บท 6: Chapter 6: Nibelheim Here We Come
Ramiel and Gast ironed out their deal. Hojo will base his research on Nibelheim because Jenova is located there. As Gast apparently had a lot of information on the alien life form that he would want to test on the twins.
Ifalna and their daughter Aerith will be coming with. Live at the Nibelheim mansion where Jenova is being kept. And they were going to be kept as hostages there on paper. While Gast helps Hojo with his research as much as he can.
It was pretty much foolproof. And if Shinra decides to liquidate Gast and his family. Then they'll have plenty of time to escape. Nibelheim was pretty far away from Midgar where Shinra HQ was.
Before they could get there, Ramiel would just let Hojo tell them that Ifalna apparently was a Cetra that had some voodoo magic. And they were able to escape their grasp with her mysterious abilities.
Gast and his family would go to Nibelheim first, escorted by their mooks that came with them. Hojo will report to Shinra and they will follow shortly after.
"That's pretty much it, don't blow it old man. This is your chance to spend some peace and quiet with them. I know I want to, but there's no rest for the wicked as they say." Ramiel looked at Alexandra that was playing with Aerith.
"You really love your sister huh?" Ifalna gave a warm smile at him and thought that he was ready to sacrifice a lot for her. Bearing such a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of a child.
"Well, whatever it takes. Right?" Ramiel shrugged and thought that they do not understand. Alexandra was a ticking time bomb and he must make her immune to Jenova's influence on her as soon as possible.
Out of everyone in the world, Alexandra would be his only equal in the future. And even he wasn't sure if he could stop her when she goes bonkers and uses the black materia. So he also roped in Ifalna and Aerith if everything went to shit.
"Besides, isn't it supposed to be natural? You love your daughter too." Ramiel gave a smile at her and Ifalna nodded.
"I guess that's true, I'd trade my life for her. Even if the Cetras will cease to exist because of it." Ifalna looked at her daughter that she was carrying and gave a resolute look.
"Come on, Ifalna. This will be quite a bumpy ride, but when we arrive at Nibelheim. Then things will be better." Gast was impatient. Because their safety and survival depends on being in Nibelheim.
"Yes dear, good luck with your mission. Ramiel, you're a good kid." Ifalna smiled at them and waved goodbye.
"Nii-sama, are you sure that we really need him? He's a big security risk." Alexandra was doubtful and thought that even if his brother would take some time to crack Jenova. It will be much safer for them if he does it himself.
"Don't worry about it, I've taken extensive measures. Besides, they're basically a ghost. Gast might be known by Shinra, but Ifalna and Aerith aren't. They only know that a brunette is with him and a child. Shinra speculated that the said brunette is his lover." Ramiel smirked.
He deleted the database using Hojo's authority and Shinra does not have a picture of Ifalna. And Gast will be pretty much fine in just living in the dark. He has been doing so for years now anyways. So Aerith and her mother can live pretty normally in Nibelheim. Hojo can just clone a random brunette from somewhere and use them as their pretend hostage. Use their picture as well to fool Shinra, preferably from Wutai so they can't try to find them easily.
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After a few months of staying quietly in Shinra HQ. Ramiel has been exchanging notes with Gast. Hojo has been working on the project for years now after all. It was most likely that he would have seen something that Gast missed when researching about Jenova in his time in the past.
And Ramiel was correct. In Hojo's research, with the help of data from them. They had a more concrete idea on how Jenova has control on its hosts.
"Hmmm, apparently. The alien injects genetic material to people and begins mutating them. Creating an army of mutants that do its bidding. But the real kicker is, how it was able to." Ramiel frowned heavily upon their discovery.
According to what Gast learned from Ifalna with the history of the Cetra and Jenova. The alien infected the Cetra like a virus and morphed into their image. It then used the memories of its victims to lure them in when it was still weak.
"Jenova is confirmed to be a mental hazard. Too much exposure to its cells would drive one crazy. But how does it do it? All the data doesn't show encroachment on the brain." Ramiel was thinking about it hard.
"Hah, we can't crack Jenova's mystery in just a few months anyway. We've got all the time in the world in Nibelheim later." Ramiel sighed and he packed their bags.
Alexandra forgot underwear when they went to fetch Gast so he was the one who packed their bags when they go to Nibelheim.
"Nii-sama... It was just one time, I swear!" Alexandra had a mad blush on her face as Ramiel picked underwear for her to wear. Taking into account her growth spurt as well because they will be there for a couple of years. And they are most likely going to reach puberty there.
"No can do missy, I didn't have any shortcomings when telling you if you missed anything. So I'll be doing the packing. Hmmm, black would look good on you. So let's stock up on that." Ramiel continued his packing and Alexandra got really embarrassed.
"Hngh, you aren't supposed to see me in those until later..." She muttered under her breath. "What's that? You like black too? Great, I'll add more." Ramiel gave a grin at her and Alexandra rolled her eyes.
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The twins landed in the western continent and they travelled to a backwater village in the mountains of Nibel. Where Nibelheim was located. It was pretty remote, perfect for their base of operations. And it is pretty close to Wutai as well. So they can escape and defect there if things get a little spicy.
"This village is perfect, it's basically a settlement with nothing in it except a Mako reactor." Ramiel nodded in satisfaction at the village's normalness.
"Nii-sama, that's rude. You're basically saying that everyone here is a country bumpkin." Alexandra chided him and a blonde woman chuckled.
"She's right, you know? By the way, I haven't seen you here before. Are you new residents? New faces are always welcome here." The blonde woman smiled at them and Ramiel squinted his eyes, she was pretty familiar. (pic)
"Hello, I am Alexandra. This is my brother Ramiel. We came from Midgar, but we decided to live here for a bit." Alexandra introduced themselves without being suspicious.
"Oh my, then do enjoy your stay here. I'm Claudia, ask me if you have any questions alright? Or everyone around here really, the residents of Nibelheim are pretty nice." The woman patted their heads and she went on her merry way.
"That woman feels familiar. I can feel it in my bones, I know her." Ramiel thought hard about it and knew that he knew her.
"What do you mean, Nii-sama?" Alexandra was concerned and Ramiel shook his head, it wasn't important. If he couldn't remember her. Then she isn't an important character in the game.
"Nothing, let's go. I need to speak with Gast. We will start our research immediately. This is really important. The friction between Wutai and Shinra has been escalating. We might enter the war when we reach 14 or 15 years old Alex." Ramiel's eyes hardened and she nodded resolutely.
"If we need to fight, then it is fine. As long as you're with me, nii-sama... I will prevail." Alexandra was resolute and he snorted.
"Yes, yes. I love you too, now let's go." Ramiel patted her head and they went to the mansion in the outskirts so they could begin their research.
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After a few months, research was going nowhere. It was simply nigh impossible to control Jenova's cells. They had the perfect test subject, Ramiel. Because he is almost immune to Jenova by now. But they could only do so much without other experimental subjects.
Besides, they were trying to engineer Jenova's cells for more normal people anyway. Not him, so even if they get results. It might not work on others.
"Damn it, Gast. This is pretty difficult, how can you guys research about this crap for years on end?" Ramiel sighed and massaged his temples. As a doctor, he has his own fair of research at the medical field in the past. But scientific research is a whole new beast.
"Tough luck kid, I guess even if you're insanely smart. You can't just unlock the secrets we've been trying to decipher for years." Gast chuckled, having been a little bit closer to Ramiel. Treating him as a colleague.
'But this little guy is a monster. He doesn't understand, but we're inching closer and closer thanks to his theories. It might only take a decade to turn Jenova into a harmless past.' Gast knew that the project was basically an impossible feat.
It was like making a cure for cancer. Scientists all over the world have been making an effort in trying to cure it. But they haven't been able to get close to it for decades. But Ramiel was slowly piecing the puzzles like a massive jigsaw. It might take a long time, but the end product will succeed still.
"Damn it, I'll review the notes of Hojo in the library later. I've already read it a lot, but maybe I'll have some inspiration." Ramiel said goodbye to Gast and the scientist shooed him away.
"Hah, does that kid even sleep? He's also becoming stronger and stronger. His eyes are basically glowing with Mako all the time." Gast was flabbergasted. Ramiel has so much concentration of Mako in his body, it was manifesting as an aura on him.
Ifalna informed him that he already felt like the planet. Basically a living industrial grade Mako container. Shinra could probably use him to be a super battery that can power up whole cities with him alone.
Ramiel went to the basement and began reading up on dear dad's notes again. Thinking of ways on how to crack the code. "Jenova is thought to be a Cetra. An ancient civilization from the past... Blah, blah, blah. I already know this crap."
Ramiel got frustrated. He was being too impatient, the pressure was getting to him. He didn't know what other things were out there. And being a supersoldier wasn't enough. The strength he calculated when they grow up isn't enough to protect Alexandra from the unknown.
"Shit, I need a breather." Ramiel went outside and walked through Nibelheim. Seeing the peaceful village, he was both amused and remorseful for their ignorance.
"Hah, ignorance is bliss. This is tough, maybe I should focus on training more? Let Gast and Hojo do things. I still have a lot of time, Shinra and Wutai is a conflict against normal people. We can go through that easily." Ramiel started to calm down and he saw Claudia walking around while carrying a kid.
"Hi Ramiel, what's got you thinking like that? You're a kid for god's sake, why don't you play out more with your sister?" Claudia acted just like the nice neighbor and he shrugged.
"Just having some problems with studying, Claudia. Don't worry about me. And Alexandra is a bit aloof with other people. Give it time, how's the kid?" Ramiel pointed at the bundle in her arms and Claudia smiled.
"Oh, this is my son. Cloud, isn't he a cutie? His father might have passed away. But he makes me go through life." Claudia looked at her son and gave a warm smile.
"Ahhh, that's pretty inspiring. I'm sure he'll grow up to be a nice boy." Ramiel nodded at her and then he froze.
"Claudia, I need to go study some more okay? Bye!" Ramiel waved goodbye and ran away like the wind.
"Oh my, that boy sure is fast." Claudia wished him well. "That was Cloud Strife wasn't it? Damn, so that's why she looked familiar. She's his mother." Ramiel thought it was such a small world and forgot that Cloud's hometown is Nibelheim.
"Whatever, I guess it's back to work for now." Ramiel sighed and went back to the manor so he could try and have a breakthrough in their research.
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Thanks for reading everyone, anyways. Ciao.
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