Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Crisis Core copyright Squaresoft/Square-enix.
I got up from my chair to take a walk and get some fresh air, but I felt increasingly heavy and my vision was rapidly going dark. I felt myself lose feeling in my legs and collapse on the floor; I lost consciousness after that.
When I woke up, I decided take the possible hallucination's advice. I got up and headed towards the entrance. On the way there, Tseng called me and told me where to find Cissnei.
"Don't forget to visit First Church of Detroit to pay your respects to Cissnei. I know you two were starting to be more than… professional acquaintances." Tseng always had a way with words. Going to church to meet a girl; those were the days. I thought with a sigh. It took me a while to walk to church, but I finally got there; it looked kind of like the church in Sector 5 of Midgar. Well, here it is; going to pay my respects. I just hope I have a strong enough mental composure to see Cissnei's once bright and cheerful presence as a cold, lifeless body in a casket. I tried not to think about it, but I just kept seeing it in my mind. I pushed the door open and went inside. I don't see anyone here. What's going on? Tseng told me to come here. I know he would mess around about someone's death. I thought as I walked to the altar.
"Zack… over here…" I heard a familiar voice behind me, but I didn't believe I was hearing it. I turned around and saw Cissnei standing near the door. Jeez, what was in those cigarettes? First the face in the computer, now voices and actual people. I thought as I slowly walked towards "Cissnei".
"I'm sorry I had to lie to you, but I figured that was the only way you would actually listen to someone; I've tried everything else and it was like you didn't even notice." Cissnei explained the reason for her lying about her condition.
"No, don't apologize. I'm glad your death was just a lie." I smiled as I hugged her tightly; she may work for Shinra indirectly, but I didn't care. I knew that I would not survive mentally if I lost her.
"Zack, I…" Cissnei gasped; I probably caught her off guard by hugging her. Since she was raised inside Shinra, and worked for the Turks most of her life, she probably didn't have much of anything outside professional relationships with people.
"You still care about me, even after I've tried to take you into Shinra custody; even after I used assault materia on you. What do you see in me that makes you care so much?" Cissnei asked me.
"You tried because it was your job, but ultimately you let me go. Twice. Then you even went against Shinra and tried to find me before they did. You have a good heart, even if you are working for someone who doesn't." I explained; I lost Aeris, but I damn sure wasn't about to lose Cissnei. I am going to take things slow from now on. I've already been captured by Shinra once; I don't want to be careless and let it happen again.
"I will talk to Jensen about that training he was offering. I will learn how to protect you better." I assured her. I called Jensen as I walked back to Sarif HQ.
"I think I'm ready for-" I started but was interrupted by very angry Jensen.
"What the fuck were you doing, running off like that?" Jensen growled.
"I don't know. I lost my head for a minute. I can't thank you enough for coming to save me." I apologized; I couldn't explain what happened even if I tried.
"You've cost everyone a lot of mental health. You went completely dark after that helicopter exploded. By the way, how did you survive the blast of the Typhoon at that kind of close range?" Jensen asked; I'm sure he wasn't the only person that was curious about how I pulled that off.
"I'll tell you when I get up there." I didn't want to give any details over the phone because I didn't know who else could be listening.
"So what kind of training did you have in mind?" I asked Jensen when I got to Sarif's office.
"Mainly mental conditioning. But first you've got to tell me how you escaped that helicopter without any serious injuries." Jensen was not letting go of the mystery of my survival.
"Right when I saw one of the Typhoon bullets, I remembered the demo video; I started running maybe a second before they started exploding. I wasn't in the middle of the explosion but I was still close enough to take moderate damage. I landed in the middle of four scorpion bots and they all used some sort of E.M.P. that nullified my shielding from such effects." I explained the mystery.
"Honestly, I lied about the training. The key to getting revenge on Shinra is patience. You can't just lash out like you did with the helicopter. If you have the chance, assess the situation and make a decision on whether or not it's realistic for you to attack or stay hidden. The cloaking system you have can also be used to escape in case you misjudge the situation or things change suddenly. Don't depend on it, but use it when you need to. Just like Sarif said, basically all of your augmentations are for survival; the Typhoon is the only purely offensive augmentation. I made up the part about training because I needed to keep you here while Tseng called in a few favors. I think Tseng is ready to see you now. He is waiting for you in your office." Whether Jensen held up his end of "I'll give you the training you asked about if you tell me how you survived" or not could be argued from either side; I felt bad that I made them come up with extra schemes just to get me to listen.
"Go talk to Pritchard; he will brief you on your next mission." Tseng was back to his old Shinra self, but he was on my side this time. I went to Pritchard's office because I knew from the videos that I saw on Jensen's computer that he's going to be one of the key people supporting me on this mission.
"If it isn't the Martyr of Midgar, fresh from the suicide fields." Pritchard said with a smirk.
"You will first be infiltrating and dismantling the factory we pulled you out of. Sarif doesn't like them being that close, and frankly neither do I. I have sent all the blueprints and maps you would need to your infolink. I doubt there will be anything worth saving in that facility so you can go wild if you want. Just don't get carried away; literally or figuratively." Pritchard gave me the basics of the mission.
"it should be pretty easy since all they have there is foot soldiers and a few small sentry bots; but-" Pritchard didn't get to finish because I completed his sentence with what Sephiroth would say.
"Overconfidence will destroy me. Yeah I know." thanks to Sephiroth, that has almost become the motto of part of my brain.
"Well, look at you being rational." Pritchard chuckled.
"Being rational will keep me alive longer." I smiled.
"Malik will take you to your point of entry. She is waiting for you on the helipad." Pritchard informed me.
"Well, wish me luck." I said as I headed off to the helipad.
"This brings back memories" Malik smiled as I climbed into the helicopter.
"Same for me.'in case we get shot down over the ghetto, I don't know you, and you don't speak English.' great first ride in a helicopter after getting out of the hospital." I teased.
"Well, I was joking last time. This time it's a serious concern. Just this time, bail on impact should it happen." Malik sounded very serious.
"What about you?" I asked; she can't be expecting me to just leave her.
"I'll be fine. I've got experience." she said plainly. We got to the entry point without any problems; I was still worried the whole way.
"Thank you for the lift. Hopefully I will be calling you for extraction." I said before I jumped out of the helicopter. When I landed on the roof of a nearby building, I saw the hole Jensen made for us to escape through. They will probably be expecting someone to try and get in through that hole. Although it would be even harder to get in after making a new hole. I thought as I looked around the facility from the roof. Wait a minute, I've got smart vision. I can see exactly who is where. I remembered that my vision vastly exceeded that of my human life. I saw one guard near the hole, while everyone else was either in the middle or back of the facility. I snuck up to the side of the whole where the guard was standing; I had to take care of him, but quietly. I quickly reached around the corner and pulled him out of the facility.
"Intru-" the guard yelped before I hit him in the stomach and threw him over my shoulder; I didn't really look where I threw him so he ended up landing on an electrical transformer. The inside of the facility went dark for a few seconds, and then the emergency lights came on.
Well, as good a time as ever. I thought as I thought as I walked in through the hole.