Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of the characters. I wish I did, but I don't.

A/N: I do not have a beta, so forgive any mistakes and just enjoy them, I do!
This chapter is rated M as it involves talk of suicide. If you are easily upset about this subject, please don't read, if you are and want to read it anyway, don't get mad at me. Read at your own risk.

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." –Unknown

Chapter 6

~Angeal's Legacy~

"It was weird. The executives seemed preoccupied with other things that didn't even look like what they said that their job descriptions were," Cloud's nervousness peeked through his calm tone, "The phone calls, the way they seemed restless, but still maintained the appearance of authority to the town."

A calm, cold voice spoke from the General's direction, "I am not sure I understand what you are getting at. Restless? What about?"

"Well I heard them talking about resistance groups in Wutai, Midgar and Nibelheim. They said something about the groups wanting revenge for something," Deep blue eyes searched both firsts, waiting for some kind of response.

When Genesis spoke, Sephiroth lowered his eyes as if in shame, "Then it had to have been a resistance group that took him, just like with…." Genesis paused, "Which group is still unknown," A reassuring hand went to the black gloved hand of the saddened General, "We will find out which one it is."

Genesis thought about Sephiroth and what he knew was going through his mind, Angeal. The three of them had been close, the best of friends. As serious as Angeal was, he was still the one who was able to really get Sephiroth out of his shell. With Angeal's urging, the stuffy General let loose and learned to have a good time outside of his job.

When Angeal took on an apprentice, Sephiroth had displayed a jealousness of Zack. After all, Zack was taking Angeal and some of his attention away. If there was one thing that you could always count on in Sephiroth, it was his uncanny ability to be territorial of just about anything or anyone. On many occasions, when Zack wasn't around, Angeal had to spend extra time with him. Zack received nothing but a cold shoulder and frigid nature from him.

Zack had always taken it in stride, as if knowing what was upsetting to him. Without a thought, when all four of them were together, the dark haired student took a step back to give Sephiroth room with the dark haired first. However, without even realizing it, Zack had wedged himself firmly into the cold heart of the lonely President's son.

That was when it happened.

Angeal was sent on a mission and Sephiroth and Genesis generously took over training his student and getting him ready to be promoted to first. The entire time that Angeal was gone, all five months, they never got any correspondence from him. When they questioned the director, they were told that there was no way to get letters or phone calls in or out. It would jeopardize the mission. They were satisfied with that answer; it had been many times that they were in the same position.

The problem occurred when he returned. Angeal was different and there was no confusion about it. If only the signs had been noticed and spoken of at the very beginning.

The day that Angeal came back was when all their lives changed…

Sephiroth's smile was without a doubt, dominating his face. He had missed his friend and the debriefing was just a formality, "Angeal, as you know, this is being recorded so there isn't any misunderstanding or anything missed."

Angeal's nervous glances caught the attention of the red head that stood behind Sephiroth. Knowing full well that Zack was watching from behind the one sided glass, Genesis asked as a concerned friend, "Angeal, is everything alright? You look a little upset."

Angeal's hands went to his hair, mussing it, "Y-yeah, just tired… Let's just get this done…" Throughout the debriefing, Angeal's eyes never seemed to be able to stay on one thing for very long. Sweaty and fidgeting, he couldn't sit still under the imagined scrutiny.

"Alright, Angeal, my friend, I think you need to get to your apartment and shower. Why don't you take some time and get some sleep too," Sephiroth's hand reached out and grasped one of the shoulders of the other first. Angeal almost jumped through the glass wall next to him, "Angeal!"

"S-sorry, I'm just tired, that's all," Without thinking, Angeal grabbed Zack and pulled him along with him to the apartment.

Zack looked back at the two astonished men with a perplexed look of his own, "I'll make sure he gets some rest-" Angeal jerked his arm and rushed around the corner. Not able to follow immediately, once they were finished with all the paperwork they would drop by his apartment.

An hour later, both firsts opened the door to their friend's apartment. Finding Zack unconscious on the floor in the overly clean apartment, the search was on for Angeal, "Zack! Wake up!" Genesis finally getting a response from Zack, the Major asked, "What happened?!"

"I don't… I don't know. He got a shower while I was out here watching TV. Next thing I know, you're here."

Rushing to open the bedroom door, Sephiroth stood bordered in the door frame and then he froze, "Angeal? What… what are you doing?"

All three men stood in the doorway looking at Angeal; he was simply dressed in boxers as he huddled in one corner of the room. His hair had been wet and lay in a mess on his head, uncombed. Sephiroth stepped closer and that was when Angeal lost his last bit of control. Wild and scared eyes startled, looking first to Sephiroth then Zack. A glimpse of a frightened man that no longer resembled Angeal whimpered in emotional pain. No one saw where the knife came from, but Zack dove for the cowering man and Sephiroth jerked forward trying to grab the weapon. With a swift movement, the blade sliced through the skin on Zack's hand and Sephiroth's sleeve.

By the time that Genesis took a hold of Angeal's wrist, it was already too late. A glint of metal shined in the afternoon sun through the window as it pulsed with the beat of the heart that filled the main artery with blood in the well-muscled neck. The surge of thick red liquid misted the horrified faces of the three SOLDIERs that witnessed the life that was taken that day.

It just didn't make any sense. From the moment that they found out that Zack was missing, Sephiroth unintentionally re-lived that moment many times. The student had become a permanent fixture that Sephiroth had gotten used to and missed a great deal. A lot of it was that Zack was the last thing that Angeal had clung to, that he cared for and loved as he would a son.

Thinking that whatever had happened to his friend, would happen to the young man that was put in his care. He had made a promise to Angeal before he left on that last mission, 'Take care of Zack, keep him focused in his studies and his training. And Seph, don't let him talk you into letting him out of classes.' The smile on the face of his friend that day was what he wanted to remember. However, it was the face that appeared so scared when he looked at him just before his death. He seemed like two different people then.

At this point, he only wanted to know what the resistance had done to him that would cause such a proud man to resort to taking his life. Honor, loyalty and friendship were things that Angeal had lived for, had taught and his student was left as Angeal's legacy.

The jostle of the truck on rough roads jiggled the men in their seats, all with thoughts of their own that were not to be shared, at least right now.

Rustling the blond hair on his head, his thinking went from one thing to another. Just being trainees, lower than thirds, he and Jamie were not privy to the actual information on missions, the superiors in the field would deem it a need to know basis. If this was a rescue mission, he was fine with that, but he wasn't able to shake the feeling that he was in the middle of something that he didn't want to be part of.

Breaking him out of his thoughts, the movement of the truck slowing down brought his attention to the back of the truck. He had been so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't realize that they had arrived in Calchest.

"Let's go Strife. We have a mission to finish," Genesis gracefully jumped from the back of the truck, followed closely by Sephiroth.

Cloud attempted to do the same; however, with the General and his second in command right there watching him, he lost his footing. Landing hard on his stomach, a small puff of dust rose to the occasion and lightly coated his face and arms. From the ground, he could hear a huffing laugh from one of the two firsts, most likely Genesis, and muffled laughter from his fellow trainee, "Shut up Jamie."

"Sorry Cloud, but that was really funny," Jamie helped him to his feet and then pointed, "Hey, come on, they're leaving us."

Dusting himself off, he followed both of the older men. Furrowing his eyebrows, he wondered out loud, "Why are they headed for the hospital?" When they caught up, they followed the silent men as they walked through the quiet hallways to the back part of the hospital. Glancing at the door, Cloud noticed the sign.

Psychiatric Ward
No Admittance without Proper Identification

Sephiroth couldn't seem to get there fast enough. Passing the sign that indicated the ward, a feeling of nausea hit him. If it were Zack that he was going to see, would he be in the same condition that Angeal had been in? The sudden urge to retch caused him to pause in his stride. He made himself take a few deep breaths; he hated hospitals and hated them even more when a friend might be in one.

"You okay Seph?"

Clutching his knees while leaning against the wall, he nodded to Genesis. From between the strands of his flowing silver hair, Cloud saw the eyes that indicated to him that the animal in him was just below the surface. It was ready at any time to release its inner pain. Slowing his pace, Jamie soon followed suit so as not to crowd the large antsy man.

"Let's get this done," Brushing past his red friend, the silver haired one pushed past another inner door. The nurse's station stood proudly in the middle like a small island in a lake of insanity.

Among the sounds of roughly three people in locked rooms, Cloud tried to determine what was happening. Here they were in a psychiatric ward with the sounds of one person crying, one person screaming, whether it was in pain or not was yet to be determined. The third person sounded like they may be laughing, but then again, it also could have been crying. The four doors that lined the hallway on one side had small windows that had reinforced glass with steel mesh.

Applause erupted from the larger day room followed by canned laughter from a television program.

"Excuse me! Do you have authorization to be here?!" The frantic nurse quickly bounced her way around the desk and stupidly grabbed a hold of Sephiroth's sleeve. To the horror of the two recruits, Sephiroth turned on her in a display of sickened rage.

With quick deft movements, Genesis wedged himself between the two sudden rivals, "I'm sorry ma'am, but this is General Sephiroth and I am Genesis from SOLDIER. We received a call that you had a patient here that needed our attention."

Taking her arm from Genesis's softer grasp, the overly healthy woman glanced back and forth between the two firsts, then over to the two younger men. Nervously she began to speak to the four men, "Yes, we do. It's been days. What took you so long to get here?" Grabbing a set of keys from the desk she started walking toward a door, "He certainly isn't hard on the eyes, but we do have trouble controlling him at times. He is really strong and the meds don't seem to work very well on him…"

The click of the lock and the door swung open. There sitting on the floor in the corner, legs drawn up, his arms wrapped around them and his forehead resting on his knees, was Lieutenant Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class.

A/N: Thanks to all of you who read, favorite, subscribed and/or reviewed, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."

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