[a/n] if i'm being honest I just want to get a move on already. It might be a mistake, but i'm abridging the early part of the wutai conflict heavily, mostly to get these characters older, and getting at least Angeal and Genesis into the picture. I've spent way too long idling. If you really wanted to see capital W War, then sorry, but don't worry. Remember that the Wutai conflict will continue up until the start of Crisis Core proper, quite a while in the future, even with this fast forward. I feel like I don't necessarily need to stick to linearity quite as much, but for the sake of most I'll try. I think I'm going to go for even shorter chapters just to try to have regular postings. idk
Lieutenant's log. Combat date 001.4.
The Shinra assault fleet is due to make landfall in Wutai by tonight. With us, we bring Shinra Infantry Battalions 03-22, 8000 in all, as well as the crews of the 60 vessels carrying them. Those crews as well as addition support staff add another 3500 men to the fight. Heidegger currently remains in Midgar overseeing additional reinforcements to aid the war effort. A newly promoted General Hammond will oversee the ground assault and beachhead formation on the Wutai coast.
Sephiroth will lead the SOLDIER contingent. Out of the current 38 SOLDIERs, including Sephiroth and myself, 8 were designated 1st Class. 6 are here in Wutai, while the remaining two are to remain at Shinra and help direct SOLDIER recruitment for new '3rd Class' SOLDIERs. Most of the other '2nd Class' were here in Wutai; one is to be assigned to each battalion unless needed for for special assignment at Sephiroth and General Hammond's discretion.
Tseng is here with a few Turks to monitor the situation and help wherever they can. Tseng told me that Veld was tied up in other matters and could not make it out here himself. Before I left, I gave instructions to the science team continuing my work on the Virtual Reality System. In fact, I wrote what amounts to a small book containing everything a technician would need to know about holography. I wrote the book so I could free the space in my mind for new war information: tactics, movements, everything I could remember to help Sephiroth and the war effort.
Hopefully the conflict ends relatively quickly. We bring so much force to bear, it would be a shame to prolong the suffering of war any longer than necessary.
Lieutenant's log, supplemental. Combat date 006.1.
The native Wutai woke us up again tonight, reminding us that they will fight for every centimeter of their country. I have the feeling this is going to be a long a slow engagement.
Sephiroth laid on his bedroll thinking about his situation. It had been fifteen days since their forces had landed in Wutai, and Shinra still only controlled a two kilometer stretch of beach and 500 meters inland. Pathetic by Shinra standards, infuriating to Heidegger and President Shinra. The Wutaians always laid in wait; they had placed innumerable traps and ambushes throughout the region. They had already tried to relocate their assault completely, but that turned out to be a four-day waste of time as the Wutaians moved faster than Shinra's infantry ever could.
Sephiroth glanced over at a sleeping Lieutenant Asher. He saw him dressed in special tactical gear that Heidegger mandated, hand on his hip where his standard issue sword was sheathed. Asher didn't snore; it was a trait they shared. Sephiroth could still hear the even breathing of sleep that was becoming increasingly rare. Wutai strategy seemed to be to harass Shinra whenever possible, during the night to lose sleep, during the day with short guerilla engagements that would end as soon as Sephiroth showed up. He hadn't even seen proper combat yet. Asher had contributed more, attempting to find as disarm traps and healing those injured by them. Already they had lost several dozen to Wutai methods.
Asher's right shin was bandaged from one such disarming attempt. Even Asher couldn't always outsmart Wutai traps.
Sephiroth whirled through the Wutai scout force as they attempted to run away, killing left, right, and center. They would not escape. Peripherally, Sephiroth was aware of Asher running quickly to keep up, casting buffs and restoring Sephiroth over and over with his new materia-on-a-stick excuse for a mage staff. Sephiroth had massively overextended, sure, but he desperately needed this release. And when your trusted lieutenant was carrying you this hard, better to just go with it.
Even further back, Shinra troops advanced as fast as they could using trap sweepers developed by the support corps with help from Asher and other's experience with the traps. Wutai could only have so many tricks up their sleeve, and when they ran out, Shinra would win.
Sephiroth followed the last scouts as he was led to a camp of sorts. Here, as soon as he entered the camp, a lot of things happened at once. First, a net snapped up from nowhere, ensnaring Sephiroth and forcing him to drop Masamune. Then Sephiroth heard the thoot of dart guns as several pricks on his skin were felt, followed back a spreading feeling of numbness. Sephiroth couldn't summon the strength to break free. He'd just walked into a terrible trap. One that might cost him his life.
Luckily, he heard a familiar deep breath (more like a heave now) somewhere in the brush. Still at full speed, Asher burst through and threw his sword forward, embedding itself in the chest of the one closest to Masamune on the ground. Quickly snatching up Sephiroth's sword, he slammed the butt of his staff into the ground and gave a kiai so loud he was pretty sure Hammond back on the beach could have heard it. The wind sharply picked up as a momentary tornado intensified beneath Sephiroth, knocking the Wutai troops off their feet. Asher tossed the Masamune up to him, and in one smooth move Sephiroth cleaved his bindings away, landing on the ground next to Asher.
"Thank you." Sephiroth finally heard the strain in his voice as the tranquilizer effects started to take hold.
"Don't… thank me… yet." Asher sounded out of breath after keeping up with him for so long. The Wutaians were already readying another coordinated attack on them both. Sephiroth had to lean on Asher for support; he couldn't feel his arms anymore.
"We have this under control." Sephiroth tried to sound confident. Asher nodded.
"That we do."
Lieutenant's log. Combat date 191.7
War is a test of human determination and willpower. To break the other's morale means you've won. Neither Wutai nor Shinra will give up. It's all the same mind-numbing push inland. Holding our territory is just as hard as forcing submission from new territory. More and more, I'm spending time in the infirmary healing the injured. A cycle. Sometimes Sephiroth takes me and a few others on special missions, destroy x building, kill x person. The Wutai have nicknamed Sephiroth "The Demon". In my report to Hammond and Heidegger, I estimate that Sephiroth alone has killed 1000 locals. Sounds about right.
I don't know why, but people look to me just as often as they look to Sephiroth for inspiration. When I asked 1st Class Samuels why, he says it's because I'm the opposite of Sephiroth. Where his detached fury and pure overwhelming power are awe-inspiring, my personal connection to SOLDIER and much of the infantry was inspiring in and of itself. What personal connection? Apparently, over time I have personally healing away serious injuries from all deployed SOLDIERs and countless infantrymen. Sarcastically, some nicknamed me "The Angel" in contrast to Sephiroth's Wutai-given moniker.
In any case, I certainly have done a lot of healing. I'd mastered several Full Cure, Heal, and Restore materia in the process. Hammond had me sent Shinra's only Master Magic Materia for flexible use. I'm close to mastering that too. It's a bit scary. I've always known I had an intuition, a skill for magic, but I guess using magic under stressful conditions for extended periods of time really forges a master mage. Sephiroth certainly thinks so; I think he's forgotten that he taught me so much swordwork, he just encourages my magical development. He just wants me to just Haste and spam Regen on him while he should by all rights be dead ten times over. Sephiroth seems so satisfied out here, I love it. I put the painful parts of war out of mind and just concentrate on the here and now. We'll get there eventually.
[a/n] thanks for reading.