Another Chapter is here!
The lazy stalker : Thank you
Enjoy!
Elena had only just finished cleaning the stage when she received a call from her superior. The extraction team was in place, a location set not far from there and keyed into her Exit Materia. It was time to say goodbye to her brief but gainful employment at the Gold Saucer after she made contact with the Ancient and spirited her away.
That was when static filled her brain, white noise that artificially shredded her ability to concentrate so fiercely that she ended up dropping her broom and nearly doubling over. It was the effect of a Seal Materia. The sound of hard foot falls reached her ears and she looked up in time to see the red beast with a flaming tail rapidly approaching, baring its fangs. She had no doubts now that her cover had been compromised.
Unable to use her Exit Materia as the beast lunged for her, Elena grabbed the hem of the curtain. She yanked as hard as she could to pull it from the clasp anchoring it above, causing it to fall down as she threw herself to the side and fell into a roll. The beast ended up tangled in the thick fabric, buying her precious seconds to spring up.
Her eyes then tracked more movement as the blonde swordsman and long-haired terrorist closed the distance. She roughly brushed her hand over her skirt, dislodging a specialized flashbang grenade onto the ground. There was just enough time for her to close her eyes tight, cover her ears, and jump back before it went off.
The explosion left a slight ringing in her ears and the flash that reached behind her closed eyelids left floaters in her line of sight, but the two closing in had stumbled over the seats in their blind charge. The fake SOLDIER and red beast, which had nearly managed to free itself, were the most debilitated from the flashbang due to their enhanced senses. They felt the effect multiple times over compared to a normal person, which was why they were the slowest to rise while the long-haired terrorist was getting back up. Elena followed up with a canister attached to her upper thigh by a band, pulling the pin and tossing it towards the latter.
A thick plume of tear gas burst from the canister to blanket the area as she fled for the back exit. Then her foot caught something and she tripped, falling forward and hitting the ground with a loud thump. Looking back, she saw that a wire was strung across at ankle height. Those three weren't alone.
"Shiva!" called out a raspy voice choked with tears and coughs from behind her.
A bloom of frost and biting cold encompassed Elena afterwards. Everything went white as her body felt rigid and trapped, warmth and strength being sucked out of her body with every passing second. Then came darkness as her consciousness faded.
…There was a blink when Elena felt a jolt of pain across her cheek. She shot awake, eyes opening to find that the traitor was in front of her. On reflex Elena lunged for her, only to be stopped by something pinning her into place and her wordless cry of surprise being muffled.
She looked to see that they had buckled her into what looked to be a plane, a gag of cloth over her mouth, and her wrists were bound behind her back by rope that gnawed into her skin. Though she had her legs free, she doubted she'd be able to get away without any of them noticing.
"Now that you're awake, I'm going to remove your gag so you can answer a few questions," the traitor said. "Don't do anything stupid. I've already gone through your clothes to find everything you had hidden and the others you used that tear gas on are just looking for a reason to end you."
Realization set in for Elena. She was going to be interrogated. Despite having seen the end results of what had been done to Hojo previously, Elena gathered her courage and stared defiantly at her capturer as the gag was removed. "I won't tell you anything, no matter how much you torture me!"
The former Turk ignored the words as she pulled out a sheet of paper with writing on it and held it up to Elena's face. "Heidegger has kidnapped Aerith's mother to get the Black Materia. I know Tseng better than you do, so while I can see him pulling a kidnapping off, there's no way he'd let Heidegger be the one to make the call to Aerith given how long he's known her. When I take into account this was after I checked your phone log, I can't help but think that you're working for him rather than Tseng."
The traitor of their group was daring to accuse her of treason. Elena bristled at the accusation and could barely keep her voice in check. "I'm not a traitor like you!"
Red hair shifted as the traitor tilted her head, eyes fixed impassively on her. "…I see. You really didn't know. That means either Heidegger has some way of monitoring the phone lines or has bugged Tseng's phone."
Elena's mouth snapped shut when she realized she'd given away something to her enemy. Her eyes went over to the bracer around the traitor's wrist and spotted the materia within it. Of course, that mastered Sense Materia Reno mentioned she prized so much.
Continuing on, the traitor removed the paper from Elena's view. "In that case, Rufus probably doesn't know either about that Deepground faction that took the Huge Materia. He really is moving on his own with no oversight. That's bad…"
She trailed off as the hatch of the plane opened. The grizzled pilot who was in Rocket Town climbed into it and gave Elena a spiteful look before taking his seat in the front to start checking over the instruments. Ignoring him, the traitor turned back to Elena and continued asking questions.
Elena didn't say anything else. She couldn't risk blundering again. Resolved to keep her mouth shut even if they tortured her, she remained silent until the pilot turned around in his seat towards them.
"We're good to go," he said. "You got the map?"
The traitor reached down for a moment before pulling out a map and handing it to him. "I'll go get the others. You start it up."
"…What are you going to do to me?" Elena asked hesitantly upon hearing that.
"For now, we'll be bringing you along until we have some use for you," said the traitor, pulling a bottle out of her pocket and pouring the contents on the cloth used on Elena as a gag. "I've already told Dio about you, so you don't have this cover to use again, and killing you here would cause more problems than anything else."
Elena leaned her head back as far as she could as the hand carrying the cloth neared. "Wh-what is that?"
"Tranquilizer." She forced the cloth between Elena's lips and tied it around her head. "It's a cheap workaround for a sleeping agent, but we're in a rush. Without a stimulant or adrenaline it'll keep you down long enough to avoid causing problems."
Though she valiantly resisted the effect of the drug, Elena felt panic setting in as her pulse and thoughts slowed from the liquid soaking the cloth leaking into her mouth. The world split into three and began to spin in a tight circle around her as she grew tired and numb. Darkness claimed her for a second time that night.
[-oOo-]
The call refusing to connect when Tseng tried to reach Elena's PHS was the first warning sign that something was wrong. She never turned off her PHS to avoid the risk of missing a call from him. Trying to activate the phone's GPS locator proved ineffective as well.
The second warning sign was when he tried to contact the extraction team to receive an update from them. There was no response, no matter how long he waited. That boded ill on numerous levels in the grand scheme of things.
It was possible that the extraction had been compromised by the group she was sent to spy on. But there was an unsettling feeling in his chest that something else was amiss. He needed answers, so he called Reno and Rude into his office.
"You wanted to see us, Boss?" Reno asked while Rude stood next to him like a silent sentinel.
"Agent Elena isn't responding to her PHS and I can't contact the extraction team," he said. "Rude, I want you to go the location of the extraction and search for any sign of what happened to them. Arm yourself well, I suspect foul play. Reno, I want you to remain here and look into any signs that may indicate we have another leak that could give away the departure of the extraction team. Report your findings to me. I'm going to look into Elena's disappearance myself and retrieve her if possible, if I do not report back immediately go see the President."
Their orders given and the two departing to their tasks, Tseng made his way to the armory with a traveling-bag and stopped at a wall with a panel to punch in a code. It caused the wall to rise and reveal a set of equipment exclusive to the current head of the Turks. Among them was a tracking device that he had privately commissioned.
Unbeknownst to the others, there was a sub-dermal implant placed into all of the Turks on Rufus' insistence, as a safety measure to ensure that no one else could flee and cause as many problems as former agent Cissnei had. There could be no more traitors in their rank. Since the standard method of using the PHS' GPS was no longer an option, either due to being deactivated or the phone being destroyed, he would rely on it instead.
The moment he powered it on, he caught her signal. It was on the move to the south, far from the location where she had last called. The implant also monitored her heart-rate and showed a slowed one, meaning she was alive but inactive. They hadn't killed her yet, which was something to be grateful for at least.
The location and information in the palm of his hand, he loaded up the traveling-bag with everything he could think of that would be required for Elena's retrieval and dealing with her assumed captors. Then he boarded an aircraft and set off after her as quickly as possible.
[-oOo-]
Surrounded and alone, two contradictory feelings, encompassed Aerith as she sat in an aircraft that flew through the veil of night towards the south. She was surrounded by armed men and women dressed in uniforms, with the only one that seemed to stand out among them being the one dressed in silver and an eye-patch next to the pilot. Their presence left her uneasy, more so knowing who they worked for.
Gazing out of the window, the dark seas below gave way to land as they neared the location of the Black Materia. She could feel them getting closer through the Keystone cradled in her hands, softly exuding gentle warmth that was pleasant to the touch. The artifact could tell that it was returning to where it belonged.
As the shore and grassland gave way to a lush jungle with a thick canopy, the aircraft seemed to grow unsteady. Aerith heard the pilot say that they couldn't get closer without the aircraft spinning out of control, which made their original plan to drop down using lines from the wings impossible. So they turned around and touched down outside of the jungle. They would have to walk the rest of the way.
The moment that Aerith set foot onto the ground, she felt a strong pulse of life flowing through the land. The Lifestream flowed through it at a healthy rate, similar to Wutai. No, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that it was stronger.
Her musings were cut-short as the calm yet authoritative voice of the woman with an eye-patch reached her ears. "How long until Rosso's unit arrives?"
"She's confirmed that her team has completed their objective and is en route," another one of the troops answered. "I have informed them of the strange disruptions hindering flight above the jungle."
"Then you and two others will remain here to await their arrival," she said. "The rest of us will proceed ahead and create a path towards the structure for the others to take. Remain in contact at all times and notify me of their arrival or any unexpected complications."
"Yes Ma'am!" Her orders given and being carried out, the woman rounded up the rest and Aerith. The last of the Cetra was placed in the center of the formation that they formed into as they cut their way towards the ziggurat that stood in the middle of the jungle. It left her unable to flee, not that there was anywhere to flee or any chance of her outrunning them.
However, the formation also served to keep her safe. That much was evident when an insectoid monster that was roughly her height broke through the canopy and lunged for her with an inhuman chittering. It was summarily cut down, as were the others that made a vain attempt at attacking them for trespassing through their territory and out of hunger.
The ziggurat grew increasing larger as the sun began to rise over the horizon, marking the passage of time as they walked through the woodlands. It was a towering monument that managed to weather the passing centuries, protected by the jungle itself that seemed to grow increasingly hostile as they neared. It was likely for that reason it remained undetected for so long in the first place.
"…May I ask you something?" Aerith asked the leader of the unit, breaking the stalwart silence of group as they pressed closer to the ancestral site like machines.
The woman turned her gaze towards the last of the Cetra. "If it's a break then you'll simply have to endure until we've arrived at a more secure location. Sparing one of the men to carry you would also jeopardize your safety."
"It's not that." Though she certainly could use a moment's rest, after spending what felt like hours walking briskly through the uneven terrain. Her feet were aching. "I wanted to ask why you're doing this."
"We're doing it because we were ordered to. It's as simple as that."
"But is that why you joined Shinra in the first place?" Aerith asked. "The SOLDIERs that I knew all joined to protect the people, but the Black Materia inside of the Temple is meant to cause nothing but pure destruction if it's used. It's something that can only hurt others, rather than protect them."
"…If you believe that then you are painfully naïve," the woman in silver said after a moment. "Then again, such a saccharine view befits someone who grows flowers quite well in the desolate land that composes Midgar."
Aerith frowned upon hearing that. "What do you mean?"
The woman's tone grew firm as she continued. "I'll say this only once so that you do not bring it up again, but such views are not shared by we of the Deepground. Unlike those who willingly join and are allowed the illusion of using their strength for helping people, we conscripts were never trained under the illusion that our strength existed for anything other than the will of Shinra. Anyone who thinks otherwise is quickly culled, either through being denied the mako needed for our bodies to continue to function or being executed by the Restrictors—unable to fight back due the chips implanted within us. "
So they only existed to act when the company told them to, restricted to an existence where they can only be used as living weapons. Their world was nothing but violence and blood. "That's a really sad way to live."
Her pity didn't go unnoticed by the others. And it no doubt bothered her escorts, given the way some of their grips on their weapons tightened.
"You are free to think that if you wish, but I would suggest that you come to terms with it quickly," the woman in silver warned. "Once we return with the Black Materia, you will never be allowed to leave. And there are no flowers in the Deepground for you to tend to."
The conversation died there as her fate had been made clear. Once this was over with, they would take her with them to wherever this Deepground was. There would be no chance for her to escape as she did before at the cost of her birthmother's life, and doing so now would endanger her adoptive mother's life.
Unable to change that at the moment, Aerith continued to walk towards the structure that grew ever closer until they reached a deep moat that had been carved around it and then reinforced by stone walls that formed a bulwark around it. The only way to cross the gap was a rope bridge that was suspended above the gap.
No sooner than she set foot on the bridge did a myriad of whispers reach Aerith's ears. The knowledge of the Ancients permeated the air around it, similar to the lingering souls of the Gi Tribe but different at the same time. They resisted returning to the Planet by sheer force of will and dedication, for the sake of those who would come after them and the Planet itself.
Rather than existing as individuals, they melded together to form a single sentience composed of the countless ancestors that anchored themselves to the temple. The temple itself was alive and conscious in that aspect, aware of the passage of time as it awaited the arrival of Aerith. And, now that she was here, it welcomed her.
It was too… abstract for her to completely understand. Like she was listening underwater or too many voices speaking at once. At the very least she could pick up that it was uneasy, but happy that she had arrived all the same.
That feeling of misplaced joy from the lingering thoughts of those that came before and dedicated themselves to this place only served to worsen the immense guilt Aerith felt. This was not how she wished to visit a sacred locale of her people. Instead of her companions, with whom she who shared many trials with for the sake of the same goal, she instead brought soldiers seeking to plunder that which they dedicated their afterlife towards protecting, denying themselves their right to join the Lifestream to ensure it.
Of course, that took a backseat once she saw a cloaked figure near the entrance of the Temple, at the top of the ziggurat. The familiar make of the cloak and shambling sent a chill down her spine as she realized why the temple itself felt uneasy now. Jenova's presence here, one of the people under its thrall, meant Sephiroth was likely on his way there too.
He had found the ultimate destructive magic and was coming to claim it.