The Price of Freedom: A Hero's Sacrifice
Chapter 1: Just Cissnei
"Embrace your dreams. If you want to be a hero you need to have dreams... and honor."
"Shuriken, you're the one being assigned to this mission." The ever clipped voice of Tseng left no room for argument, "The Turks are stretched too thin and you're the only one available."
Shuriken nodded, flipping through the portfolio Tseng had tossed her. "Fine. So, I have to watch a SOLDIER?"
"Not just watch, but ingratiate yourself with him. Keep tabs on him for us, especially in regards to anything within Shinra."
"Do we suspect him of treachery?"
"No, but he's close to Angeal , so it would be prudent to lay the groundwork beforehand. "
"Befriending a lower enlisted SOLDIER to keep tabs on a prominent member of SOLDIER? Is that not a bit roundabout?"
"Look," and Tseng leaned forward in his chair slightly as he stared directly at the woman in front of his desk, "Things are going to get really hectic once the skeletons come out about the whole Jenova fiasco, and it's up to us, Shinra's little behind the scenes cleaners, to sweep things back under the rug when it happens. With this Genesis thing going on, it's only a matter of time. Any sources of information we can establish is essential."
She nodded, and to anyone else who didn't know her, it would have appeared as if the petite woman in front of him was merely agreeing to the assignment. But Tseng was not just anyone else. Besides being trained to ferret out half-truths and lies, the Turks were too tight-knit of a group to not know each other, and he could tell the mission rankled on her sense of honor. She didn't like the idea of pretending to befriend somebody, but she was the type to still accept the mission regardless. It was the main reason Tseng chose her for this, the whole part about the scarcity of other Turks was just a convenient lie that she didn't need to know.
Still, the slight way she tightened her arms around herself and the stiffening of her shoulders made Tseng feel a bit bad, so he relented a little. "There's nothing to say that you can't remain friends with the man afterwards. From all accounts, he doesn't sound like a bad guy. As long as it doesn't interfere with your work."
There was a slight narrowing of her eyes, and he had to resist the urge to grin. Of course he didn't have to even suggest such a thing. Shuriken wasn't the type to mix personal and business. She'd do the mission and when it was done, disappear back into the Turks and the shadows, as always. But he left the door open for her. The personal side of him that cared for the well-being of those under him thought that the reclusive woman could use a good friend who didn't wear a suit and a Shinra badge to go to work. Not that a SOLDIER was vastly different, but it'd be a step in the right direction. Tseng was of the mentality that a well-rounded operative performed better than the alternative.
Shuriken was good at being a Turk, but that was all she knew.
Internally Tseng shrugged. He was aiming for a bit much, but that'd just be bonus. First it was the mission and with Shuriken on the operation, it was pretty much shut and close. The rest of this was just showboating.
"Have you given thought to a code name or back story, yet?"
"Yes, I'll be a Turk."
"Oh?"
"It'll be easier if he just knows my job, doesn't mean he has to know my mission. Just a friendly Turk who took an interest in him."
"There are those who'd say 'friendly' and 'Turk' don't belong in the same sentence."
She smiled a bit at his joke, but again he saw that it rankled her. She was one of those who "believed" in the job. She stood up and headed toward the door, taking the portfolio with her. "Wait, Shuriken. A code name?"
The slender woman paused with her hand on the door, looking back at Tseng out of the corner of her eye. "Cissnei. Just Cissnei."
She kept to the shadows of the alleyway; she was good at not being noticed. A big part of stealth was letting people do all the hard work for you. Still, she was a tad disappointed that her target, a member of the elite fighting force SOLDIER, wasn't aware of her presence yet. Cissnei wasn't too experienced with that branch of Shinra, but she had expected more, at least in accordance with the hype that surrounded them.
But, then again, they were made to fight, not to do the jobs the Turks did, where reconnaissance and arts of the clandestine persuasion were trained and drilled into a member until things such as mentally marking the exits nearby and planning escape routes were an everyday reaction. She gave him a pass.
The rest seemed to check out from what she could see from the few unobstructed glimpses she had seen. He was tall, much taller than her in fact, but that wasn't anything new. She was kind of on the short side, a trait she often found useful when people underestimated her. The rest was typical of what one would expect. He was well built with the lean muscle that one gets on a diet of actual grueling work, and his eyes were the color of the sky on the bluest of days, a trait the showed the standard exposure to Mako that all SOLDIERs went through. The most interesting thing about him for Cissnei, surprisingly, was his hair. It seemed to defy gravity, sticking up and back like a black porcupine.
She had been trailing him for days, trying to see how the report that Tseng gave her matched with the man. Nothing too interesting so far. Mostly just foot patrols around the city as a show of force between training room sessions. Cissnei firmly believed in covering all contingencies and she was determined that if she had to falsely befriend this man, she'd at least do a good job of it.
Honestly, at least outwardly, the man seemed to be a bit of an idiot, or at least headstrong. He reminded her of Reno, which was a few points in the positive, since the rest of the Turks were like family to her. His vibrant personality was evident in the way he held himself, every action, even walking, using far more motion than was necessary. It was at odds with the elite warriors SOLDIERs were touted to be…still, at base nature she agreed with the reports and Tseng's assessment. He didn't appear to be a bad guy.
Cissnei frowned a bit at that. It'd been easier if her target had been an asshole.
"Turks are on the move again, I see." Cissnei almost jumped out her skin, whirling around reflexively, her weapon, Rekka, blazing in an arc toward the person that surprised her.
A strong hand caught her arm mid-swing, casually blocking her strike as if it was a mere insect to be shooed and forgotten. White hair, pallid complexion, the ever present almost condescending half sneer, Cissne recognized the man immediately. Sephiroth. She relaxed a bit, but her nerves were still shaken and she silently called on the beginnings of a fire spell, just in case.
"Sephiroth , what are you doing here?" she hissed, thankful that the gloom of the alley hid her from sight of her target.
The man grinned, a light chuckle escaping his lips. He still held her hand in that steely grip and try as she might, she might as well had been struggling to pull the proverbial sword from the stone. "It seems my reputation precedes me. I do not have the luxury of your name, Turk. What are your interests in Zack Fair?" he asked, staring at her with those steely mako eyes.
"Nothing, I was just taking a break here. Is that a crime the requires the presence of the great Sephiroth?"
The white haired man said nothing, letting the silence speak on his behalf for a few seconds before pointedly letting her hand go. "My mistake. I guess that explains why you didn't do a better job at concealing yourself. Here I thought you were following us for the past two hours or so."
Cissnei shook her head, unable to form an adequate response to such a statement. She had erred in underestimating the company her target traveled in. Sephiroth was a legend around Shinra for a reason.
Sephiroth shrugged, turning to exit before looking back. "I'm sure I'll see you around, nameless Turk. Enjoy your break."
She leaned against the wall as he left, trying hard to calm her breathing. The stories didn't do the man justice. Something about his presence left an unfamiliar chill in her chest. Still, she had a mission to do, but she had a few calls to make first.
"The mission is compromised. Sephiroth figured it out immediately, at least partially."
"Shur—I mean, Cissnei, of course he would. It's to be expected."
"Won't he tell the target?"
"No. I know you haven't had much experience with him, but he's not the type. This was his way of letting you know that he has his eyes on you. Don't get cocky with these men, they aren't like normal people. Let down your guard and you'll pay, dearly."
"Yes, Tseng, I understand."
"You're making this way too complicated. Just say hello to the target. If you read the reports, you'll know that he won't think too much about it. He'll do most of the hard work for you. I got to go now, got a meeting in fifteen."
There was an audible click as the Turk leader hung up and Cissnei sighed, closing her cellphone and leaning against her hand as she mulled the conversation over. This was far different than any mission she had done, since she was usually sent on infiltration or assassination missions against hostile targets. Interior observation was usually handled by other members of the team. So she had to defer to Tseng's experience. Maybe she had just been approaching it from the wrong angle. Was it really that simple?
Well, it was, but, and it was something she admitted so very quietly to herself, it was easier to make it complicated and put it off. She had spent her childhood in training to become a Turk. Her social interaction was a training room and the things they taught her there. She knew this whole social manipulating thing in theory, but they had never intended to send a woman with her talents to do such missions. Ask her to assassinate a terrorist, she could give you a detailed plan down to escape routes and snatch points. Ask her the average amount of C-4 required to bring down a Midgar strut and she could get it down to fractions.
But ask her how to befriend someone actively and she was clueless. She bonded with the other Turks because of the natural adhesive of closeness that develops when you risk your life with the same men and women day in and day out. She had no one outside of the Turks and, up until now, had no interest in expanding that field.
She growled a bit under her breath, why couldn't they send the more likeable Reno to this? This was such a waste of her talents. Then she shook her head of such thoughts. This was just another challenge. There was no way she'd let down Tseng over such a simple mission…
Just say hi, huh?
"Hey, are you going to go to chow, Kunsel?"
"Naw, I'm going to finish up my training here. With all the craziness going on, it seems like a good idea."
Zack nodded at the lower ranking SOLDIER. "Yeah, I can see that. Want me to bring you back anything?"
"Negative, sir."
"All right, suit yourself." And he turned to the rest of the class. "Class is dismissed for lunch. Be back at, let's say, 1330? Anyone who wishes to train through their break can do so. Kunsel will be in charge in the meantime."
There was a chorus of affirmations and the general hustle and bustle of weary men out of the battle room. Zack waited until the initial rush died down before leaving himself. The hallway was clear of people as well, and Zack found his mind wandering as he headed to the elevator.
It was all just so surreal. Genesis betraying Shinra. Angeal, the person who had become his mentor and friend, joining Genesis. His promotion. It was all just moving too fast. Less than a week ago, he was being scolded for not keeping his concentration on the enemy, and now he was expected to take over the duties and responsibilities of a SOLDIER 1st Class?
Well, it was going okay so far, though he felt as if he was drowning slowly. A bit weird that now he was considered an instructor as well, going so far as to oversee the holo training they were doing. But at least it kept his mind off things, albeit temporarily.
What had Angeal been thinking? What about all that talk about honor and dreams? How could he do such a thing? Try as he may, no matter how he looked at it, he just kept finding more questions and no answers. Internally, he fidgeted. He should be out there, looking for the answers!
So caught up was he with his thoughts that he didn't see the person in front of him until they collided.
He barely budged, but the person went flying backwards. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he said reflexively, zoning back into the present.
He was surprised to see that the person that he ran into was a woman. Considering they were on the training floor and the amount of women that were SOLDIERs was decidedly limited, it was the first thing that struck him as out of place. He bent down to give her a hand up, which she accepted gratefully.
"Thanks." She said, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Zack found himself staring at the petite woman, strangely fascinated. She was quite attractive, with chestnut shoulder length hair that curled lightly at the ends and knowing amber eyes. She stared back and Zack realized what he was doing.
" No problem, I'm sorry for running into you." He laughed lightly, to cover his nervousness. "Can I help you, somehow?"
"Yes. I'm looking for Director Lazard? I seem to have lost my way."
"Yeah, you're on the wrong floor. If you want, I can show you the way."
"Really? Thanks, that'd be a great help." And she looked around, a bit unsure, "Is there some place to eat around here? I'm starving."
He couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, me too. We can go to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat first, if your business isn't that important."
"I can put it off for a bit."
"Well, that's settled then." And she fell into step besides him as he headed to the elevator. He kept stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eyes. Who was she? He would have remembered someone who looked like her. It was then that he noticed her attire. A straight black suit…just like the type that the…
"Hey, I'm Zack, by the way. Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class. Pleased to meet ya."
"I'm Cissnei. Just Cissnei. I'm a Turk."
Author's Blurbs: This sort of came as a spur of the moment thing. I was sitting around, playing Diablo 3, when I decided to look up some FF songs (big fan of video game music). One of the songs, Price of Freedom, was from Crisis Core. I played the game a long time ago (before my first deployment). I enjoyed it, though the ending was a bit sad. I found I really liked the feeling of the song and the general message of the game. "Embrace your dreams." I recall liking the character of Cissnei and I had always wanted her to be in more things. So this fanfic was born. Literally crapped it out in like 15m, so be gentle. I don't even know where I'm going with it, but I like Cissnei too much to relegate it to the dusty recesses of my mind.
As an additional note. I am writing a book, it is quite long (clocking in at 133k words at the moment). If anyone is interested in traditional fantasy and actually intends to give constructive criticism, I'd appreciate a few beta readers. Shameless plug for the win?
Oh yeah, I don't own any of this stuff.