1. Shrunk
Zack was on a mission, uncontainable excitement bubbling in his veins as he skipped down the street, oblivious of the quizzical stares and funny looks. This was his day, life was perfect, he hadn't made a mess of his reports and hadn't accidentally dismantled Genesis's absolute favorite LOVELESS copy. Angeal had given him a thumbs-up after their training session, and now he was on a mission in the 7th Sector, and it was promising to be extremely easy.
Humming a small ditty in his head, turned the corner in a not-so-SOLDIER-like-way, smiled with satisfaction as he came to his destination.
The report had said that he had to empty the old warehouse of a few hounds. Easy!
Drawing his Buster Style Sword, Zack held it at the ready as he slipped through the door that stood slightly ajar. It was dark inside, luckily the mako enhancements helped his eyes see in the dark, though only to a point. Slinking further in, made his way between the old rotting crates. Dust layered the ground and walls thickly, rising in a dense cloud with every step, forcing him to hold back a violent sneeze.
A menacing growl shattered the numbing silence off to his right. Zack smirked, found target one. Readying himself, took another step forward as the rumbling intensified. A clatter of claws on old cement, snarling and snapping jaws with long hanging strands of saliva, and wild eyes crazed with hunger charged towards him. The large mass of fur hung in the air a mere second in mid jump, but a mere second was time enough for Zack to angle his sword. The body thudded to the ground without a sound, it's neck severed with one thrust.
One down, who knew how many left to go.
Hopping over the body, Zack continued on, going ever deeper into the enemies lair. It didn't take long for the rest of the pack to know that blood had been spilt. Zack swallowed as snarls came to life all around him; definitely more than he had anticipated. Coming into stance, sword at the ready, Zack bellowed a challenge to his numerous foe. "COME AND GET IT!" Angeal would be proud.
It all happened at once, the speed of which the hounds pounced would be impossible to describe, all Zack was really aware of was the blur of his Buster Style Sword and the blood splattering the floor, large drops flying through the air in slow motion in front of his blue eyes. Zack was breathing hard from the exertion by the time a lull in the battle finally came. The hounds seemed a whole lot more cautious as they limped a little farther back, licking their wounds and casting insanely angry looks his way. Zack, never having been the patient one, lit up his finally mastered materia, no need to wait for the enemy to regroup.
This was when Zack's perfect day, became a whole lot worse.
The light of the materia brightened the darkened warehouse, burning to the back of his skull with the suddenness of the light change. The hounds didn't seem to be any better off, and definitely weren't appreciating the experience, if their whimpers and startled yelps were anything to go by. Shielding his eyes, Zack gasped in surprise. Since when did a Lightening Materia give off this? The light grew, intensifying till everything was blotted out. It felt like every fiber in his body was on fire. Then suddenly, it went out. Leaving nothing but enveloping darkness behind.
...
Angeal was pacing a hole into his office carpet as he worried his bottom lip, checking his PHS for mail for the thousandth time that day when his door opened with a tiny squeal of protest. Whirling on the spot, Angeal let loose a squawk of hope and annoyance. "ZACK!"
Genesis stepped into view, scrunching his nose in irritation and disgust. "Please Angeal, don't mistake me for that bumbling buffoon of an excuse for a student of yours."
Angeal deflated visibly as he sat back into his chair, slouching in disappointment.
Pausing in his inspection of Angeal's carpet, Genesis lifted a quizzical brow towards his friend. He didn't look too well.
A slumped pile of Angeal sat in the chair behind the desk, his hand resting against his brow, dark rings under his eyes.
"Angeal? When was the last time you slept?" Genesis inquired, crossing his arms over his chest.
It felt like a century before Angeal answered. "Three days Genesis, it's been three days, and he's not back yet."
Genesis frowned, still? That's all he'd been talking about for the last two days. And what was 'that'?, none other than the horrid pest, Zack Fair. "Still gone, hmm. I'm sure he's just fine, being up to no good somewhere. At least he's not drawing stupid pictures on the pages of my LOVELESS copies."
Angeal peered under his hand, silently scowling at the redhead. Couldn't he be just a little more understanding?
Rolling his eyes, Genesis slipped into one of the chairs. "You know Angeal, perhaps your just worrying too much."
"How could you say that? It's been three days. He can't possibly be here, because if he was, he'd be driving me insane with texts." Angeal hypothesized, leaning forward to glare more effectively at the poetry loving redhead.
Genesis's brows rose in alarm. Angeal never got this upset. Giving in, heaved a reluctant sigh. Knowing if Zack stayed missing for much longer, Angeal would go ballistic, becoming a never ending... Genesis got derailed from his train of thought as the door behind him was slammed open... which probably dented the wall under the force of it.
Sephiroth strode in as if he owned the place, except, there was something different about him.
Genesis glanced over his shoulder as he lazily put his feet up on Angeal's desk, scattering neglected papers over the floor at the General's entry, while Angeal leapt to his feet, slightly crouched, like a tiger ready to pounce, but upon seeing Sephiroth, slouched in disappointment, and sat down heavily in his chair again. A disheartened mumble escaping his lips, "oh, it's you Sephiroth."
The General snorted, not too pleased.
It was then that Genesis and Angeal noticed the difference, and it was a big one too. A large stripped took sat on his head, it's tasselled tip swinging by the back of his knees.
A long silence ensued. The ravenette and redhead shocked into a daze, while the tooked general gave them a look that could have peeled paint. Slowly, time began to turn again.
Genesis coughed and sputtered, desperately hiding the tittering laughter threatening to slip from his lips, while Angeal gaped, his mind distracted from his missing puppy for the first time in three days.
"Sephiroth. Uh, what is that o-on your... head?" Angeal stuttered, disturbed, his tongue still slightly dead.
Tears streamed down Genesis' cheeks as he continued to peer over his shoulder at the General, occasionally burying his face in his arms.
Sephiroth stood there pained, looking as though he were about to cry. Straightening to his full height, huffed imperiously. "It's a took!"
"I noticed, but, why are you wearing it? And, where's your hair?" Seeing Sephiroth with no bangs or hair what-so-ever was more than slightly disturbing, even for Angeal, who had known the general for a good many years.
Finally, after a long pause, the great General Sephiroth heaved a sigh of defeat, his shoulders sagging. It was no use. Knowing that his friends would pester him to death if he didn't cave, reached up to the hat on his head, with a reluctant sigh and a warning glare at the duo, whipped it off, the long strands of his hair cascading down his back as his bangs fell back in place, the same hot pink? hair?
That was the last straw, Genesis just couldn't take it anymore!
Peels of hysterical laughter bounced off the walls, filling the room. The only thing keeping the redhead from rolling on the floor holding his sides was the chair arms. While Angeal was laid back in his chair, skin pale and his eyes closed, having given up the ghost from the mere sight of the fluorescent hot pink hair.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth stood with arms crossed, glaring daggers while mentally cutting inches off said redhead from toes up.
It felt like hours before the room turned back to being relatively normal. Genesis had managed to sit up, gulping air greedily. However there wasn't much change in Angeal's case. Slowly, Sephiroth eased himself into a seat, silently sulking.
The world outside the window went on as normal, blissfully unaware of the happenings of the most famous men in all of Midgar.
...
Zack scurried towards the SOLDIER entrance, urgency surging through his veins. I gotta get to Angeal! Maybe he can help me! He's probably worried sick about me! If I don't find him soon he's gonna kill me... Coming to a sudden stop, Zack placed his hands on his knees, exhausted. Three days. He'd been walking for three days!
Slowly pulling himself together, he continued to trudge towards his long awaited destination, only to pause mid-step when a thought struck him. Wait, I can't just march in and say 'hi, here I am! Miss me?' they'd probably drag me off to Hojo's darned lab and attempt to conduct experiments that will make me a whole lot smaller, or turn me into a turtle!
When that last thought entered his mind, Zack shivered, a tu-turtle? He couldn't be turned into a turtle! It would damage his startlingly gorgeous face!
Quickly casting a look around, Zack spied the perfect disguise. Scrambling over to it, climbed onto the bottom tray, crouched down and hid between the ketchup and mayonnaise, his black raven hair spiking up like a crazed porcupine.
The trolley began moving, clunking and jostling past the guards and down the large crowded hallway. Rough ride. Making a mental note not to leave a tip, Zack prepared himself for action. They were nearing the end of the hallway, looking both ways, Zack leapt, rolled, and quickly sprinted away. Now thoroughly bruised, the mini-fied Zack Fair fled for dear life.
It all became a confusing blur as Zack ran, and before he knew it, a crowd of joyous Infantrymen and SOLDIER Thirds thundered behind him like a stampede, throwing up a dust cloud that would have made any Chocobo Racer jealous.
Heart pounding like a trip-hammer, legs pistoning, Zack sped down the long white walled corridor, managed to turn a corner without tumbling in a head-over-toes fashion, only to run right into a pair of legs. Without even stopping to see who it was, climbed onto the leather boots and under the pants, and clung for dear life onto the bare shin of the persons shin. Now perfectly hidden from sight, Zack tightened his grip as his ride decided to dance a jig, and nearly puked down the persons sock.
The person, meaning a certain redhead in a red leather coat, flailed wildly as he screamed like a little girl. SOMETHING WAS IN HIS CLOTHES!
The stampede came to a halt as they stared wide eyed and open mouthed at a sight they'd never thought they'd see in their entire lives. Genesis Rhapsodos screaming and dancing. He must be drunk. Deciding that it would be best to leave their oblivious and drunk-as-a-skunk Commander to his dancing, lest he should decide to decapitate them, the young men hurried on their way.
After a while of being jostled to the point of unconsciousness, Zack, hand's sweating profusely, slipped. Falling down the pant leg, tumbled onto the boot and was soon soaring through the air, it felt oddly peaceful, at least until he collided with the wall, starfish style. Slowly, he began slipping down the white drywall. Had it not been for his clothes, Zack would have made the sound of skin being dragged across the surface of a window. Finally, he came to slip into a semi-sitting/laying position against the walls bottom.
Genesis, having stopped screaming and kicking when he felt the leech slip off, stood over Zack's prone form, rapier drawn. If it hadn't been for the rather familiar shape and look of the now pancake like creature, he would have cut it in two the moment it hit the wall. As it was, now all he could do was stare at it bug-eyed.
...
Angeal had taken up pacing a hole into his carpet once again, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair. Sephiroth had situated himself onto Angeal's very comfy sofa and now watched the burly man in front of the window, silently wondering why his old friend hadn't circled himself dizzy yet. While a new figure was straddling one of Angeal's prized chairs. The young blond SOLDIER Second with the chocobo styled hair-cut stared unblinkingly at the door, zombiefied.
They were all gathered, now all they had to do was wait. The office phone had been placed in a more accessible spot, while Genesis, after much cajoling, had gone to look for the newly crested SOLDIER First. He'd been gone for nearly two hours now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult not to go running around the entire building bashing down doors.
Glancing over at the blond, Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow, wondering if the boy was actually watching the door, or had simply fallen asleep with his eyes open. Glancing down at his hands, which were fisted in is lap, growled dangerously as a hot pink bang fell over his eyes. Curses! Whoever it was that put the dye in his conditioner had better pray that they weren't found out! Because their lives would depend on it.
Silence enveloped the room, nothing but the steady, even ticking of the clock sitting on Angeal's mantelpiece could be heard. It was, to put it simply, suffocating, in Sephiroth's opinion. The tension built until finally, the moody General and the blonde were startled out of their private thoughts by an odd sound.
Angeal had stopped pacing, his nerves having finally snapped, plus there was no longer a carpet beneath his feet anymore, raking his fingers through his hair agitatedly, exhaled through his nose. "That's it. I'm done. I'm not waiting around here anymore while Genesis is scowering the building and Zack is possibly laying dead on the side of a road somewhere. I have to go look for him myself!" he announced in a matter-of-fact way.
Moving to his feet, Sephiroth placed a hand on his worried friend's arm, comforting and yet restraining. "We must be patient Angeal. Believe in your student. He might be an idiot and a clutz–"
"BUT THAT'S JUST IT!"
"BUT- he's still an excellent fighter. I doubt he'd get killed by a few measly hounds so easily." with that said, an uncharacteristic amount of praise for the lovable prankster on Sephiroth's part, the general carefully eased his distressed friend into a chair, reclaiming his own a moment later, which had now gotten cold, Sephiroth frowned, he'd always hated cold seats; that's why he had a cushion warmer on his own office chair, strictly speaking, his Russian-blue cat, Snuggles.
The dense silence settled in once again before heavy footsteps were heard, coming to stop before Angeal's office door.
It took every ounce of his strength not to leap out of his seat and wrench the darn thing open, possibly causing the person on the other side to pee their pants.
Slowly, after a lot of fiddling, the door opened. The figure came into view. Genesis, and in his arms, was a box.
The three occupants of the room stared at the redhead with wide, expectant eyes. Genesis sniffed, blinking painfully as he attempted to hide his tears. Giving Angeal a sorrowful look, spoke slowly.
"... The fates are cruel, there are no dreams, no honour remains. The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess..." Just like that, it was said.
Angeal stared at him in disbelief. Sephiroth too, while Cloud simply looked confused. Angeal stuttered, unwilling to believe his eyes and ears. "You mean, by translation, that Zack, he's... he's..." he couldn't say it, couldn't bring himself to say the very word he'd been dreading from the very beginning.
Genesis lowered his gaze to the box, looking utterly grief-stricken. "I found Zack." he said in a small voice. Neither Sephiroth or Angeal could hear a lie in Genesis' voice. He meant it. The two stared at him in shock. While Cloud kept his watery gaze on the box. A heavy lump of weight building in his chest, it hurt.
Stepping slowly to the desk in a funeral-like fashion, Genesis gently placed the box on the smooth surface. The three others slowly rising from their seats to stand gloomily around him. Cloud wiped his eyes on the inside of his shirt-neck, sniffling fitfully. Genesis stepped away from box, giving Angeal his spot. Reaching out to it, the burly man hesitated, not even sure if he wanted to see his student and friend's remains. Slowly pulling his hand away, let it drop lifelessly by his side, a small mumble escaping his numbed lips. "I can't."
Cloud was crying too hard to see, and Genesis had his face in both his hands, his shoulders jerking violently as he sobbed. That left Sephiroth, the only one remaining that wasn't in or about to be in the water-works department. With a steady hand, began lifting the lid. Slowly, it was removed, peering in, the generals eyes went as wide as saucers, a slight twitching at a corner of his lips.
After scrubbing at his now red-rimmed eyes, Cloud leaned in farther, Angeal, reluctantly, did as well.
WHAT THE...!
Sitting rather huffily in the box, sat a mini-fied, nine inch (when standing), Zack Fair.
Angeal gaped, Cloud stared, rendered mute. And Sephiroth's mouth continued twitching as he lifted said midget out of his container, hands rapped just under Zack's ensuing silence was shattered when peels of hysterical laughter irrupted behind them.
Genesis was a crumpled pile on the floor, pounding the carpet with a fist. Tears of uncontrollable merriment streaming down his cheeks. This was the best day he'd had in years!
It was late in the evening by the time everything settled down. Genesis, now thoroughly beat up, sat in Angeal's chair behind the desk, nursing his bruises and grinning triumphantly. Sephiroth was once again on the sofa, and was giving the emotional blond next to him funny looks, who was practically sitting in his lap, and crying fountains on his shoulder; while Angeal was stretched out on the opposite sofa, finally getting his neglected sleep. And Zack, snuggled in the crook of Angeal's arm, having passed out from fatigue and the relief of being reunited with his mentor and friend.
Yeah, I love Final Fantasy, so I thought I'd try my hand at a fanfic. The second Chapter will be uploaded the next time I get on the Internet. And I will finish this story, cuz if I don't I'll be thoroughly crucified by my sisters. So I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and please review! Thanks!