Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy Seven: Shadows of the Light ❯ Arc One: Rebirth of ShinRa ( Chapter 12 )

Arc I: Rebirth of ShinRa

Part XII:

Rufus waited with Tseng and Rude at the beginning of the tunnel. He turned to face the others. "From this tunnel there is another that connects to it about halfway through. We go through that one and we will come up beside the one of the bottom floors of the building. From there Silvara and Tseng will work to get us through the doors without setting off the alarms.

If all goes well Sierra shouldn't know we're here until we take the broadcasting area and start our true goal in the building. If it doesn't go well--expect to fight our way to the broadcasting rooms and take them by force--once I get on the air he's lost this city. I still should have people here loyal to me, as a certain saying goes most people would rather have the devil they know..." he shook his head silently "...never mind."

He turned back to the tunnel. "Enough talking...Let's go." Tseng and Rude started into the tunnel, Rufus looked toward the mansion once to see a man running towards them. Reno caught up to them and smiled slightly as he took out his Nightstick and started into the tunnel after Tseng and Rude with Rufus following them.

Silvara listened to Rufus intently, before flashing a sunny smile at Tseng. "No problem." She caught Raven's arm and drew her aside for a moment, she'd been waiting for a chance to speak with her, and now was as good a time as any. "Raven, I...it was my fault you were captured, hell, it was my arrow that trapped you." She paused for a moment, "and then I left you there." Her voice was full of disgust at her own actions, "I couldn't even rescue you, if it hadn't been for Rufus, you could have been killed and it would have been my fault. There's nothing I can say, to tell you how sorry I am."

Avoiding Raven's eyes, Silvara lifted her trembling hand to her throat, retrieving the little amulet from its hiding place under her choker. It was a small faceted jewel, black as the night around them, surrounded by an intricate filigree of tiny dragons whose claws and flaring wings formed the stone's setting. In Silvara's hand, the gem came to life, the black depths yielding unnaturally bright flashes of crimson even though there was no light falling on it.

"This stone is a black flame, some people call it a blood diamond, supposedly they react to magic and will flash brightly to warn their wearer against hidden threats. I don't know if it's true or not, I've always worn it hidden under my choker. I don't know where it came from , my mother said it was around my neck when some of the villagers found me as a baby. It's my good luck charm." She unwound the delicate gold chain before she pressed it into Raven's hand, "I want you to have it. Please...if you won't keep it, then at least wear it until we defeat Sierra. It might bring you some luck.."

She realized she was making an idiot of herself and flashed an embarrassed grin at her leader. "Of course, I'm temporarily working with the psycho and pretty boy over there.," she said with a flippant, but friendly, tone as she made an airy gesture towards Ferris and Rufus departing forms. "But after tonight," she smiled strangely, "lets just say I'll be a free agent." Her grin brightened, but her eyes were somber. "You be careful, kay?" With that, Silvara turned and sprinted down the tunnel, falling in beside Tseng.

***

Riya sighed in disgust, 'thought so.' She quickly reached for her earring, pressing the small latch that divided it into two halves and grasped the tiny lock picks in her hand. Anaimone snarled something angrily and Riya chuckled. "My sentiments exactly, but I'm not sure I'd say that to his face. Just give me a few minutes, I'm not as fast as Silvara, but I'm still fairly decent at springing locks." After a few misses, she managed to insert the first pick into the lock, carefully probing with the tiny device. 'Damn, Rufus would have something difficult...' Mostly to keep the other woman's mind off of their situation Riya began to talk softly. "I figured something like this was going on, first Silvy doesn't say anything about this job she's taken, then Ferris watching me from the windows." She cursed softly as the pick slipped, "But Silvara wouldn't dare pull something like this." she laughed. "Well, not unless she thought she could get away with it. Still, I don't think she'd ask Reno to do it for her. Nope, this just reeks of Ferris, that idiot is going to try something tonight and he didn't want me there to stop them." The first spring gave and Riya grinned in the darkness, "It won't be long now."

"Good. This bad room." Anaimone shifted in the darkness, and the Ku's paws patted around on the floor eagerly. "Ferris... No like Silvara? He should like, she good friend to you." She knelt down and scratched the Ku's chin playfully to set her mind of this sorrowful room. "Where Kidd go?"

****

Ferris frowned after Silvara, what had she given to Raven? He flashed Reno a grin as he walked past him and the turned to follow. 'It doesn't matter, there are more important things to think about now.' As he moved down the tunnel, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his thoughts briefly touched on the undoubtedly angry woman at the mansion. 'Riya...I'm sorry. I know you'll never forgive me, not after tonight, not after what I'm going to do.' He sighed and his eyes hardened as he banished the image of her from his mind, 'after tonight, I can leave the past behind me. Ferris Nothgalea dies with Silvara Aerindale.' The smile that spread his lips did nothing to light his somber gaze, but he did manage to chuckle at his irreverent thought. 'Long live Fenris Northgale.'

*

Raven watched Silvara run away from her and wished that she had let her say something. She had not known that Silvara blamed herself for her capture. 'It's not your fault Silvara. No one knows of it but two years ago I was trained to be an assassin. I let it get personal. I was the one who failed.' Raven sighed heavily and looked down at the stone she held in her hand. She knew that she would try to return it once this was all over. She couldn't keep something so sacred to one's heart. Until then, she knew there was no choice but to hold onto it. No hope in arguing. She looked at Ferris who had watched the exchange and then follow Silvara with his eyes when she had left her side. She seen something spark in his eye and knew it to be the same that she had once seen in her own eyes. The desire for revenge. 'I know that you're Rufus's friend Ferris but I don't intend on letting you hurt Silvara.'

Finally Raven turned to the woman who had followed her and Elena into the tunnel. "Okay, here's the deal," Raven started. "I will go with you, myself, to see Gregor once this is all over. Until then you can either go with us or you can go back to the mansion and wait for us. But I warn you now that if this is some kind of trap I will kill you myself."

Vincentia sighed and looked at Raven coldly, not intentionally, she took the threat into consideration. 'She just doesn't understand. Maybe this was a sour idea after all..' She kept her gaze ahead of her and hid her sad emotions behind a mask of delicacy and pride. "Do you really think it wise to threaten me? You do not know of my ances-" She prevented herself from saying the truth of her past. 'I can't completely reveal myself to these mercenaries... That won't add a depth to our extremely shallow trust, it would only make them more suspicious of my important mission...'

Vincentia gave a slight nod, agreeing to her thoughtfulness. "I understand it's not easy trusting an outsider like myself, so I will offer my skills to aid you on your mission, just so long as your words stay true." Her eyes flicked towards the figures around her, and her eyes narrowed coldly, aware of each action and movement they performed. 'I will definitely have to push myself to trust them...'

"Cetrans don't lie," Raven told the girl proudly. "I will stay true to my word and speak with your father when time allows me. I only threaten you to make certain that I am not being double-crossed. And about trust... well it is difficult to trust ANYONE during war times. One never knows who is who anymore." Raven looked around her sadly. "These people here are the only one's that I have left that I know I can trust." Her eyes rested on Rufus for a moment. She let out a deep breath and turned back to face the woman.

"Where are my manners?" she laughed lightly. "My name is Raven Bladehart. You will be with me and Elena during this trip so try and stay close to us so you don't get lost." Raven turned around and continued to follow everyone down the tunnel. She had hoped that the woman would have opted to stay behind. She knew that Rufus didn't trust her, especially since she found the mansion.

Recognizing Raven's uneasiness, Vincentia straightened her back comfortably and glanced at Elena. "Very well, then." She focused once again on the path in front of her and the many bodies going about their part of the mission. "Vincentia Myst. It is a pleasure to meet you, even in these... Times of war." Vincentia adjusted her black velvet cloak, and listened to the quiet muffled voices echoing through the tunnel. ' It's best if I learn what I can about this group... Who to avoid and who I will be able to trust in the future.'

****

"Com'on Marron they're leaving," Siiro shook his brother awake. Marron got to his feet next to Siiro, not surprised that he was right about the whereabouts of the ancient girl. He followed his brother after the group of people who met in the dark tunnels.

"Where are they going?" Marron asked.

"I don't know." Siiro admitted. "I think to Junon." He watched as a dark haired girl moved away from Raven to stand next to Tseng.

Raven was looking at something in her hand then she lifted the gold chain around her neck and hid the pendant under her shirt. "We'll follow them to where ever it is their going and I'll strike at the first chance I get," Siiro whispered. "Your job is to find out if any of the others are immune to materia poisoning. If they are then we'll take them as well."

"Alright," Marron said checking his blowgun. Then only way to find out was to infect them with the materia. If they die then they didn't want them anyways. "I only have three darts left."

"Damn it." Siiro grumbled. "Well use them on the one's that you suspect is immune."

"Do you think that the ShinRa is immune?" Marron asked.

"There's no way he could be." Siiro answered.

"I don't know he looks kinda different. I think it's his eyes," Marron observed.

"Well I don't want to take that chance." Siiro said. "I want to kill him myself."

****

Riya paused for a moment, "I have no idea where Kidd is." She got back to work, "He's probably wondering around outside somewhere, unless he just gave up and went home." She shrugged in the darkness, "Besides, this isn't the kind of thing a child should be involved with anyway." As she inserted the second pick into the lock, she thought about Anaimone's other question and felt a wave of sadness. "No, they don't like each other..." She was silent for a moment before continuing, "...they're trying to kill each other." She felt Anaimone's eyes on her in the darkened room and finally gave voice to the thoughts that were haunting her. "I don't know what to do about it, I don't know if I CAN do anything...but I've got to try. Silvara is my best friend, she's annoying, stubborn and impetuous, but she's like a sister to me. Then there's Ferris, we grew up together, as kids we were inseparable, then later on...well that's over and done with, but I still care for him as a friend. I can't just sit by and watch the people I care for kill each other." Another spring gave. "Almost got it! We'll be out in a few seconds."

****

Silvara kept her expression neutral as she walked beside Tseng, it would be interesting to actually work beside the leader of the Turks. Her mind focused on the task at hand, she took a few moments to carefully clean each of the mythril talons on a small cloth from her pouch. Most of the ingredients in the potion lost their potency after several hours, but the Malboro blood she'd used as a base made working with it a tricky situation. Depending on the creature it came from, it's effects could last for weeks...or a few hours...but since Silvara had obtained the blood herself after a lengthy battle with the creature, she was fairly sure about it's properties.

Unfortunately, the blood alone was too slow, often needing several seconds to take full effect, to get faster results required the addition of several plant toxins. Even though none of them were fatal on their own, the small amounts of powdered flowers from several venomous species accelerated and enhanced the effects of the creature's blood. The combination also had a charming side effect, it would dissolve the tissue around the area it was introduced into the body, turning small scratches into gaping wounds. The smallest graze in the right place, and the victim would bleed to death before the poisons had completely circulated through their bloodstream. The talons would be used in any close combat fighting, but hopefully her arrows and throwing daggers would be all that was needed...Still, it was nice to be prepared. Satisfied that all was ready, Silvara turned her gaze back to the tunnel, she could see the place where it intersected the other one that would take them under the building. It was almost time.

*

Rufus walked with the others through the tunnel, he didn't care for the slow pace though. There wasn't really anything here that wouldn't be here if they lit the tunnel, but he still didn't care for the darkness around them. 'In the light the eyes are busy distracting the mind for things best not thought about..., but in the dark, they have nothing to see, nothing to distract and so the mind brings up past demons to haunt the

mind..' he tightened his grip on the shotgun in his hand watching the darkness and the people around him. The slowness of the pace finally got to him and his mind went back to the night before he had left Midgar, the last time he had seen his father alive...

***********************************************************

Rufus ShinRa's apartment, 50th floor, ShinRa Building,

Midgar-3 years ago

Rufus paced his apartment worrying the small silver ring he wore on his left pinky finger. He shook his head then turned to face the door when he heard a knock. 'Maybe its her...to see why I'm not there yet..' he stopped worrying the ring and stepped closer to his couch to fish out the small black velvet ring box he had put into his trench coat pocket. Holding it in his left hand he went to answer the door. His good mood vanished as he saw his father standing outside his door. Leaving the door open he walked back into his living room or he attempted to. His father grabbed his arm-twisting it behind him, he didn't give him the satisfaction of hearing him cry out as the pain went through him.

"What's this?" His father said prying the box out of the fingers of his left hand. "A diamond...who was you going to give this to?" he asked him letting go of his arm to spin him around face to face. "Scarlet?" President Arthur ShinRa guessed. Rufus glared at him.

"It is none of your concern...though I wouldn't go with Scarlet if you paid..." His sentence was interrupted as his father backhanded him across the face and then he received another when he looked back up at his father glaring at him with his mother's ocean blue eyes. He fell back against his couch and landed across it. His father stood over him seething with rage, his face red and his darker blue eyes seemed about ready to pop out of their sockets.

"Who then? Tell me or I swear...I'll beat it out of you."

Rufus flipped himself off of the side of the couch and stood up to face his father.

"Her name is Raven. And I am..." Again he was interrupted but this time because his father's hands around his throat cut off his air supply suddenly. His own hands went around his father's wrist trying to free himself. His father was screaming at him now, he only heard parts of it though.

"That sewer rat from the slums?!"

"You are never..."

"I won't let you disgrace yourself this way..."

"You're leaving tonight for the Esth-Tah Compound near Mideel..."

Finally when his face began to turn a shade of a darker blue his father threw him into the glass coffee table that sat in front of his couch. The glass shattered on impact and he laid there for a few minutes taking time to get air back into his lungs. Then he turned over and pushed himself up ignoring the glass cutting into his palms and knees. While he was still on his knees his father threw the black ring box at his head. He ducked it and it fell to the floor still open, the light reflecting off the diamond on the ring.

He waited, and then heard the sound of his door being slammed shut. Picking himself up he went into his bedroom to clean himself up and check himself over for anything serious that should be taken care with a minor cure spell. Upon finding nothing that serious he changed out of now ruined clothes, ignoring the small rips in them made by the glass shards. He had just change into another pair of pants and an old white dress shirt when he heard his apartment door open again. He walked out of his bedroom to see Scarlet standing there with two SOLDIER's standing to each side of her.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked glaring at her with narrowed cold blue eyes. She laughed then, a fingers on a chalkboard sound, the two SOLDIER's wincing at the laugh. Looking back at the two SOLDIERS', she nodded once at them. He made no move to fight as they each took a hold of one of his arms. Scarlet walked towards him then uncoiled a whip that had been hidden behind her back.

"Your father said you needed to be taught another lesson before he sent you away to that island. So I am here to teach you that lesson." She hit him across the face with the whip's handle bloodying his nose and mouth.

"Wouldn't go out with me even if someone paid you eh...?" She snarled at him, at which he just ignored her awful screeching voice and the new pain. She wouldn't do anything that hadn't been done before and she couldn't do anything permanent to him so the best and only way to get even was to ignore her, since she hated to be ignored more than anything it was the best way to get even.

*********

Rooftop of the ShinRa Building,

Midgar -3 years ago : Later that night

Tseng stood beside Rufus as he waited for the pilot to finish with his pre-flight checklist. He stood staring straight ahead not looking at one of his only friends here in Midgar. He slipped the small silver ring off of his pinky and put into Tseng's suit jacket pocket. The pilot signaled he was ready to lift off. Before entering the helicopter he told Tseng in a quiet subdued voice, "Tell her not to forget me...I be back for her one of these days." He didn't see him nod, but he knew Tseng would do it. Then the helicopter came fully to life as he closed the door and sat himself down into one of the seats. He didn't lean back in the seat like most people would though, his back hurt to much to do so... 'I'll get even with you Scarlet' he thought to himself finally looking down at the Building where he had spent most of his entire life. 'I swear I will..' He looked away from Midgar then and closed his eyes, and waited to arrive at the island where he would spend the next two to three years of his life.

*******************************************

Rufus shook his head causing his reddish blonde hair to fall back into his face. Brushing it out of his face with his free hand he looked up and around him to see if anyone had noticed his lapse of attention. He then saw the intersection of the tunnel ahead of them. 'Almost time...we're almost there.' he thought to himself.

***

Tseng looked over at Silvara. He then went into the small room that the tunnel exited into. Looking around he told Silvara in a low whisper. "Ok.. clear right now. Let's go." He went silently towards the door. With one quick move he killed the guard standing in front of the door with the small dagger that he had hidden up his sleeve. He dragged the body inside the room. Then turned to see if Silvara was with him. "Ready?" he whispered to her.

Silvara answered Tseng's question with a fierce little grin and a wink as she moved to the door. 'For such a big place, they sure built cheap, there isn't even an alarm!' she thought as she checked over the door, 'Course, it'll probably be a whole other story once we're actually in.' While the locking mechanism would have given a petty thief difficulties, Silvara had been trained by her brother, arguably one of the best lock-picks on the continent. With the faintest click, the lock swiftly gave way before her nimble manipulation with the three tiny tools she'd pulled from her pouch.

After a nod from Tseng, she cracked the door and peered into the next room, a lone guard lounged against the wall near the distant door, apparently trying to catch a little shut-eye on the job. It wasn't a large room, but he was to far for her throwing daggers, and the stone floor would betray even the stealthiest of treads.

Holding up one finger to Tseng, she silently swung her bow from her shoulder and reached into her quiver, setting a small-notched arrow against the taut string. The arrow's unique design wouldn't allow it to cover great distances, but it would be utterly silent as it sped through the air towards its target. Still kneeling, she pulled the string to her cheek and let the arrow slip, her gaze never wavering from the guard. There was a faint noise, very similar to a melon being split open, as the arrow plunged into the guard's skull and Silvara nodded grimly, "All clear."

Ferris watched with ill-concealed anger as Silvara picked the lock and calmly murdered the guard in the next room. It wasn't so much what she had done as who had done it that set his blood to boiling. Except for the means, he could be watching his bother's death replayed before his eyes. Had she worn that triumphant smile as she'd broken into Marcus's country estate? ...stared down at his corpse with the same dispassionate gaze? 'Stop it! Now is not the time.' Wrenching his mind from the dark musings, Ferris followed the others into the next room. 'Enjoy it Silvara...enjoy it while you can.'

Rufus stepped into the room from the tunnel, he saw the shadow of the first guard's body over by the far wall. The light that made the shadow came from the slightly open door that Silvara, Tseng, and Fenris had already gone through. Rude looked around then whispered something telling him that the next room was clear to proceed through. Rufus nodded at him that he understood, then he was thinking again. The guard's body had provoked unpleasant thoughts that he had thought gone and forgotten.