After maybe five minutes, which Reno mostly spent on the phone receiving reports and giving instructions, a team of Shinra soldiers arrived. Considering his irritable mood, I half-expected the Turk to grace them with an earful of obscenities upon arrival, but he just knocked back the healing potion they offered, then ordered half of them to accompany us and sent the other half to aid his colleague.
Gone was the cocky swagger, the lazy slouch and the bored expression. Though his demeanor was still a far cry from the military discipline exhibited by our escort, the Turk now moved with a measured control, reminiscent of a prowling cat. His eyes were steely and alert, and he tapped the metal rod on his shoulder with an ease that implied seasoned skill with the weapon.
Such a smooth transition from laid-back wisecracker to hardened professional. I had seen it before, but it still startled me. It was easy to forget how quickly Reno could deliver violence.
Not two minutes after we set out for a safer location, I got another glimpse of his brutal side. We ran into a pair of Orca soldiers, and once again I found myself shoved aside while the others sprung into action. The mercenaries were taken by surprise. One of them was gunned down by the Shinra soldiers before she had a chance to lift her own weapon. The Turk handled the other one. Reno moved so quickly that I couldn't register the hits with my eyes, but I definitely heard the wet crunch of the last one. The Orca man collapsed right before me, the side of his head a pulpy mess.
During the previous attack, I had been too overwhelmed by disbelief and adrenaline to comprehend the carnage, but I was no longer that lucky. I stared at the bloody remains of the man's smashed skull, frozen to the spot. That repulsive wet sound kept playing again and again in my mind, blocking out the voices around me. I was seconds away from losing my dinner when Reno's wrinkled shirt blocked the nauseating sight.
"Don't look, baby. C'mon, let's go."
A spattering of red stained the white fabric; a bloody memento of his ill-treatment at the hands of Orca. His chest was heaving with a little more force than usual, but as my eyes wandered upward I noticed that otherwise the man seemed unperturbed, as if battering people to death was something he did every day. The indifference in his eyes was chilling. I had to look away.
"We can't stay here. Let's move, yo."
There was urgency in his voice, but it didn't strike me as worry. Upon a second glance I realized my first impression of the Turk's reaction hadn't been completely correct, but the gleam of excitement I spied in his eyes didn't make me feel any better. Yet I didn't pull away when he ushered me into motion with a firm hand on my lower back.
As Reno led me toward a safer location, he filled me in on the situation.
"They just showed up without warning, in that room we tested your suit, of all places. They seemed to be movin' with a plan before they ran into us, but now they've regrouped and are searchin' the floors. We're doin' our best to slow 'em down, but they're packin' some serious firepower."
"How is this possible?" I whispered.
"I was hopin' you'd tell me, Doc. We're in the blind, here. We dunno how they got here or what they want. 'Cept you, apparently."
An unpleasant mix of apprehension and guilt fluttered in my gut. My arms wrapped around my waist on their own volition, as if to shield me from the notion.
"I can't think why they'd want me so badly."
A sardonic smirk played on the man's lips. "Lover man wants ya back?"
I shook my head, trying to ignore the deep sting of sorrow at Reno's words.
"If he did, he'd try to reason with me, not attempt a bloody kidnapping by force. No, they have something else in mind."
"Well, if ya think of anythin', lemme know, alright?"
I nodded absently, already chewing on my bottom lip in silent deliberation.
The existence of a world that was remarkably similar, yet so different from Earth, not to mention the unlikely event of me showing up on it – it was far too incredible to be a stroke of luck. And now others had followed? Fourteen years later, they had managed to discover and reconstruct the unplanned and undocumented conditions that brought me here? This couldn't be a coincidence. There was something at work here.
Why would they show up here? Why now? Why had I shown up here, for that matter? The memories of my arrival were so fuzzy, a jumbled chaos of pain and strange, disjointed images. Without warning, one of them jumped out from some half-forgotten recess of my memory and claimed my attention.
"Reno, what is Jenova?"
The redhead shot me a sideways glance.
"Huh? What's that got to do with anythin'?"
"It was the first thing I saw when I woke up here. The word 'Jenova' written on some kind of door."
J-E-N-O-V-A, engraved letters bathed in an eerie light. How could I have forgotten that? No wonder the word had seemed so familiar.
Reno shrugged. "It's somethin' Hojo's been workin' on, so who knows. The freak's good at keepin' secrets, yo."
His reply wasn't quite disinterested enough to be completely convincing, but I let it go as something much more plausible occurred to me. They had been moving with a plan, Reno had said, after showing up in the testing area where I had been just hours before.
"The suit," I exclaimed. "They're tracking my suit!"
This time, the Turk snapped his head around to fully face me.
"They can do that?"
"There's a tracking signal, for emergencies."
Reno narrowed his eyes.
"And somehow it didn't cross your mind to mention it 'til now?"
It had been a long time since he had looked at me with such a cold look on his face.
"I-I didn't think it mattered!" I stammered, startled by his reaction. "Who would track me here? I had no idea it could lead to anything like this! I... I have no idea how it's even possible!"
I gradually came to a full stop while I tried to convince him of my innocence. Still in the process of recovering from the gruesome sight a few minutes ago, the fright was enough to knock me onto the path toward hysteria. Reno's eyes softened a fraction and he touched my elbow to stop me.
"Yeah, okay. Whatever. Keep your shit together, Fitz. This ain't the time to lose your head." He glanced around. "C'mon, we gotta keep movin'."
I kept my mouth shut after that, mentally berating myself as we navigated the corridors of Shinra HQ. Not about neglecting to mention the suit's tracking system, but for being such a useless bundle of nerves. I had survived earthquakes and other disasters, aided with evacuations of buildings and towns; hell, even faced the department board for yearly finance reviews at Cobalt Industries. I knew how to "keep my shit together". The jittery pushover I had become in this place wasn't me.
Movement caught my eye and I looked down to see several small, squat robots rush past. They reminded me of red metal spiders skittering around. Fan-fricking-tastic. That was just what I needed right now.
For fuck's sake, Tess, find your damned backbone already!
I shuddered and decided – since none of the others paid the mechanical critters any mind – to keep my eyes forward and ignore the little buggers as best as I could.
A few more corridors and several flights of stairs later, Reno brought us to what looked like a spacious conference room for a dozen people or so, situated on floor sixty-six if the large numbers on each side of the door were to be believed.
Reeve was already inside, waiting for us. While Reno instructed the soldiers to take up positions outside, the executive came up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder, peering into my face. Lines of concern appeared between his eyebrows; I guess my appearance was a good match for how I felt on the inside.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine," I assured him, conjuring up a faint smile. "Just a little shaken up."
"She's tougher than she looks," Reno quipped with a wide grin as he approached us, adjusting a headset over one ear. "You should've seen our lil' Fitz face off with Jerkface. Epic, yo."
I had to admit his delight offered a smidgen of happiness in the tumult that had centered on me without warning. He seemed so genuinely pleased. Besides, I was grateful for the reminder that maybe my spine hadn't fully degenerated into a pile of wet socks after all.
"Jerkface?" Reeve echoed, taken by surprise. "You mean..."
He turned his gaze to me. I nodded.
"It's James, and Orca. The Gateway is operational."
Reeve's eyes widened, followed by a deepening of the frown as Reno came to a halt next to us. The redhead looked from one to the other while balancing on the balls of his feet, his hands deep in his pockets. Just like that, the Turk had shed the professional attitude and slipped back into his lackadaisical manner.
No, perhaps "shed" was the wrong word. "Concealed" might have been a better choice.
"Guess ya wanna know what's up, eh, Reeve?"
"Considering I'm the only one of the board liable to show up right now, there's no point in waiting."
After all the excitement, my legs felt unsteady. I was tired, too, but proper rest was out of the question. I had to make do with a seat by the large table as Reno began his status report.
"The stairwells and floors themselves are full of saucer bots, but they can't do much except slow the bastards down. Elena's in the field, workin' with security and infantry. Trackin' enemy movement, pickin' 'em off if she gets a chance, the usual." Reno grimaced. "Wish Tseng or Rude was here, tho'. It's a bit intense for a rookie."
Saucer bots? Judging by the name, those could be the little red mecha-spiders scurrying about. I suppressed another shudder.
"Do you think she'll be able to handle it?" Reeve wondered.
"She may be new and too antsy, but Tseng wouldn't have picked her without reason," the Turk reasoned with a shrug. "Right, so, we've got the place locked down. Elevators are offline and we've got whatever infantry I managed to scrounge up posted at floors fifty-six and sixty, along with the bigger bots. These guys may be tough, but they ain't gettin' past that."
I vehemently hoped the bigger robots had a different design. The idea of giant mechanical arachnids was enough to make me lose sleep for weeks.
Reeve nodded and crossed his arms over his chest while he digested the news.
"Okay, so they're contained. Anything else?"
"Got a chopper ready to go, in case we need a quick exit."
"Good. What's the next step? Move in and round them up?"
Reno pursed his lips and scratched behind his ear, gazing up toward one corner of the room in thought.
"Yeah, well, that part ain't easy," he admitted. "Trouble is, they've got the same kinda immunity to materia as the Doc here, which rules out most of our usual tricks. We've got too few on hand for a proper sweep and clear, too. Heidegger took most of the military to Junon."
Now that was interesting. I had wondered if that was the case, and having it confirmed made me even more curious about the nature of Gaia's magic. The information would have to be filed away for later, though. This was hardly the time to ponder such mysteries.
"What, then?" Reeve asked, exasperation slipping into his tone. "We can't just sit and wait."
To my surprise, the Turk moved his eyes onto me.
"Well, there's somethin' I've been toyin' with in my head. Fitz says they're trackin' her suit, so I'm thinkin' we can use that. Move Sparky away from the workshop to a nice spot for an ambush."
My eyes widened, then narrowed in thought as I considered his suggestion. "I thought you said they weren't heading for the suit anymore?"
"Yeah, but seems like they're lookin' for you now, so movin' the suit oughta get their attention. Who else would move it, right?"
I nodded slowly. It seemed reasonable that I might decide to use it to protect myself in a situation like this, too.
"Well, then," Reeve said with a wolfish grin that might have looked more at home on Reno's face. "Sounds like we have a plan."
A brief squabble followed, over who would go where and do what. Reno was in charge of the operation, so his presence was a given. However, Reeve refused to let anyone into his den of technology unsupervised, while the Turk was unwilling to leave my protection to a handful of infantry. In the end, the three of us entered Reeve's workshop together.
It had never occurred to me to ask where the tracker was located, so we proceeded to load the whole suit onto the trolley we had used only hours earlier. Uncertain of whether or not the tracker could relay such information, I turned on the power to the main unit, just in case. Once everything was ready, Reno pushed the cart toward the soldiers waiting by the door.
"So, you've reached your suit, Therèse."
We all stiffened at the sound of James' voice, tinny through the suit's speakers, and exchanged alarmed glances. There was nothing preternatural about his assumption that I would be the one moving my own gear, but to be addressed without warning was still unnerving.
I gestured to the others to be silent and squatted down by the microphone embedded at the top of the chest plate.
"James," I greeted stiffly. "You're alive."
"Fortunately your new friends aren't very efficient."
The condescending words didn't match his tone. I knew the man only used that deliberate, neutral tone when he was thoroughly upset. I hoped that was a good sign.
"You're tracking the suit," I stated.
"Clever girl. Then you also know we will find you, in the end."
That confirmed my suspicions, at least. Time to see if I could get him to prove – or disprove – a few more assumptions.
"What do you want? The suit? Just take it and leave. I'll make sure no one tries to stop you."
"I'm not here for the suit. I'm here for you."
That anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach returned, stronger than before. I wet my lips and took a deep breath before replying.
"It's over, James."
I was relieved and a little surprised that I managed to say it in such a firm tone. Perhaps that's why James hesitated for a few seconds before speaking again.
"I... I know. That's not why I'm asking you to come with me. I need your professional skills."
"Your recruiting technique needs work."
A soft snort sounded from Reno's direction, although not loud enough to be heard through the microphone.
"Haven't lost that sharp tongue of yours, I see. No matter. Sooner or later, you will come with me."
Had the man always been this arrogant? This wasn't the confident pride I remembered, nor was it reminiscent of Reno's playful smugness. No, this was a stony disdain, devoid of emotion. If anything, it reminded me of Hojo, and I found my irritation eclipsed by an undefined dread.
"Why? Why do are you doing this?"
"Come with me. I'll explain everything when we're back on Earth."
I scoffed at the suggestion. "Do you really think I would even consider going anywhere before I know what this is about?"
"You haven't changed, Tess. Very well."
He sighed deeply and the line was silent for several seconds.
"It took years to repair the Gateway, and once it was done, there were problems. The teleport jumps were technically successful, but we were unable to control the target destination."
That sounded familiar. There had been issues like that in the early stages of the prototype, too.
"I had a team go through every single piece of the system. Do you know what we discovered?" A sharp bark of laughter. "That so-called coolant that Victor used for the core, that so miraculously solved the problems with an unstable teleport?"
I remembered. A moment of technological triumph – the details of which I knew nothing of, as it was not my area of expertise. I also recalled James' skepticism at the time, which I had chalked down to wounded professional pride.
"It was no goddamn coolant," his voice continued. "It was the biggest secret of them all, the source of the Gateway's power. It was organic! And the genetic material we found in it? Alien."
My mouth fell open. I had not expected James, the levelheaded engineer, to spew wild ideas that seemed a better fit for a low-budget sci-fi movie.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Victor knew about it all along. You see, with Orca's help, I dug deeper into our old pal's work. The Gateway project started as Vic's research on top-secret alien remains in Cobalt Industries' possession. Bet he never told you that, did he?"
"This is crazy," I scoffed. "Are you saying some kind of alien controls the Gateway? It makes no damn sense!"
James chuckled; there was a disturbing, high-pitched note that sounded completely wrong for the man.
"Oh, believe me, it's one-hundred percent true. You know, I bet the old man had the exact same idea as I did. He probably drank that damn 'coolant' of his. It would explain how he was able to come up with all those brilliant ideas, not to mention how he was able to guide the Gateway with oh so delicate precision."
"You're making this up."
Even I could hear how uncertain I sounded. As I spoke, as I listened, my brain had been busy connecting the pieces and I had begun to realize that they fit together all too well. So many conversations with Victor took on a whole new, foreboding undertone.
"It's the truth," James said firmly. "Come with me and you'll see for yourself."
My mind returned to the present, to digest what James had just said. The full implications of one of the sentences finally sank in.
"Wait... What do you mean, 'exact same idea'? What idea?"
He was silent a while.
"I hacked into Vic's files and read his notes. It was the break we desperately needed. It became clear that he'd gained the ability to guide the Gateway. He had... altered himself."
The way he said the word "altered" chilled my bones.
"Altered? How?"
"I'm not sure. That's why I need you." He paused. "By the time I discovered this, Vic was long gone and his ability with him, but I thought that if I altered myself..."
Beside me Reno tensed, and I felt my own pulse quickening. My apprehension was transforming into full-fledged dismay.
"Jamie, what did you do?" I breathed, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer.
"What I had to," he said in that infuriatingly impassive tone of voice.
"What did you do!" I repeated, louder.
The pause stretched on. I held my breath, staring at the speakers as I waited. We all held our breaths.
"Victor... He'd infected himself with the alien organism he found. So I... I infected myself."
"What?!"
"I needed the ability!" he cried. "It was the only way, and it worked. Suddenly, I knew what to do. It was as if I'd discovered a connection."
"A connection to what?"
James ignored me. His words gushed out like water from a broken dam.
"But now, something's gone wrong. The connection is getting weaker. My control is slipping. Maybe it's exposure to the energy fields when traversing the Gateway, maybe it's the infection getting worse. I don't know. I don't know!"
His distress was genuine, clearly audible even through the imperfect medium of the speakers. I stared down at the floor, clutching the edge of the trolley, trying to process all of this... this lunacy. Victor, involved in some kind of top secret research on aliens, of all things? This alien matter somehow controlling the Gateway? James infected by the same alien organism, by his own doing? Christ. Just when I thought the universe couldn't get any crazier.
"I need you to come with me," James pleaded. "You have to help me. You knew Vic better than anyone, you're the one he told all his theories. You know the Gateway and how it affects people. You can fix this, I know you can!"
So this was his plan. To force me into servitude as his savior-to-be, to somehow change the fate the damned fool had brought on himself in an act of utter idiocy.
Yet the desperation in his voice tugged at my heartstrings, bringing back some of what I had once felt for him. As much as James had changed since I last saw him, I knew him well enough to tell the fear was real. What if he was right? What if there was a chance I could help him? If so, wouldn't it be the humane choice to at least try?
"You will come with me." It was a demand now. A threat. A reminder of what he had done to me, to Vic, to our team and the whole damned world. "Sooner or later, you will come with me. If not this time, then we will be back. This I promise you. We will keep coming back until we find–"
Abrupt silence descended when I flipped the control panel open and cut communications, filled only by the sound of my ragged breaths.