Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Finding Sanctuary ❯ Some Secrets Won't Keep ( Chapter 4 )
It is undeniable. The signs are clear. The time has come.
And where am I now? Here in the comforts of Science's oasis, working under the most power-hungry nation in the world… and I am aiding them. After many years of breakthroughs and discoveries, I am still as spineless as I was back then when I started. I should've taken her away from them when I had the chance.
But, of course, that was the problem. Did I really have the chance back then? They watched my every move like a hawk. The Emperor and Kefka. I was right to be afraid, I suppose. But it does not excuse me for the crimes I've inflicted upon her.
Woe to my already guilty conscience! I shall be damned forever. Celes will never forgive me for the things I've done. And she will loathe me for the things I've failed to do.
Cid del Norte Marguez stared into the gaping incinerator. The roaring fire within warmed his body. In his hand, he held Dr. Deregasi's written reports of Celes's recovery. He had just finished reading them. He was glad that she was alive again. Healthy both in mind and body. But not normal. He's had misgivings about the whole thing. Celes was alive, but she was not safe. He would have to report directly to the Emperor about the whole thing and tell him his findings. He would have to tell him that… the time has come.
And Kefka… May the Devil take me instead! That is, of course, if he weren't the Devil himself. They will find out about Celes sooner or later. They may already know! But just in case… I have to delay.
Cid looked at the reports in his hand again. The fire should consume it within a matter of seconds, and that should buy him a couple of days, at least. He could say that he lost it, and he would have to examine Celes again. He could say that--
"It looks like I got here just in time!"
Cid turned around. The voice startled him. Kefka was grinning at him, eyeing the report in his hand.
"It's not what you think, Kefka!" Cid began. He was never good at lying to Kefka. Kefka could see through him quite easily.
Kefka frowned and extended his arm. "Hand me the report, professor."
Cid hesitated. He was trying to come up with a plan, but he knew deep inside that any plan would simply fail. He was too afraid, and it was all too late.
Cid gave the report to Kefka with a defeated sigh. Hanging his head in shame of himself, he leaned against the closest wall, and let himself slide down to a crouch like a drunkard on the streets. He buried his face in his hands as Kefka read the report.
"'Stamina, off the charts… Sensory perception, above normal… stress limit, unknown.' These are all very interesting, professor!" Kefka said, turning the page. "Hmm... 'no change in physical strength or body mass, and yet her body seems to draw enough energy to be strenuously active for an indefinite period of time. Source of energy is unknown.'" Kefka turned the page again. "'Motor skills improved by fifty percent of average. Mental capacity by one hundred percent. Brain function by sixty-five percent.' Congratulations, Cid! Money spent in genetic engineering surely paid off. And, oh! Now we get to the good stuff! 'Magical infusion process received: Safe, and Heal. All successful with no recognizable anomalous readings. Next scheduled infusion process: Ice. On the ninth day of the Celestial Rise.'"
Kefka finished reading the highlighted parts of the report. He closed the folder and paced slowly in front of Cid. "You were going to burn the documents before I even had the chance to see it?" Cid did not move. No answer was needed. Kefka's voice was menacing, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to the Emperor's prime scholar. "What did you think you'd accomplish by that, Cid? Did you forget that I have eyes that do not sleep watching you?"
"Oh, I did not forget, Kefka," Cid bravely replied. He raised his head and met Kefka's eyes.
"And yet you dared. But no matter. I have no need of your reports, really. I have my own. Things cannot be hidden from me so easily." Kefka dropped the documents right in front of Cid. Cid was unsure of what to do. He just stared at it questioningly. "Go ahead, Cid."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Toss it into the fire." Cid was not expecting that at all. He thought that Kefka would inform the Emperor of his attempt to withhold critical information. Kefka laughed. "What's the matter, Cid? Didn't you want to do that in the first place? Didn't you want to hide the truth from the Emperor and myself? I already know. But there's a great chance that the Emperor doesn't know just yet. There's no need to worry. I can keep a secret!"
Cid stared into Kefka's eyes spitefully. He was toying with him. "What do you want, Kefka?"
"One functional slave crown," Kefka said readily.
Cid's brows furrowed then said, "I cannot have such a thing authorized without the Emperor's permission, and you know that! He was very succinct about that matter."
"Who said anything about letting the Emperor know?" Kefka returned with a dubious grin.
"I will do no such thing!" Cid exclaimed, flabbergasted at the idea. "The Emperor was right to take those things away from you. Now I'm in charge of researching means of reversing the process--a task I'm glad to undertake!"
Kefka's grin disappeared. "You owe me!" he hissed. "I saved your precious Celes's life! You couldn't have done anything with your obsolete method of bringing her back to life, and you knew that from the moment you saw the knife in her belly. You owe me!"
Cid hung his head in acknowledgment of the ironic truth. He knew that Kefka was right. He could not have made his wondrous machines work well on Celes. They were imperfect. His method was indeed outmoded.
"What are you going to use it for?" Cid asked silently.
"Since when did you get to demand answers from me?" Kefka asked, annoyed. "I will use it as I please to whomever I want."
"And if I say 'no?'"
Kefka turned and started to walk away. "I will be most… disappointed," Kefka said threateningly.
**********
(Static.)
Guardian: Start of first recording.
(Long pause.)
Voice 1: The baby is strong, my lord. She will survive.
Voice 2: Were you able to identify the true father?
Voice 1: No, my lord. The mother told no soul.
Voice 2: And what of the mother? How is she faring?
Voice 1: The unregulated flow of magical energy caused by the accident has severely damaged her brain. She is catatonic. She no longer reacts voluntarily to outside stimuli. It is impossible for us to communicate with her through known means. If it weren't for the magical aid that she is receiving now, she would die within the hour.
Voice 2: And you think that the baby will survive for five more months within the womb of a catatonic mother?
Voice 1: It seems like it, my lord. It is a miracle! The mother's internal organs are functioning normally with the aid of magic. Nourishment is being given to the child. If everything stays the way it is now, then I foresee no problems within the next five months.
Voice 2: And what is the plan when the time comes?
Voice 1: We shall operate on the mother and extract the child. (Short pause.) My lord, I am confident that, at least, the child will survive. If you could just grant me the authorization to maintain the magical aid that the mother is receiving right now I--
Voice 3: This request you seek is costly! The mother has been feeding mostly on magical energy for three days now. Non-stop! The reactor has been working on full capacity all this time just to maintain this feed. We could be spending the energy on more productive projects. Why should we allow this to go on for five whole months?
Voice 1: To save the child, my lord! I implore you! This is a human being we're talking about.
Voice 3: We are not a hospital! None of us are in the field of medicine. The Magitek facilities are meant to be used on research! Take the mother to a medical institution.
Voice 1: But they cannot sustain the mother's life for five months! My lord, they have no adequate equipment for the task.
Voice 3: That is not our problem!
Voice 1: You heartless--
Voice 2: Enough! (Short pause.) Your plea is notable, no doubt. Your intention to save the life of the child is commendable. But I'm afraid that my adviser is correct. The amount of energy needed by the equipment is taxing. Reports say that the reactor may not last two weeks, let alone five months. We've only begun construction of the second reactor and will not be finished in a year. This Empire is on a quota of breakthroughs. I simply cannot delay our research on other fields. We need the reactor for other equally important purposes.
Voice 1: Four months, my lord! Four--
Voice 3: This is not a negotiable situation.
Voice 1: Four months and I come up with a way to increase the output of the new reactors!
Voice 3: (Scoffs.) Now you're giving empty promises!
Voice 1: I am confident, my lord! Let me look at the designs. Let me join the development team for the Magitek reactors! I will double the output of the future reactors!
Voice 2: Cid--
Voice 1: Please, my lord! I know I can do this!
Voice 3: You dare interrupt the emperor?! Guards, take him away!
Voice 2: Guards, stay! Kefka, let me handle this.
Voice 1: Four months. I only ask for four months. I implore your most merciful and benevolent soul. Grant me the authorization to keep Celine alive so that her child may live!
Voice 2: (Long pause, then a sigh.) I will give you ten days--
Voice 1: But--
Voice 2: For ten days the reactor is yours, Cid. After ten days, it will be shut down--
Voice 1: My lord--
Voice 2: Unless… you come up with a way to make your promise come true.
Voice 1: Thank you, my lord! I--
Voice 2: And then the reactor will be up for a month.
Voice 1: I--
Voice 2: Unless you come up with another way to contribute to our research in the field of magic.
Voice 3: (Laughs.)
Voice 1: (Silence.)
Voice 2: So you see, Cid, the life of the child is in your hands. One breakthrough in the field of magical research will reap you one month of dedicated energy from that reactor. What do you say, Cid?
Voice 1: I accept, my lord! Thank you--
Voice 2: Do not thank me, Cid. For this is a business proposal.
Voice 1: I thank you just the same for giving me this chance!
Voice 2: I trust that there is no need to tell you to do your best.
Voice 1: There is no need, my lord.
Voice 2: Then you are dismissed.
(Footsteps. Door shuts.)
Voice 3: You are most wise, my lord. But why? You could've demanded the same thing in exchange for his own life!
Voice 2: A motivated worker works faster than a threatened one. Besides, I cannot simply let the child die.
Voice 3: And why not?
Voice 2: Do you know what day it is, Kefka?
Voice 3: (Gasps.) The last day of the Celestial Rise.
Voice 2: Yes. Now you understand. It would be in our best interest to watch this child very closely. We shall refer to her as Subject A.
(Silence.)
Guardian: End of first recording.
(Static.)
I have played the recording over and over again, each time with growing apprehension. The voices were familiar. The first voice belonged to Cid. The second, to the Emperor. And the third, to Kefka. I felt no need to authenticate them. I knew somehow that the recording was genuine and unaltered.
I was not biased about this assumption. I didn't want them to be real. But I had no use for denial for that would only be a waste of time. Guardian had given me something to utterly catch my attention with, and admittedly, I was very intrigued, to say the least.
Celine. My mother's name was Celine. Long time ago, Cid said that my mother died in a laboratory accident during a magical infusion process. It would be too much of a coincidence to think that this recording had nothing to do with my mother… or me.
Subject A. This confirms a conspiracy centering on me, but it's not enough to identify it. I will need more.
First recording. How many were there? Only Guardian would be able to answer that question. I must make contact with her again if I am to find out. So many clues. So many questions. If I am to liberate myself I will need some answers. I must ready myself to make the sacrifices.
But first, I must meet with the man who has labeled me Subject A. The emperor has summoned me finally. For the very first time, he will speak to me. Considering all that has happened, I am very curious to hear what he has to say.