Disclaimers are the same as before. This is following some of the Crisis Core game but should soon leave it far behind.
Sometimes, surprises are found when you seek them.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading and I hope this follows some sense. Writing for me can be an organic process and there's always something new showing up in the process. This piece s a mis-mash of ideas and different styles. Some of the dream sequences will flesh out more and more, and the pieces that is just dialogue are meant for people to imagine who is speaking, although so far the only people in those parts has been Aerith, Zack, Hojo and Sephiroth.
Sephiroth met Zack on the way to the briefing room. He had never actually been alone with the younger SOLDIER between the war and his own work. He had heard about Zack Fair how promising he was, how skilled for such a short time in the program, how friendly and charming he could be. He also heard other things concerning him, like his restlessness and his loyalty and his eager need to become a hero and save people and win the respect of the world. Sephiroth found it strange that someone inside the company could still dream.
"So, we're going to work together on this one?" Zack asked, marching behind him and a little to his right.
He shook his head, glancing over his shoulder at Zack. "You're on your own. I am only accompanying you for evaluation purposes."
"Woah, wait? Evaluating? Me? What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing." Sephiroth walked into the briefing room and glanced around. It was still early but there was already coffee and morning rolls on a side table. He ignored them and leaned against the conference table, folding his arms across his chest. Zack grabbed a glazed roll from the pile and took a huge bite.
"So why th' evaluation?" he asked, waving the roll at Sephiroth and scattering crumbs. "It can't be the yearly thing cuz I got that one squared away in Wutai, right?"
Arching an eyebrow at the roll, Sephiroth reminded himself that Zack was barely seventeen and still had a problem with maintaining full discipline. "What are the three reasons why a SOLDIER would go through an evaluation?"
Zack shoved the rest of the roll into his mouth and frowned, chewing hard. He looked up at the ceiling and then down at the ground before snapping his fingers and swallowing. "There's the yearly thing, the thing when you've done something wrong and a promotion thing. . ."
Sephiroth nodded, watching the way the brunet's face changed colors, from a light tan to a reddish-brown.
"Wait. No way!"
"Yes way."
Sephiroth tilted his head to the side. "Tseng. Good morning."
"Sephiroth." The Turk nodded, looking at Zack. "With the losses from Wutai and the growth of the SOLDIER Program, it has been decided that we need two more Firsts to handle the command duties. Angeal has nominated you for that position and Genesis has nominated Samuel Barton for the other position. Because of the nature of the openings, your evaluation will be handled by Sephiroth while Samuel's will be handled by Angeal."
Zack was bouncing in place, the Mako in his eyes glowing almost as bright as his huge grin. "First? Awesome, man! I -" glancing at Sephiroth, he attempted to stand straighter which made him look like a puppy trying to ignore his wagging tail "- I'm honored, sirs."
Puppy. . . Sephiroth tried covering his twitching lips by the fall of his bangs, understanding now what Angeal meant by his dry comments concerning 'puppy training'. "Let's continue, Tseng."
"Mn, yes," Tseng brought a couple files up onto the main screen, one showing the face of a mid-level lab technician and the other a map of the Banora area. "Trent Browne was working on several classified files for the SOLDIER enhancement programs when he went missing in the outlaying areas of Banora. Several files and some equipment also disappeared with him, so we are assuming he is planning to either copy the SOLDIER techniques for the highest bidder, or he has been snatched by an anti-ShinRa group with that purpose in mind.
"Zack, you will be accompanying me during the search. Your presence should help in case there are any unusual monsters in the area."
"So, I'm like a bodyguard or something?"
"Let's say more like an extra set of hands if there is a large amount of Mako-enhanced monsters in the area."
"So, a bodyguard."
Tseng was too controlled to sigh loudly, but Sephiroth could see that he wanted to badly. Sephiroth bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. He could see the charm in having someone like Zack around even if he was still young and loud and far too hyper for his own good. It was refreshing.
"Make sure you have everything and meet us at the landing pad," Tseng said, standing up. Zack glanced over at Sephiroth and bounced from heel to toe.
"I'm ready!"
Resisting the urge to smile, Sephiroth turned on his heel and led the way out of the room and to the elevator. The three got in and Tseng swiped his card in the scanner, and then punched the button for the roof. Sephiroth leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest and Zack bounced a couple times in place before doing squats.
"Think we're going to see some action?"
"I am just observing,"Sephiroth replied, looking up at Zack. The younger man rubbed the back of his head, chuckling ruefully.
"Uh, sorry. I'm just so excited."
"It is only a routine investigation," Tseng added as the elevator came to a stop. The three marched out and headed for the waiting copter.
"Routine? But there are monsters and terrorists where we're going!"
Tseng looked over his shoulder at Zack, smiling. "That's why Turks are paid better than SOLDIERs."
"Aw, man!"
Sephiroth listened to their prattle with half an ear, staying at the back of their group as they climbed into the helicopter and Tseng took over the pilot's seat. Zack groused good-naturally as he settled in his seat, strapping himself in and bounced his foot as the helicopter's blades sped up. Sephiroth sat back in his own seat, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to be a long trip.
During the transcontinental flight, Sephiroth found out more about Angeal then he really wanted to know. He also found out about how the Second Class felt when it came to the General, the gossip about the President's Honeybee visits, and disgusting details concerning Hojo's not-so-secret experiments. He never felt so much relief to step out of the helicopter and fall back into an observational position in his life. Tseng gave Zack his instructions again, and the three were off, heading up to Banora from the landing site.
Zack proved to be an excellent SOLDIER. Now that he had something to do, he kept his mouth from running off and stayed focused on his mission, although he did ask a question about the area and the Banora Whites lining their approach. He also kept a good rapport with Tseng, referring to him when needed, but also taking the initiative also. Yes, he could see Zack as a First, especially dealing with the young candidates for the program. His good natured smiles and childlike happiness would be far better than his own attempts at being approachable.
Trailing behind the two, Sephiroth mentally composed his report while munching on an apple. So far, Tseng's proposal of needing a SOLDIER was unfounded. The beasts they were encountering were native to the land, although they seemed far more aggressive than normal. Sephiroth gnawed on his apple core, getting every last bit of flesh from it, he tossed it into some nearby bushes. A spark of green rose up in its wake, catching his attention. He paused, looking up at Tseng and Zack as the two pause under a young Banora White tree, and then turned, following the apple core's trail.
Past a thicket of thorny bushes and under the edge of a mound of dirt was a fountain of green motes. Sephiroth knelt down next to it, his hand on Masamune's hilt in case something tried to come at him. It wasn't a Mako spring those were huge natural basins filled with the raw power of the planet in liquid form. These were dry, almost like seeds from a dandelion, clinging to his gloved hand but floating gently off with a puff of air. The smell was similar though, something green, fertile and calm, like grass after a sudden shower. And when he let a few motes touched his bare skin, he felt a coolness, a peace and something oddly like coming home.
Sephiroth sat back on his haunches, frowning. With this much energy, why didn't ShinRa build a reactor here? The farmers and merchants that harvested dumbapples for the rest of the world would not have stopped the President from stripping away the old groves and setting up a new power source. He had it done in other areas, so why did he refrain from it here?
A distant pop roused him from his thoughts. Looking up, he tilted his head, focusing on his hearing and catching the sound of several more pops up ahead. Gunshots. He was hearing gunshots. Standing, he left the fountain behind as he moved swiftly through the brush and back to the path. Now the pops were more distinctive, sounding less like those from a heavy hand gun and more like a machinegun firing. As far as he knew, Tseng only carried two guns and some small knives. That meant Tseng's prediction of there being rebels here was correct.
He quickened his stride, the gunshots growing louder. He could now hear the scraping of a blade against steel, and the sharp scent of gunpowder. Strange though that it smelt almost like the stuff ShinRa used and not the cheaper mixes most rebels and Wutaians used. Another scent came to him, of something rotted and left in Mako, and he stopped right before two misshapen creatures lurched out of the undergrowth.
They were vaguely manlike, vaguely lizardlike with long forked tongues and huge webbed feet. Each one held hooked knives in their hands and their eyes were slitted mucus green. Not in the mood to play, Sephiroth drew his sword, angling the blade to cut through the chest of one, twisted the blade as he brought it over and down through the other. He flicked the pinkish blood from his sword and continued up the path and into the clearing.
Zack was fighting one of Scarlet's newest creations in front of a large manor home. Tseng was crouched down next to a tree, a hand against his shoulder and his lips thinly pressed together. Three more of those twisted creatures were nearby, dead from several well-placed bullet holes. Zack looked like he was doing fine, so Sephiroth turned towards the Turk, tilting his head at the wounded shoulder.
"Poisonous?"
"I believe so."
Sephiroth hummed softly, mentally shifting through his spells before casting Poisona. Tseng nodded, reloading his gun. "Here comes some more."
They were focusing on Zack more than on the other two men. Sephiroth easily beheaded one and gutted another before the rest turned to the new threat. By that time, Tseng had fatally injured two more, leaving one smaller creature for Sephiroth to bring down. The two men searched the bodies and came up with an assortment of odd findings a pack of gum, energy bars, loose change, and a couple potion bottles.
"Odd," Tseng said, examining the gum. "Why would monsters need this?"
"Why would they need clothing?" Sephiroth replied, poking at the ragged shorts one was wearing. Behind them came the teeth-grinding crunch of over a ton of steel becoming a pile of scrape metal and gunpowder. A few moments later, a shadow fell over Sephiroth's crouched form.
"Didja see that? I beat its tin. . . woah, what the hell is that?"
"That remains to be seen," Sephiroth said, standing up. He turned and looked Zack over, noting the few freshly Cured wounds, the smudges of grease and smoke, and turned back to the dead creature.
"Congratulations."
"Huh?"
"Zack. Sephiroth."
Both SOLDIERs looked over at Tseng, who was bent over a mound of disturbed earth. Frowning, Sephiroth walked over to the Turk's side, poking at the dirt with his boot before taking a step back and almost stepped on Zack. The younger SOLDIER huffed, and squirmed around him to get a better look at the mound.
"The dirt is fresh," Sephiroth said.
Tseng nodded. "I shall see what's inside of it. I find it odd that all the noise we've made hasn't brought any locals out to gawk."
"My thoughts exactly. Zack. With me."
He looked between the two men and scratched the back of his head. "Shouldn't someone stay here and I don't know keep an eye on things?"
Sephiroth looked up at the manor. The windows were empty, showing brief stills of unmoved furniture and dust-sprinkled air. He looked down at Tseng, who was snapping together a pack shovel with all the grim seriousness of a man that already knew what he was going to find. Sephiroth looked at Zack and shook his head.
"I think that some answers await us in the town, not here."
"Great," Zack said, shaking his arms out to either side of him. Taking a deep breath and he started down the path. "Now don't get lonely without us, Tseng."
Shaking his head, Sephiroth followed.