|
Testing the Limits ~ Chapter 6
------------------------------------------- Zack strolled through the common area, planning to head to his room to get some rest, but seeing Cloud curled up on one of the couches, his curiosity got the better of him. Wandering over, he sat down beside the boy. "Whatcha up to?" he asked. Cloud glanced up, then back at the open book in his lap. "Studying," he muttered. His eyes skimmed rapidly down the page. Laying his arm along the back of the couch, Zack leaned over so he could see the text. "Studying what?" "History," Cloud sighed.
A subtitle caught Zack's eye and he began to read:
| |
|
The glorious Shinra empire rose from the dust of primordial civilization to bring enlightenment and advanced technology to mankind. With the design and implementation of the first Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel, Shinra began a new era for all....
Although the Nibelheim reactor was the first, Shinra's crowning glory is Midgar, with its eight radial design reactors. The unique Plate design of Midgar ensures that citizens live above the squalor and dangers of the earth, while the reactors maintain a comfortable, constant climate in the city. Midgar is admired by every citizen....
|
|
|
Zack snorted. "I had forgotten just how... bad... these texts were. Buncha BS." Cloud frowned at the book. "It sounds too good to be true, but awfully appealing." "It's propaganda. The only purpose it serves is boosting Shinra's ego." Cloud looked shocked. "How can you say that?" he asked, glancing somewhat nervously around the common room. Zack shrugged irritably. "Have you ever been to the Slums, Cloud?" "Ah... no. Why?" Closing the book, Zack stood up. "Let's go." "Right now? But I have class --" "Don't worry. I'll deal with it. Just come with me." It was time and past that someone showed the boy the reality of life under Shinra, and Zack figured it would be easier on Cloud if it was him. He waited while Cloud returned his textbook to his locker, and reminded him to bring his sword. Cloud looked at him strangely when he said that, but he complied. Zack wasn't about to take him through the Slums armed with one of Shinra's useless guns. They caught the bus from the barracks to the train station and arrived just in time to board the outbound train. "Why are we doing this?" Cloud asked as they made their way down the car. "The Slums are dangerous." He sat abruptly on an empty bench and looked up at Zack. Zack snorted, glaring down the empty aisle. "Only because they have to be." "I don't understand." Zack shook his head, turning to face Cloud. "Shinra talks about the glories of living above the earth, but they never mention how much it costs. Maybe it's something you never considered -- living in the barracks, being paid a soldier's wage, it kinda doesn't matter -- but only the rich can afford to live on the Plates. So what about all those envious citizens who flock to Midgar looking for a good job with Shinra, like the propaganda says?" Zack glowered and shrugged, not giving Cloud a chance to answer. "Tough luck for them, Shinra says. If they don't have the money or the connections to get a job and a place on the Plates, then they're not worthy of it. They live in the Slums because they can't -- or won't -- go home and admit the truth, but very few of them will ever make it to the Plate. And so the lies perpetuate and re-create themselves." Red light swept through the car as they passed the first checkpoint. "And with all these security measures," Zack added softly, "if you can't afford to buy ID, you'll never get out of the Slums." Cloud frowned thoughtfully. "But why? What does Shinra gain this way? Why all the propaganda?" "You ever heard the old adage: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? Well, there is no power on this planet that can rival Shinra. They control the Mako energy and they've made sure that nearly everyone is completely dependant on Mako. Shinra does whatever it wants to because it can. And the people trust them because they want the Mako power. So Shinra tells some nice stories to cover up the truth. No one wants to hear that Shinra is corrupt, so they don't, and they wouldn't believe it even if they heard it. Cloud shivered. "So... why do you work for them?" Zack stared off into space for a moment before answering. "It's a job. It's what I'm good at --" a long pause "-- and once they have you, they don't let you leave." "What do you mean?" "Have you ever met, seen, or even heard of, a retired Shinra employee?" Cloud's forehead wrinkled as he considered. "No. Not a one. Not even in Nibelheim, where --" "Where there's an old Shinra presence." Zack nodded solemnly. "Once you're in, you don't get out." They sat in silence then, both thinking too much, until the train ground to a halt at the Sector 7 station. "Let's go," Zack said softly.
The gates between Sectors 7 and 6 were guarded by a pair of Shinra regulars, who saluted Zack as he approached. "Sir!" one of them said. "I didn't know there was a patrol today." The second guard busied himself opening the gate. Zack winked. "It's a surprise. Shinra likes to keep you on your toes, you know." "Yes, sir!" they both exclaimed, snapping to attention. "At ease," Zack chuckled. "We're headed for Sector 5. Anything to report?" The guards looked at each other before the first one answered. "No, sir. All's quiet. Monster activity is low." Zack nodded. "Alright. Keep up the good work, men." "Sir!" They both saluted again as Cloud and Zack passed through the gateway. As the gate closed behind them, Cloud asked, "won't they talk?" Zack shook his head. "No reason for them to. Surprise inspections do happen, and nobody ever comments on them." "If you say so," Cloud replied a bit dubiously. He glanced around. "Is this ... a playground?" The plastic moogle slide seemed to glower at Zack briefly. He rubbed his temples. "Yeah. This is what life is like down here, Cloud. They live off the Plate's unwanted junk for the most part." Cloud scowled and checked the hilt of his sword. "Up that way," Zack motioned to his left. "Is Wall Market, where anything and everything can be bought or sold. For the right price." Cloud perked up a little. "Are we going there?" "Not today. And never in uniform unless you're ordered to." "Why not?" Cloud asked curiously as they walked through the playground. "Easiest way to get yourself demoted is to be seen there in uniform." Zack shrugged. "It's just one of those things." "Oh. So where are we going?" He hadn't really thought about it, he realized. "The, uh, residential area of the Sector 5 Slums." Inspiration struck suddenly and he added, "There's someone I'd like you to meet." They passed the Sector 6/5 gates, which were unguarded, as usual. Only 7/6 had standing guards and regular patrols, because of the train station. As they rounded a corner to their right, a swarm of monsters slithered out of the stacked debris to either side of them. They were shaped roughly like elongated cones on legs; all teeth on one end, and tapering to a pointed, barbed tail on the other. Someone had dubbed them Whole Eaters, because whatever they got their teeth into, they ate the whole thing. And, just for added fun, they were so Mako-dosed they'd gained limited Poison spell-casting abilities on top of their natural poisonous attacks. "Shit," Zack muttered, drawing his sword. Cloud quickly followed suit. "Only four. Not too bad," he added. "Ummm... Zack? Make that eight," Cloud muttered, as Zack spun in place. "Dammit! You take the ones in front. I'll deal with these." Cloud nodded and turned away as Zack attacked. He dispatched one with his first blow, but he had to duck and block a Poison attack before he could continue. Beside him, Cloud grunted in pain as one of the monsters darted beneath his swing and bit his leg. "Hang in there, kid!" Zack yelled as he leapt forward again. This time, he took out two of the Eaters with a sweeping scythe-like blow, but the third scuttled out of the way. He felt, rather than saw, the crackle of a Bio attack from one of the monsters behind him. Cloud yelped as it hit him. Zack suddenly realized one major thing he had forgotten. Cloud didn't have any Materia. Quickly, he sliced the last monster in half and spun around to help Cloud. The blond had managed to kill three of the four monsters, but the poison had obviously slowed him down. As Zack turned, the last monster bit Cloud again. "That's it!" Cloud howled as a red haze gathered in the air around him. Running forward, he leapt into the air and slammed his sword down into the monster. It fell at his feet in two twitching pieces. Zack tried not to gape. Shit, he thought, cleaning his sword on a rag. He just pulled a limit break. The implications of that were enormous, and dangerous. Limit breaks were a kind of berserker reaction that only SOLDIERs, or those otherwise exposed to Mako and Materia long-term and intensely trained, were supposed to be able to do. He'd heard of a handful of martial artists from Wutai achieving it, and otherwise "ordinary" people under extreme stress conditions, but the latter was exceedingly rare. If Shinra found out, they'd have Cloud whipped into their labs for testing so fast his head would spin. And that was not something he wanted to see happen to Cloud. "Za-ack," Cloud moaned. Collecting his thoughts, Zack hurried over to the boy. The effects of the monster's Bio attack were clearly visible in Cloud's pale features. It was like being hit with the flu instantaneously. Cloud was sweating and trembling as he knelt on the dirt. "Shit," Zack muttered as he checked his Materia. He had Restore, which would slow it down, but not Heal, which would get rid of the poison entirely. "We gotta get you some help, Cloud. Can you stand?" "Bring him to the church," a girl's voice said. "I can help him." "Cure," Zack muttered, watching to make sure Cloud's breathing improved before he turned to face the speaker. "Thanks --" "Zack?" He'd lost his ability to be amazed at bumping into Aeris, it seemed. "Aeris. He's been poisoned." She nodded curtly. "Bring him to the church." Crouching down, Zack scooped Cloud up into his arms. "I can walk," the blond protested, but he rested his head against Zack's shoulder. "Quicker this way," Zack grunted. "Aeris, take his sword." She nodded and stooped to grasp the sword gingerly by the hilt. "Follow me," she said.
| |