so don't get too cocky."
"You've got more than this already." Reeve continued, reaching out and setting the paper down. "These are only the people who volunteered. Eight of the others agreed to start a fund-raising campaign for your forces, to start collecting food, supplies, weapons, and money. One of the others is donating an old truck. It's a bit of a fixer upper, but it runs. The other four guys wrote you checks." Reeve pulled away the first couple of papers at this, and then revealed what was beneath. Four small slips of paper were sitting on the table. Ragnar picked these up next, and looked over them. His eyes expanded again on seeing them.
"Whoa, Cloud…there's over 3,000 gil here."
"Actually, that's going to be over 23,000." Reeve pointed out in response. "I've still got to make my contribution, you see."
The ex-mercenary smiled at this as he stepped off the wall. "Sounds great. I can pass that off to Tifa. She can start buying the necessities to set up a camp while we make our rounds."
Reeve's face turned a bit downcast when he heard Cloud say that. "Yeah…about that…" He answered in a somewhat nervous voice.
Ragnar began to look puzzled as he said that, looking over the checks. "Hey…these aren't made out to anyone."
Reeve gave a shrug in response to this. "Well…you didn't really give us a name to call your volunteer group or army or whatever. I'd say just write out 'Cash', but for an amount that big it might take some time to clear through the banks. I know you don't have an account, Cloud…though I've been pestering you to get one for months now…and I don't suppose you have one either, Ragnar. That's going to further complicate things with the bank."
The young man frowned slightly and sighed. He turned up to Cloud shortly after that. "So what do we do?"
Cloud merely shrugged back. "Pick a name pretty soon."
The youth kept his frown, and then turned back down to the paper and the checks. Money aside, this was all great news. It was more of a start than Ragnar expected. If he could keep this up, then maybe they could pull this off yet.
"I've also had another idea, Ragnar." Reeve continued. "You didn't tell me you were so good at giving speeches. You really had the crowd in there."
The young man looked back to him at that simply. After a moment, he simply shrugged. "…That was my first time doing it."
Reeve raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?" He asked. "I took a nine month speech class before I could speak half that good… At any rate, it doesn't matter. The thing is, I was running a recorder in there for the minutes. And what I heard sounded great. It's a good start. Now we're planning on giving this story to the news anyway, to start getting out the message about New Shinra. If we ran your speech along with it, we might be able to make it a sort of 'drive for volunteers' as well. It might persuade more people and warn them about New Shinra at the same time."
Ragnar winced a bit at that, feeling a little uneasy. That was the first speech he had ever given. He wasn't sure he wanted it to be broadcast on an intercontinental basis. Besides…it felt like he was cheapening his mission a bit by doing it. He would feel too much like some politician or fund raiser. He wasn't too sure if it would end up helping or hurting him. He stayed silent about it for now.
"And…there's one last thing I want to give you to help out." Reeve added. With that, he began to step back, clearing room through the door.
As he did this, Ragnar noticed that Cloud suddenly snapped up and looked behind him. Moments later, the ex-mercenary groaned and placed a hand to his forehead. "Oh no…" He muttered aloud.
The youth would have asked him about this…if it wasn't for the odd sight that suddenly came waddling through the door.
"Hey Cloud! Check out my new moogle! He's got knuckles!" An odd, chibi cat creature uttered as it road into the room on top of the back of the largest stuffed moogle Ragnar had ever seen. The moogle itself looked rather mute and dumb in appearance, although, as the cat said, it had giant cartoonish boxing gloves on its hands with all-too-real metal spiked knuckles. The cat itself was white and black, and wore a loose red cape around his neck with a golden crown perched on top of his head. His eyes were thin lines, so Ragnar couldn't really tell if he was looking at him or not. However…as the massive moogle began to approach him, Ragnar found himself rising from his chair and backing up against the table. Reeve continued to look on proudly, while Cloud continued to groan and have his head bowed.
"Relax, man!" The cat told Ragnar as he came to a stop in front of him. "Gimme five!" With that, he held up his own little cat paw. However, in perfect mimicry, the massive moogle also held up its sharp-looking, gauntleted paw. The cat saw this, and literally turned red for a moment before dropping a large bead of sweat off of the side of its head. "Oops…forgot about that." He quickly lowered his hand again, and looked up to Ragnar nervously. "How about a fortune instead?"
The youth merely continued to look puzzled at the odd thing in front of him, wondering if he had, in fact, been knocked a little senseless last night to the point of hallucinating. As for Cloud, he groaned again and turned to look up to Reeve.
"I appreciate the gesture, Reeve…but I really can't stand being around Cait Sith."
The cat angrily turned to him at this. "Hey! I have feelings too over here!" He complained to the ex-mercenary. After that, he smiled wide. "In fact, with my latest model, I have sixteen new feelings in addition to my previous ones!"
Ragnar blinked at the odd creature for a moment, but then turned to Reeve and pointed at it. "Is this…a machine?" He asked.
"It's my masterpiece." Reeve proudly replied, crossing his arms and beaming at the feline. "I didn't start an electronics company without knowing all about it myself. Before I got into administration I was quite the computer whiz. Cait Sith was my masterpiece, although I received a lot of help from Shinra's engineers. They were experimenting with the world's first AI engine, trying to put it into a new type of spying robot that could learn and interact with its surroundings. The thing itself was too much of a dead giveaway. So I got the idea to use it in toys instead. The hybrid of the military model and civilian model was this."
"As it turned out…it seemed to be able to spy rather well anyway." Cloud darkly added. "Which is part of the reason that I don't like having it around me."
"Oh, come on Cloud. We're all friends here now." Reeve answered back in an innocent voice. "He helped you beat Sephiroth and take out Sin. No one ever suspects him until it's too late. He'd probably make a great spy for your new army, and despite how plush he looks he's quite bullet proof in there."
"Plus Reeve has been making a fortune selling toy versions of me to kids all over Gaia!" Cait Sith added. "So, technically, any money that he gives you is because of me. So what do you say?"
Cloud exhaled a blast from his nostrils. He turned his head over to Ragnar next. The young man looked to him, but then back to the stuffed creature. For him…beggars really couldn't be choosers. He didn't like the amount of chagrin that Cloud was putting off against it, but there was the old saying of the more the merrier. After a bit longer, he gave a shrug.
"…How are we going to take him with us?"
"Ok, I was wrong. Now I'm embarrassed."
"You're the one who wanted to bring him." Cloud simply answered, as he ignited the engine on Fenrir. Ragnar was once again seated behind Cloud and hanging onto him. However, strapped to his back like some sort of giant version of the pack that teenage girls wore around was the giant moogle. Clutching to his head as best as he could was Cait Sith. The effect of wearing him plus hanging on to Cloud made Ragnar look rather effeminate at this point. He only hoped the size of the moogle would give people other ideas as Cloud pulled out, gunned the engine, and began to take off back down the road again.
"Just keep trying to think of a name." Cait Sith suggested.
Ragnar sighed, and turned back to Cloud. "I know it's a long drive. First there was that other stuff you told me…and then there was that incident in the meeting room…and now there's this guy." He gestured behind him at this. "Exactly who are you, and what have you been through?"
Cloud didn't answer or turn immediately. He continued to drive forward, down the road. "…It's a rather long story."
"It's a long way to Corel." Ragnar simply answered.
Cait Sith seemed to wince and grow a bit nervous here. As for Cloud, he inhaled slowly, and then exhaled once again. Ragnar watched him and waited as he silently drove along. After a few moments more, however…he finally spoke up again.
"Alright. If you're going to be hanging around me and the old group, then you probably will need to know at some point to have some idea of what we're talking about. It might as well be sooner than later. It started about eight years ago… No…I guess it really started about fourteen at this point, when I was a kid. I was one of the outcasts at my hometown at Nibelheim…but I was crazy about this brown-haired girl who lived next door…"
To be continued...
