Aftermath – Chapter One
Beep. A new message popped up on the screen.
"Personnel Announcement 0210
From: Shinra News
This is an official notification of the change
in status for the following personnel.
Sephiroth - SOLDIER 1st Class:
Killed in action
Zack Fair - SOLDIER 1st Class:
Killed in action
Two infantrymen were also killed in action."
The recipient, Soldier 2nd Class Kunsel, shut the phone with a sharp snap. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. His best friend, dead? It had been four whole years since he had last heard from Zack.
Still… Sephiroth, too? Something was off. Neither of the 1st Class SOLDIERS would have gone down without a fight. There would have been some sort of commotion or crazy rumors going around, not just a simple message from General Affairs out of nowhere.
Kunsel was the go-to guy about what was happening in Shinra. Not much happened without his knowledge, even some of the more classified missions. No matter how well Shinra was able to cover their tracks, there was always a trail.
A trail that Kunsel was determined to find and follow.
An hour-long search later, Kunsel had managed to pull up only a few fragments of data that remained from missions assigned to Zack. What had not already been deleted by Lazard before he left had likely been destroyed by the Turks.
"Poking around the Director's office again, Kuns?" A voice surprised Kunsel and caused him to jump.
The SOLDIER who spoke pulled off his helmet, revealing his friend, Luxiere. The blond-haired man smoothed out his helmet-rumpled hair and laughed.
"Figured I'd find you here. The poorly-picked lock confirmed my suspicions," Luxiere said. "I assume you got the message about Zack, too?"
Kunsel pulled off his helmet as well, revealing his short brown hair, along with a sheepish grin on his face.
"Yeah, you caught me, Lux. I thought I could find something that could give me a hint as to where Zack is."
"Dude, you tried that before; right when Zack first went missing. What makes you think this time will be any different?" Luxiere asked.
"Because I only tried looking up Zack's and Sephiroth's mission assignments. I didn't try finding any other suspicious activity. I think I've got something, though."
Luxiere cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, count me in. Let's hear it."
Kunsel sat up a little straighter. "Okay, first off, I sent Zack a billion e-mails, but most of them bounced back at me. He probably didn't have cell reception. What kind of places don't get cell reception?"
"The desert? The wastelands?" Luxiere looked dubious.
"Right, but we were all sent to check out Mako reactors. Shinra doesn't have any reactors in those kinds of places. They may be in secluded places, but there's usually at least a small town nearby," Kunsel explained.
"Gongaga, then? The jungle probably has poor reception and Zack is from there. Maybe the sent him because he's familiar with the area?" Luxiere pondered. "Wait, no, that reactor blew up two years ago."
"Correct," Kunsel said. "But no high-ranking SOLDIERS were sent to Gongaga. It was all 3rd-class and cadets. So, where else could they have been sent?"
"Would you quit smirking and just tell me? You clearly have an idea!" Luxiere sputtered.
"Remember when I was telling you about Sephiroth looking for research related to something called 'Project G'? And how a ton of the data was actually kept somewhere other than headquarters?"
"Kind of, sure," Luxiere replied.
"Well, Shinra has laboratories set up in a mansion in Nibelheim. I'll bet that they stored the research there. So, when Sephiroth needed to choose a reactor site to investigate…"
"Of course, he would've used the mission as an excuse to check out the labs and look for the data!" Luxiere exclaimed. "Man, Kuns, you're a friggin' GENIUS."
"Yeah, I know," Kunsel said smugly. "Now…"
"Now, what? We've got to get to Nibelheim and find Zack!"
"Great plan. How do you plan on getting there? We can't exactly walk there. I know you're all about the dramatics, but we could get into deep shit just for looking into this. Never mind the fact that we'd essentially be abandoning Shinra," Kunsel said.
"Right… so, what's the plan?" Luxiere asked.
"Well, I don't much care to stick around Shinra much longer. Honestly, I've been contemplating leaving for a while now. Other than you, I don't have much reason to stay. I'm going after Zack, whether you're coming or not."
Luxiere considered this for a moment. "I like it here at Shinra but, you're right. With Zack gone, the director dead, and the whole place in chaos, it's hardly worth it to be here. Hell, half the SOLDIER program is gone, anyways."
Kunsel stood up from the computer chair. "So, you with me?"
Back at their shared apartment, Kunsel and Luxiere packed up their supplies.
"Remember, Lux, pack light, but make sure you take what you need," Kunsel said. "We may be doing a lot of running, so we don't want too much stuff."
"We'll probably never be able to come back here again. I guess it's a good thing I don't have a ton of personal stuff," Luxiere replied, tucking a picture of his family into a side pocket of his bag.
Kunsel cleared out the medicine cabinet, stuffing his bag full of potions and remedies.
"Got your materia sorted out?" Luxiere asked.
"Eh, good enough," Kunsel shrugged. "You're better with magic, anyways."
"Still, it can't hurt to be prepared. Here," Luxiere said as he tossed him a bracer.
"Cura and Esuna? Decent levels on here, too. Nice one. Thanks, Lux," Kunsel said as he examined the armor. "Here, you take my Blizzaga and Firaga. Like I said, you're better with materia."
Luxiere adjusted the glowing orbs in his armor. "Excellent. Now, what is our mode of transportation?"
Kunsel held up his phone. "Got it covered. You can fly a helicopter, right?"
"Helicopter? How'd you manage that one?" Luxiere asked in disbelief.
"Hacked into the Shinra hangar's computer. Found the list of vehicles needing maintenance and repair. Changed it so we're the ones scheduled for pick-up. She'll be nicely tuned and ready for a long trip."
Luxiere shook his head. "And you're not a Turk because…?"
