Final Fantasy Impact
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- Xanien
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Chapter 24: The Misconceptions of Man – Part Two
Cloud, look how you have fallen. You’ve been reduced to being a puppet once more.
‘Huh? Who is that?’ Cloud wondered as he followed an advisor down the steps of the tower. Behind him was another priest that was also supposed to be an advisor, and behind him walked two more priests.
Don’t you even know yourself? It’s me. I’m the part of you that wants to break free.
‘Break free?’
Yes you idiot, but I’m going to need your help to do it . . . when those priests reduced their control of you, you began to fight it subconsciously. I have surfaced because of that. Ha, what fools they are.
‘You can’t be me. I know everything is still fuzzy from the last couple of days, but I don’t talk or act like you,’ Cloud told himself.
Just because you choose only to show your depressed, worrying self all the time, doesn’t mean another part of your personality doesn’t exist, or can’t. You still have lots to learn about yourself.
‘But-‘
Quiet, you’re here.
During the time that Cloud had argued with himself, his body had somehow managed to blindly put one foot in front of the other and walked for him. Coming to his senses, Cloud found himself roughly two stories off the ground, looking into a sea of white robes worn by the highly skilled army of The Cult of Kefka. One of the priests that had followed him pushed him down the next flight of stairs, laughing as he tripped up and stumbled onto the balcony overlooking the fanatical mob.
Although they had been powerful mages in the past, after magic vanished from the world the priests and worshippers became defenseless. Confronted with the possibility of invasion at anytime, they had to defend their land by other means. Over the last few years they had trained heavily with many types of weapons, martial arts, and guerilla tactics. This army numbered slightly over 1000 and was small when compared to the organized nations of the Empire and the Returners, but their proficiency with multiple weapons and ferocity when fighting more than leveled the playing field. A balanced attack was more deadly than hordes of barbarians and monsters, and their limited size made them efficient in flexible, especially in close quarters combat in the forests and rocky cliffs around the Tower. It has also been said that the Fanatics have strategists that rival even the Empire’s. Couple that with their bloodthirsty nature and fight to the death mentality, the fanatics were a pesky foe for both the military minds in Neo Vector, and the freedom fighters of the Returners. They were a thorn in the side of both, who were better left alone than messed with.
"What is he doing up there?" a priest shouted from within the crowd, pointing his spear at the confused warrior standing before them, "and what the heck is he doing wearing our clothes?" Similar cries came from the crowd and soon the entire army was in an uproar.
"Quiet!" one of the advisors screamed, shutting everybody up without a second warning. He wore a maroon robe, unlike the white of the higher ranking priests that Cloud had seen and the gray that the worshippers wore, "Gabe would not have you bickering over such trivial things. He would have your head for saying such a thing about your newest brother! You must have all seen this man’s strength and conviction yesterday in vanquishing our most hated intruder, the King of Figaro, yet you still doubt where his allegiance lies? Gabe hand picked him to be a new general in our army, so trust our great leader’s judgment!"
"Where is he now, High Priest Dlorn?" somebody new asked from the crowd. There was still an uneasiness about allowing this mass murderer to lead them, but rumor had been spreading that in reality it had all been a horrible accident. This worked well in Cloud’s favor.
"He left during the night with twenty other of our brethren for Zozo," Dlorn explained, " He is going to rally support for us there and bring them here to help us come tomorrow." A collective ‘ohh’ spread over the army as many of the followers clasped their hands in prayer, praising their brave leader’s action, "My fellow priests, loyal Kefka followers," Dlorn continued, "Once this battle is over, it will be remembered as our finest hour. Historians in the future will talk about how a small force of TRUE believers turned back the tides of pagans and war mongerers, these men with no god. They will talk about our glorious stand and valiant battle . . . there is no way that we can fail in this, our prophesized time! We will . . . . . . ."
Cloud felt himself drifting away from the moment again, and the words coming out of the priest’s mouth made no sense as he slipped out of this world. He began to hear himself think again, and wondered just how crazy he had become as of late.
[/i]Hey, did you notice that nobody is left in that tower?[/i]
‘No,’ Cloud replied to himself.
Useless. You really are you know that? Well, I noticed. There aren’t many kids either. Some young adults, but no little ones. Something doesn’t feel right with this place, and it gives me the creeps. I wonder what they are doing now . . .
Turning his attention back to the high priest, Cloud saw some of the lower white robed priests and priestesses being presented different colored sashes. Perhaps an induction ceremony of sorts? Or promotions?
Maybe we shouldn’t be missing this.
" . . . you will have control of the artillery force," the crimson robed patriarch said as he placed the last sash on one of the priests that had joined him on the first floor, "Serve Kefka well and you shall be rewarded by him in the afterlife!" As the small ceremony ended, the audience in front of the tower erupted into joyous cheers, laying heaps of praise on their faithful brethren who had been rewarded. Cloud had definitely missed something. He waited for some sort of recap but none came, "Kefka has smiled upon us," Dlorn preached, " And by his graces we will not fail. But before we move out I think it’s only befitting that our new general say something to send you all off. Cloud?"
And just like that, more than a thousand eyes focused intently on a former mercenary who had somehow become their hero (through coercion, deceit, and prayer) overnight. As Cloud thought of something to say, two priests presented him a beautiful navy cloth cape that matched his outfit. They wrapped it around his neck then attached the end to his shoulder guard (which was now covered by it). He was starting to look like one of their own . . .
You’re on your own for this one.
Cloud blinked, still stunned by the intentness of the crowd, "Victory,"
Botched it.
"At ANY cost."
Good save. In reality, Cloud could have said anything and he would have received an explosive response, but as soon as he finished his sentence, everybody, including High Priest Dlorn, screamed and howled like monsters in celebration. Their general had finally crossed that line that had separated them . . . his comment, although short, acted as a catalyst and empowered the Fanatics. Not too long ago, he was struggling to fit in, but now he was a trusted leader whom which these unbridled maniacs would kill thousands of people for.
Neo Vector – A few hours later
There was no welcome committee and no parade for Gabe when he returned back home for the first time in 2 years. Was this what he truly wanted? Was this actually his real life? Sneaking around, being forgotten by the world that he thought he was sworn to protect. Was everything he had lived for, and people he had loved nothing more than a complex lie? Acclimating himself day in and day out to The cult of Kefka had changed him. Gabe began questioning himself over and over. He questioned his betrayal of everything those people believed in, the laws of his father he wished to uphold, he questioned the intentions of his own people in Neo Vector, and above all he questioned his love for Cirra.
‘Cirra . . . why did you have to leave me? Why did you choose to depart from this world rather than stay with me? I need your guidance . . . more now than ever. Did you know the truth about me, but keep it a secret? Was my betrayal of your trust too much to bear? God I’m so sorry Cirra!’ The skin under Gabe’s eyes began to puff up, and the whites of his eyes started to redden. He could feel something very powerful inside him building. But why now?
For as far back as Gabe could remember, he had never cried. Even as a child, he wasn’t able to shed a tear. His dad was a strict military man that built his career around strength, and to see his son cry would be inexcusable. It was a sign of weakness. In his early years, his father would punish him severely for anything, and crying was forbidden. When his mom died during his final trials at basic training, a twelve-year old Gabe sucked up whatever emotions he had for her and locked them away. He didn’t even bother to mourn her death. Hiss military career was too important to his father. If he had let his feelings get the better of him and quit to come home, his dad would look down on him in disgrace for the rest of his life. So his mother was forgotten, just like that. All because of both his father’s (and his own) obsession in pursuing the highest possible position in Vector’s grand military. To them it became only a stepping-stone in life. It was as if she had never existed . . . would the same thing happen to the memories of Cirra as time went on?
"Feeling alright general?" one of Gabe’s colonels asked as he threw his white cloak onto the ground.
"Of course. Don’t let it distract you," Gabe answered abruptly.
"Yes sir!" the officer replied, "I’ll get right back to my duty!"
" We are almost home anyway," Gabe said. For the last hour, home was the only thing they could see. Neo Vector’s towering walls stretched almost as long as the horizon itself. As they approached the city even closer, Gabe’s unit could see activity all around the megalopolis. Security had been intensified over the last few days and the military looked over checkpoints that had been set up to check people entering and leaving the outskirts of the city. Farther out from the city walls, the mechanical terrors (as the M-tek armors had come to be called by the public) stomped around in patrols in more force than usual. What had happened? And why hadn’t he been informed of it?
"Company . . . HALT!" Gabe commanded as a squad of five soldiers cut him off before they reached the first checkpoint.
"Your father has been waiting for you," the squad leader mentioned to him, "come with us. He doesn’t want your appearance to be known just yet. Everything is ready for tomorrow as well. You’ll be given your own battalion of men and two battle groups of Magitek armors."
"And my men?" Gabe asked.
"You’ll have to talk to the Emperor about that," the squad leader replied, "I was only given a small amount of information to tell you."
"Fine," Gabe said, slightly angered at the man’s evasive response. The Major and his squad led Gabe and his men to one of the eight ‘back doors’ secretly located in the blind spots of Neo Vector’s defenses. There was nothing terribly special about each passageway. The corridors were straightforward, plain, and lined with pipes that carried steam to the power turbines on each side. The heat was a nuisance, and the smell was moldy with a bit of iron, but it was a small price to pay for stealth.
After a half-hour of walking, the passageway merged with the seven others into an open ceiling with a wide shaft in the middle. The glaring light from above bounced off the dirty steel walls and illuminated the small room in a dusty brownish glow. It was there that they found the elevator. The elevator itself was sturdy looking, but small. Only six adults could ride it safely at one time. Otherwise the motor powering it would stall and send its inhabitants falling to their deaths in the basement. This was necessary to stem an invasion of intruders if the secret passages ever became compromised. Gabe decided on going up with three of the officer’s men and his own colonel for now. He told the rest to follow and wait in the Grand Hall until he retrieved them. When they were ready to ascend, the soldier nearest to the front pressed a worn quartz button marked "up". The metal cabin shook with uncertainty as the cable jerked above them and pulled them skywards. Thankfully, the next 300 feet up were a bit smoother. Once at the top, a small ding from a bell noted their arrival and then the doors opened.
"Right this way," the man who had brought Gabe all of the way said as he held the lift door open for him.
"I can do it on my own now," Gabe said as he shoved him to the side, "Bring my men up to the hall," the sergeant nodded slightly as everybody filed out and sent the lift back down. The Great Hall was a perfect copy of the one from the original palace except for the large windows added into the walls. Forty-foot tall red and yellow stain glass windows with the Empire’s insignia filtered the waning light into the main hall from all sides. The resulting orange haze covered the tiled floor surrounding him and the great doors leading to the throne room. To a visitor seeing this for the first time, it might have created a rusted, industrial look, even though the building had only been finished in the last few months, "You’d better wait here," Gabe informed his commander, whom then graciously bowed out and went back to the lift to round up their men. The general continued on towards the giant double doors and came to a stop as he waited for the guards to open them. The guards twisted valve handles on each side to open the pathway. With a bellowing moan, the gateway swung backwards and Gabe peered though the widening crack towards an occupied throne that seemed to lay miles away. With his head raised and back straightened, Gabe entered the room.
"I take it everything went well?" Emperor Shan asked with a stern look on his face.
"Yes. The Fanatics have been tricked into fighting the Returners," Gabe announced, "I made sure that they were convinced that a war was necessary in order to destroy their enemy. You should also be glad to know that Edgar Roni Figaro is dead as well."
Shan chuckled to himself, "Dead? You didn’t have to do THAT much. But oh well, this works out great for us. Their chain of command will be in total disarray," he got up from his throne and walked down the few steps to the rug that led up to his seat. Placing both hands behind his back, he walked off to look through the windows in his room, " Anything else to report?"
" . . . . ." Gabe looked away from Shan. Should he tell him? Of course he knew how he’d react.
"If not, prepare to board the SNX for some-"
"Cirra’s dead father," Gabe interrupted his father. There was a sudden, almost unnoticeable skip in his step as he heard the news. His son anxiously awaited to see what Shan had to say.
Maybe he had changed.
"That’s sad to hear," he replied, "Well, that’s one less fanatic to worry about."
Gabe snapped and slammed his fists into the metal floor, creating a dull clang that echoed for a few moments in the mausoleum like atmosphere.
"How dare you!" Gabe screamed in outrage. He broke out of his rigid stance and sprinted to his father, slamming his massive forearm into the emperor’s chest and pushing him backwards. Shan tripped on the stairs leading to his throne and fell onto his backside.
"You insolent little shit," Shan said, gritting his teeth in anger, "you’re lucky you’re my son or you’d be DEAD right now."
When he tried to get back up, Gabe pushed him back down, "She was my wife god damn it . . . and I loved her!" Gabe’s entire body was tensed up as he clutched the neck of this father’s royal uniform, holding him awkwardly in the air above the steps.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Shan retaliated as he moved his son’s hand away from his rumpled outfit, "You would have never met her if I hadn’t sent you there as a boy anyways. You don’t realize how close you were to never meeting her," he continued to sneer as he placed a guilt trip on Gabe, "I pulled many strings and used a lot of favors just for you to even be considered in that operation. You were fresh out of the academy and thought you had something to prove. There were lots of other great candidates, even BETTER qualified than you fresh out of boot camp, ready to go that could have got your assignment. If I hadn’t been the military man I was back then-"
"Military has always come first with you. Even before mom," Gabe shot back at his father, turning his back to him as he started to walk towards the door.
Shan went up behind Gabe and jerked him back so they stared each other down, "No. She understood what my job was and was almost as passionate as I was about it. I had a family to raise, and only I worked in the family. I had to support us. She knew only too well."
"Why do I feel as if you are lying?" Gabe asked, noticing that his father’s hair seemed to turn whiter the more he challenged him, egging him on with these painful accusations. For the next few minutes they both remained perfectly silent, staring each other down with rage filled eyes. Gabe had overstayed his welcome . . . "My report is done. I’m going to retire for the night. I’ll report at 0600 hours tomorrow morning for orders, SIR," Gabe bowed as military protocol had taught him to do when in the presence of royalty and was halfway to the door before his dad spoke up.
"Don’t ostracize me," Shan said as his son kept on walking, "We aren’t done yet. We’ll continue this conversation at another time!"
Gabe pulled on the huge iron doors and inched them apart with his great strength. He went through the crack as soon as he could fit through and left, unheeding his father’s final words. As he went towards the Grand Hall, he was glad to see that his men were all waiting at the entrance. Their leader was about to send them off to get some sleep for tomorrow but before he could get their attention, two soldiers with the rank of private ran towards him from the throne room.
"Sir!" they hastily saluted as he turned to meet them.
"Private Jensen? Private Nex? What are you to doing here? You’re supposed to be following Phoebe."
"Sir!" Private Jensen began, "We lost track of her a couple days ago and haven’t been able to locate her since!"
The news came as quite a blow to the already emotionally drained General, "I give you all one simple assignment, and you can’t even follow a single order?" Gabe had begun to get very angry with the private, clenching his fist and mentally aiming at the middle of the unknowing subordinate’s face, even though it wasn’t entirely his fault.
"She went into the wastelands near the southern tip of the continent," Private Nex reported. "We held position near the border and after our long trek the commander decided to ask for more men and supplies in order to move on. The monsters are very nasty in that part of the continent, and we lost three men on the way down there. The land becomes even more treacherous the deeper you venture into it SIR!"
For all Gabe knew, Phoebe was now lost to him. But it wasn’t due to an accident, it was due to incompetence, "This," he said as he formed a fist out of their sight, "Is unacceptable!" Lunging forward, Gabe blasted Private Nex in his face. He fell onto his back, dazed as torrents of blood poured out of his nose and mouth, "I won’t tolerate failure! You will be stripped of your rank!"
Nex was barely conscious after the punch, "IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
"YES SIR!" the audience of his own men replied in unison after watching what happened to those that didn’t follow orders.
Having his men’s complete attention, Gabe barked out orders, "All of you will leave immediately and search the entire area between the Tower’s Ruins and the coast. DO NOT come back without my daughter! DISMISSED!" With one last salute to their commanding officer, Gabe’s battle group left to search for Phoebe. Not knowing what is waiting for them out there could kill them, but disobeying the general would be suicide.
------------------
Holy shit. TWO MORE chapters before Book II is finished. The next one is a freaking monster though (almost 10,000 words I think. I need to cut A LOT of it to make the pacing better). Sorry for the wait. Wouldn't it be nice to get to see some new chapters before the end of the summer?![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile_dark.gif)
Cloud, look how you have fallen. You’ve been reduced to being a puppet once more.
‘Huh? Who is that?’ Cloud wondered as he followed an advisor down the steps of the tower. Behind him was another priest that was also supposed to be an advisor, and behind him walked two more priests.
Don’t you even know yourself? It’s me. I’m the part of you that wants to break free.
‘Break free?’
Yes you idiot, but I’m going to need your help to do it . . . when those priests reduced their control of you, you began to fight it subconsciously. I have surfaced because of that. Ha, what fools they are.
‘You can’t be me. I know everything is still fuzzy from the last couple of days, but I don’t talk or act like you,’ Cloud told himself.
Just because you choose only to show your depressed, worrying self all the time, doesn’t mean another part of your personality doesn’t exist, or can’t. You still have lots to learn about yourself.
‘But-‘
Quiet, you’re here.
During the time that Cloud had argued with himself, his body had somehow managed to blindly put one foot in front of the other and walked for him. Coming to his senses, Cloud found himself roughly two stories off the ground, looking into a sea of white robes worn by the highly skilled army of The Cult of Kefka. One of the priests that had followed him pushed him down the next flight of stairs, laughing as he tripped up and stumbled onto the balcony overlooking the fanatical mob.
Although they had been powerful mages in the past, after magic vanished from the world the priests and worshippers became defenseless. Confronted with the possibility of invasion at anytime, they had to defend their land by other means. Over the last few years they had trained heavily with many types of weapons, martial arts, and guerilla tactics. This army numbered slightly over 1000 and was small when compared to the organized nations of the Empire and the Returners, but their proficiency with multiple weapons and ferocity when fighting more than leveled the playing field. A balanced attack was more deadly than hordes of barbarians and monsters, and their limited size made them efficient in flexible, especially in close quarters combat in the forests and rocky cliffs around the Tower. It has also been said that the Fanatics have strategists that rival even the Empire’s. Couple that with their bloodthirsty nature and fight to the death mentality, the fanatics were a pesky foe for both the military minds in Neo Vector, and the freedom fighters of the Returners. They were a thorn in the side of both, who were better left alone than messed with.
"What is he doing up there?" a priest shouted from within the crowd, pointing his spear at the confused warrior standing before them, "and what the heck is he doing wearing our clothes?" Similar cries came from the crowd and soon the entire army was in an uproar.
"Quiet!" one of the advisors screamed, shutting everybody up without a second warning. He wore a maroon robe, unlike the white of the higher ranking priests that Cloud had seen and the gray that the worshippers wore, "Gabe would not have you bickering over such trivial things. He would have your head for saying such a thing about your newest brother! You must have all seen this man’s strength and conviction yesterday in vanquishing our most hated intruder, the King of Figaro, yet you still doubt where his allegiance lies? Gabe hand picked him to be a new general in our army, so trust our great leader’s judgment!"
"Where is he now, High Priest Dlorn?" somebody new asked from the crowd. There was still an uneasiness about allowing this mass murderer to lead them, but rumor had been spreading that in reality it had all been a horrible accident. This worked well in Cloud’s favor.
"He left during the night with twenty other of our brethren for Zozo," Dlorn explained, " He is going to rally support for us there and bring them here to help us come tomorrow." A collective ‘ohh’ spread over the army as many of the followers clasped their hands in prayer, praising their brave leader’s action, "My fellow priests, loyal Kefka followers," Dlorn continued, "Once this battle is over, it will be remembered as our finest hour. Historians in the future will talk about how a small force of TRUE believers turned back the tides of pagans and war mongerers, these men with no god. They will talk about our glorious stand and valiant battle . . . there is no way that we can fail in this, our prophesized time! We will . . . . . . ."
Cloud felt himself drifting away from the moment again, and the words coming out of the priest’s mouth made no sense as he slipped out of this world. He began to hear himself think again, and wondered just how crazy he had become as of late.
[/i]Hey, did you notice that nobody is left in that tower?[/i]
‘No,’ Cloud replied to himself.
Useless. You really are you know that? Well, I noticed. There aren’t many kids either. Some young adults, but no little ones. Something doesn’t feel right with this place, and it gives me the creeps. I wonder what they are doing now . . .
Turning his attention back to the high priest, Cloud saw some of the lower white robed priests and priestesses being presented different colored sashes. Perhaps an induction ceremony of sorts? Or promotions?
Maybe we shouldn’t be missing this.
" . . . you will have control of the artillery force," the crimson robed patriarch said as he placed the last sash on one of the priests that had joined him on the first floor, "Serve Kefka well and you shall be rewarded by him in the afterlife!" As the small ceremony ended, the audience in front of the tower erupted into joyous cheers, laying heaps of praise on their faithful brethren who had been rewarded. Cloud had definitely missed something. He waited for some sort of recap but none came, "Kefka has smiled upon us," Dlorn preached, " And by his graces we will not fail. But before we move out I think it’s only befitting that our new general say something to send you all off. Cloud?"
And just like that, more than a thousand eyes focused intently on a former mercenary who had somehow become their hero (through coercion, deceit, and prayer) overnight. As Cloud thought of something to say, two priests presented him a beautiful navy cloth cape that matched his outfit. They wrapped it around his neck then attached the end to his shoulder guard (which was now covered by it). He was starting to look like one of their own . . .
You’re on your own for this one.
Cloud blinked, still stunned by the intentness of the crowd, "Victory,"
Botched it.
"At ANY cost."
Good save. In reality, Cloud could have said anything and he would have received an explosive response, but as soon as he finished his sentence, everybody, including High Priest Dlorn, screamed and howled like monsters in celebration. Their general had finally crossed that line that had separated them . . . his comment, although short, acted as a catalyst and empowered the Fanatics. Not too long ago, he was struggling to fit in, but now he was a trusted leader whom which these unbridled maniacs would kill thousands of people for.
Neo Vector – A few hours later
There was no welcome committee and no parade for Gabe when he returned back home for the first time in 2 years. Was this what he truly wanted? Was this actually his real life? Sneaking around, being forgotten by the world that he thought he was sworn to protect. Was everything he had lived for, and people he had loved nothing more than a complex lie? Acclimating himself day in and day out to The cult of Kefka had changed him. Gabe began questioning himself over and over. He questioned his betrayal of everything those people believed in, the laws of his father he wished to uphold, he questioned the intentions of his own people in Neo Vector, and above all he questioned his love for Cirra.
‘Cirra . . . why did you have to leave me? Why did you choose to depart from this world rather than stay with me? I need your guidance . . . more now than ever. Did you know the truth about me, but keep it a secret? Was my betrayal of your trust too much to bear? God I’m so sorry Cirra!’ The skin under Gabe’s eyes began to puff up, and the whites of his eyes started to redden. He could feel something very powerful inside him building. But why now?
For as far back as Gabe could remember, he had never cried. Even as a child, he wasn’t able to shed a tear. His dad was a strict military man that built his career around strength, and to see his son cry would be inexcusable. It was a sign of weakness. In his early years, his father would punish him severely for anything, and crying was forbidden. When his mom died during his final trials at basic training, a twelve-year old Gabe sucked up whatever emotions he had for her and locked them away. He didn’t even bother to mourn her death. Hiss military career was too important to his father. If he had let his feelings get the better of him and quit to come home, his dad would look down on him in disgrace for the rest of his life. So his mother was forgotten, just like that. All because of both his father’s (and his own) obsession in pursuing the highest possible position in Vector’s grand military. To them it became only a stepping-stone in life. It was as if she had never existed . . . would the same thing happen to the memories of Cirra as time went on?
"Feeling alright general?" one of Gabe’s colonels asked as he threw his white cloak onto the ground.
"Of course. Don’t let it distract you," Gabe answered abruptly.
"Yes sir!" the officer replied, "I’ll get right back to my duty!"
" We are almost home anyway," Gabe said. For the last hour, home was the only thing they could see. Neo Vector’s towering walls stretched almost as long as the horizon itself. As they approached the city even closer, Gabe’s unit could see activity all around the megalopolis. Security had been intensified over the last few days and the military looked over checkpoints that had been set up to check people entering and leaving the outskirts of the city. Farther out from the city walls, the mechanical terrors (as the M-tek armors had come to be called by the public) stomped around in patrols in more force than usual. What had happened? And why hadn’t he been informed of it?
"Company . . . HALT!" Gabe commanded as a squad of five soldiers cut him off before they reached the first checkpoint.
"Your father has been waiting for you," the squad leader mentioned to him, "come with us. He doesn’t want your appearance to be known just yet. Everything is ready for tomorrow as well. You’ll be given your own battalion of men and two battle groups of Magitek armors."
"And my men?" Gabe asked.
"You’ll have to talk to the Emperor about that," the squad leader replied, "I was only given a small amount of information to tell you."
"Fine," Gabe said, slightly angered at the man’s evasive response. The Major and his squad led Gabe and his men to one of the eight ‘back doors’ secretly located in the blind spots of Neo Vector’s defenses. There was nothing terribly special about each passageway. The corridors were straightforward, plain, and lined with pipes that carried steam to the power turbines on each side. The heat was a nuisance, and the smell was moldy with a bit of iron, but it was a small price to pay for stealth.
After a half-hour of walking, the passageway merged with the seven others into an open ceiling with a wide shaft in the middle. The glaring light from above bounced off the dirty steel walls and illuminated the small room in a dusty brownish glow. It was there that they found the elevator. The elevator itself was sturdy looking, but small. Only six adults could ride it safely at one time. Otherwise the motor powering it would stall and send its inhabitants falling to their deaths in the basement. This was necessary to stem an invasion of intruders if the secret passages ever became compromised. Gabe decided on going up with three of the officer’s men and his own colonel for now. He told the rest to follow and wait in the Grand Hall until he retrieved them. When they were ready to ascend, the soldier nearest to the front pressed a worn quartz button marked "up". The metal cabin shook with uncertainty as the cable jerked above them and pulled them skywards. Thankfully, the next 300 feet up were a bit smoother. Once at the top, a small ding from a bell noted their arrival and then the doors opened.
"Right this way," the man who had brought Gabe all of the way said as he held the lift door open for him.
"I can do it on my own now," Gabe said as he shoved him to the side, "Bring my men up to the hall," the sergeant nodded slightly as everybody filed out and sent the lift back down. The Great Hall was a perfect copy of the one from the original palace except for the large windows added into the walls. Forty-foot tall red and yellow stain glass windows with the Empire’s insignia filtered the waning light into the main hall from all sides. The resulting orange haze covered the tiled floor surrounding him and the great doors leading to the throne room. To a visitor seeing this for the first time, it might have created a rusted, industrial look, even though the building had only been finished in the last few months, "You’d better wait here," Gabe informed his commander, whom then graciously bowed out and went back to the lift to round up their men. The general continued on towards the giant double doors and came to a stop as he waited for the guards to open them. The guards twisted valve handles on each side to open the pathway. With a bellowing moan, the gateway swung backwards and Gabe peered though the widening crack towards an occupied throne that seemed to lay miles away. With his head raised and back straightened, Gabe entered the room.
"I take it everything went well?" Emperor Shan asked with a stern look on his face.
"Yes. The Fanatics have been tricked into fighting the Returners," Gabe announced, "I made sure that they were convinced that a war was necessary in order to destroy their enemy. You should also be glad to know that Edgar Roni Figaro is dead as well."
Shan chuckled to himself, "Dead? You didn’t have to do THAT much. But oh well, this works out great for us. Their chain of command will be in total disarray," he got up from his throne and walked down the few steps to the rug that led up to his seat. Placing both hands behind his back, he walked off to look through the windows in his room, " Anything else to report?"
" . . . . ." Gabe looked away from Shan. Should he tell him? Of course he knew how he’d react.
"If not, prepare to board the SNX for some-"
"Cirra’s dead father," Gabe interrupted his father. There was a sudden, almost unnoticeable skip in his step as he heard the news. His son anxiously awaited to see what Shan had to say.
Maybe he had changed.
"That’s sad to hear," he replied, "Well, that’s one less fanatic to worry about."
Gabe snapped and slammed his fists into the metal floor, creating a dull clang that echoed for a few moments in the mausoleum like atmosphere.
"How dare you!" Gabe screamed in outrage. He broke out of his rigid stance and sprinted to his father, slamming his massive forearm into the emperor’s chest and pushing him backwards. Shan tripped on the stairs leading to his throne and fell onto his backside.
"You insolent little shit," Shan said, gritting his teeth in anger, "you’re lucky you’re my son or you’d be DEAD right now."
When he tried to get back up, Gabe pushed him back down, "She was my wife god damn it . . . and I loved her!" Gabe’s entire body was tensed up as he clutched the neck of this father’s royal uniform, holding him awkwardly in the air above the steps.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Shan retaliated as he moved his son’s hand away from his rumpled outfit, "You would have never met her if I hadn’t sent you there as a boy anyways. You don’t realize how close you were to never meeting her," he continued to sneer as he placed a guilt trip on Gabe, "I pulled many strings and used a lot of favors just for you to even be considered in that operation. You were fresh out of the academy and thought you had something to prove. There were lots of other great candidates, even BETTER qualified than you fresh out of boot camp, ready to go that could have got your assignment. If I hadn’t been the military man I was back then-"
"Military has always come first with you. Even before mom," Gabe shot back at his father, turning his back to him as he started to walk towards the door.
Shan went up behind Gabe and jerked him back so they stared each other down, "No. She understood what my job was and was almost as passionate as I was about it. I had a family to raise, and only I worked in the family. I had to support us. She knew only too well."
"Why do I feel as if you are lying?" Gabe asked, noticing that his father’s hair seemed to turn whiter the more he challenged him, egging him on with these painful accusations. For the next few minutes they both remained perfectly silent, staring each other down with rage filled eyes. Gabe had overstayed his welcome . . . "My report is done. I’m going to retire for the night. I’ll report at 0600 hours tomorrow morning for orders, SIR," Gabe bowed as military protocol had taught him to do when in the presence of royalty and was halfway to the door before his dad spoke up.
"Don’t ostracize me," Shan said as his son kept on walking, "We aren’t done yet. We’ll continue this conversation at another time!"
Gabe pulled on the huge iron doors and inched them apart with his great strength. He went through the crack as soon as he could fit through and left, unheeding his father’s final words. As he went towards the Grand Hall, he was glad to see that his men were all waiting at the entrance. Their leader was about to send them off to get some sleep for tomorrow but before he could get their attention, two soldiers with the rank of private ran towards him from the throne room.
"Sir!" they hastily saluted as he turned to meet them.
"Private Jensen? Private Nex? What are you to doing here? You’re supposed to be following Phoebe."
"Sir!" Private Jensen began, "We lost track of her a couple days ago and haven’t been able to locate her since!"
The news came as quite a blow to the already emotionally drained General, "I give you all one simple assignment, and you can’t even follow a single order?" Gabe had begun to get very angry with the private, clenching his fist and mentally aiming at the middle of the unknowing subordinate’s face, even though it wasn’t entirely his fault.
"She went into the wastelands near the southern tip of the continent," Private Nex reported. "We held position near the border and after our long trek the commander decided to ask for more men and supplies in order to move on. The monsters are very nasty in that part of the continent, and we lost three men on the way down there. The land becomes even more treacherous the deeper you venture into it SIR!"
For all Gabe knew, Phoebe was now lost to him. But it wasn’t due to an accident, it was due to incompetence, "This," he said as he formed a fist out of their sight, "Is unacceptable!" Lunging forward, Gabe blasted Private Nex in his face. He fell onto his back, dazed as torrents of blood poured out of his nose and mouth, "I won’t tolerate failure! You will be stripped of your rank!"
Nex was barely conscious after the punch, "IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
"YES SIR!" the audience of his own men replied in unison after watching what happened to those that didn’t follow orders.
Having his men’s complete attention, Gabe barked out orders, "All of you will leave immediately and search the entire area between the Tower’s Ruins and the coast. DO NOT come back without my daughter! DISMISSED!" With one last salute to their commanding officer, Gabe’s battle group left to search for Phoebe. Not knowing what is waiting for them out there could kill them, but disobeying the general would be suicide.
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Holy shit. TWO MORE chapters before Book II is finished. The next one is a freaking monster though (almost 10,000 words I think. I need to cut A LOT of it to make the pacing better). Sorry for the wait. Wouldn't it be nice to get to see some new chapters before the end of the summer?
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile_dark.gif)
- Xanien
- Not-A-Deserter
- Posts: 932
- Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2004 4:28 am
- Location: Working part time in Japan
Japan has been sucking the motivation/inspiration out of me, but as I get closer to going home in August, and also after I return, you can bet I'll have more chapters coming. I worked on the latest chapter last week, but only got through revising about 2000 words or so. It was a massive 10,000 word chapter, and I know it wasn't perfect, so there's a lot I'm going to chuck out the window for the sake of pacing and story. Hopefully I'll get it down to 6000 or so before I post it. I'm shooting for a August release!