Yes, I'm finally updating this. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Before the door to Tseng's office closed behind Serah, she heard Tseng's phone ring. The young Turk heard her boss mutter something then flip his phone closed and start walking towards her. Serah turned towards Tseng in hopes of an explanation.
"Change of plans. Let's go," Tseng commanded.
Tseng lead Serah out to the helipad at a very rushed pace. Serah instinctively climbed into the pilot's seat and started the rotor. Tseng tapped on the bottom of the compass embedded in the control panel in order to tell Serah to head South, since he had yet to put on his head set. When Tseng finally had his headset on, Serah was about to ask him what was going on.
"You have healing materia, correct?" Tseng asked, cutting Serah off.
"Of course. Why?"
"They're going to be needed."
"Tseng, what's going on?" Serah asked but did not receive a response "Tseng?" Serah looked over and saw that Tseng was talking to someone else on the radio. After a few minutes of flying Tseng finally responded.
"Over there," Tseng pointed towards the West "Land over there by the others."
Serah spotted two other black Shinra helicopters in the distance and steered her helicopter towards them. The young pink haired Turk guided the helicopter to the ground beside the other two. Tseng was climbing out of the chopper just moments after it was on the ground. Serah shut off the engine and climbed out of the helicopter. She ran over to where Tseng headed and froze.
The first thing Serah noticed was the blood. There was so much blood, mixed with the recent rain water and forming massive red pools in the mud. Cissnei, Reno, and Rude were bent over a body dressed in the uniform of a First Class SOLDIER Operative. The three Turks were using several different materia and first-aid tools to try to keep the SOLDIER alive. Serah did not recognize the face of the operative but the gentle features and pulled back raven hair could only be Zack, which she heard about from Claire. The pink haired Turk could not believe that Zack was still alive, there was just so much blood.
"Serah!" Tseng shouted, for the first time ever at Serah "What are you doing? Get over here and help!" Serah nodded and knelt beside Cissnei to begin using her healing materia as fast as she could.
"Come on, man!" Reno shouted at Zack "Don't you dare go into the light!"
"Status!" Tseng shouted.
"He's breathing on his own," Rude replied.
"Bleeding has stopped," Cissnei stated.
"That will have to do," Tseng said to his subordinates "Help me get him loaded into one of the choppers. Reno your flying," Rude and Reno assisted Tseng with getting the tall operative into the helicopter.
"Where are we headed?" Reno asked Tseng as Serah pulled the door shut and everyone put on headsets.
"Palumpolum outskirts, now go!" Reno started the engine and everyone switched on their headsets "Serah, Cissnei, keep your eyes on Zack. He still has several bullets in him, one wrong move and we lose him. Keep him still," Tseng pulled out his phone and punched in a number "It's Tseng, I'm calling in a favor and I need medical equipment and personnel at the L-Z in two hours."
For the next two hours, Serah held Zack's legs tightly against the floor of the helicopter while Cissnei held Zack's shoulders down with her hands and his head still with her knees. Serah saw how much blood had soaked into Cissnei's suit and it made her uneasy. The pink haired Turk knew that Zack was impossibly lucky to be alive at this moment.
When the helicopter was once again on the ground, Tseng already had the door open. Three soldiers in red armor, with the help of the Turks, moved Zack onto a stretcher and into the back of a large military truck. Tseng motioned for the Turks to follow him into the truck with Zack. Even though every instinct was telling the four of them not to trust these soldiers. They wordlessly followed their boss in the end.
Serah had heard a lot regarding Shinra's relationship with Cocoon. It was tense at best. With Shinra trying to push its Mako Reactors on the populace of Cocoon, the events leading to the war with Wutai were being recreated. If it did come to war, Shinra no longer had its legendary warriors and Cocoon would win within a year. Serah knew that was the only reason Shinra had not already gone to war but even with the two nations at each others throat, the Turks were now headed into Palumpolum with an escort of PSICOM soldiers, the Sanctum's version of SOLDIER.
Palumpolum was the trade capitol of the world. Being located right on the border of Shinra and Sanctum territory which made it a very tactically valuable location, it had the least crime, and was very wealthy. It technically belonged to the Sanctum, which is why they had a military base within its limits, but the Shinra were able to trade with Cocoon via Palumpolum. If war were to erupt between the Sanctum and Shinra, Palumpolum would be ripped to pieces.
The large truck never slowed as it made its way towards the hospital in Palumpolum. Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, the stretcher holding Zack was on its way to the operating room. Tseng and his subordinates proceeded into the waiting room. A few minutes later the door to the hallway opened and a woman in heels, a knee length uniform dress, a long green coat, glasses, and very long blond hair. Tseng walked up to her and shook her hand.
"Tseng," the woman said as she and Tseng shook hands. The dark glare she had said she was not pleased to see the Turk.
"Jihl," Tseng said as he finished the greeting "Thank you for doing this under such short notice."
"He had better be worth it," Jihl said in a very hostile tone "This is going to take weeks to cover up."
"He is a former SOLDIER First," Tseng stated "Not to mention he defeated Angeal and held his own against Sephiroth for a time."
"Very well. But I'm not doing anything like this again," Jihl turned and left after speaking.
"What a bitch," Reno said once the door was closed "But she reminds me of someone. Who is it she looks like?" Reno asked himself "Who was that Tseng?"
"That was Jihl Nabaat, the commander of PSICOM," Tseng replied as he lowered himself into a chair.
"Nabaat?" Reno said with a surprised look "That's Elena's sister?" Tseng nodded and Serah's eyes widened at the realization "Wow. What a babe."
"Really Reno?" Cissnei scolded.
"Wait, how is Elena a Turk if she is from Cocoon?" Serah asked.
"It's a long story. But in the end Jihl asked me to keep an eye on Elena," Tseng responded flatly.
"Why isn't Elena with us?" Cissnei inquired.
"She's on assignment in Junon," Tseng's response was the last of the conversation until a surgeon came out of the operating room three hours later. Jihl returned and took a seat on the opposite side of the room from the Turks.
"How is he?" Cissnei asked just before Tseng, almost too eagerly. The middle aged surgeon was almost surprised by Cissnei
"We were able to remove all the bullets and repair most of the damage," he stated "He should be back on his feet in a couple of months," Tseng nodded at Jihl.
"Very good. Turks, we're leaving."
Three days after returning to Midgar, Serah was beginning her mission to infiltrate NORA. Her task was to gain enough trust with the leader of NORA, Snow Villiers, so he would tell her what he was going to tell Avalanche. Tseng had changed one of the mission directives, he wanted Serah to keep him informed on as much as possible. As Serah got ready to first meet this Snow, she mentally reviewed the information from the dossier.
Snow Villiers, twenty-one years old, orphaned when he was sixteen, currently resides in Sector Seven. The other members of NORA are assumed to also live within Sector Seven. Villiers frequently visits a bar in Sector Seven, owned by a nineteen year old woman named Lebreau. Villiers claims to be a hero, displays an optimistic nature and does whatever he can to protect people.
Serah decided to wear an outfit to look innocent. Black thigh high stockings, red miniskirt with a black lace edge, white sleeveless button down blouse, a thin sleeveless pink sweeper, and beige shoes. To finish the innocent look, Serah tied her hair into a ponytail coming off the left side of her head and tied an extra hair tie around her left wrist. She stood in her bedroom and stared at her bow for a long time trying to decide if she should try to bring it. Finally deciding against it, Serah grabbed her purse (purchased for the sake of the mission) threw her wallet, the special phone, keys, and a small handgun loaded with shredder rounds, into the purse. Serah made sure the gun was well hidden before leaving.
It took an hour for Serah to get to Sector Seven from her apartment in Sector Four. Another hour slipped by as she searched for the bar that Snow was constantly seen at. When Serah finally found it, she adopted a rather shy posture and did not make eye contact with anyone as she walked in. She chose a seat near the door at the bar, placed her purse at her feet, and shifted around on her seat with false nervousness. The bartender, who Serah assumed to be Lebreau, noticed Serah and how nervous she looked.
"Don't recognize ya. New in town?" the dark haired bartender asked with a smile.
"Uh, yea. Just moved here for school," Serah responded, mentally slapping herself for not thinking of a better cover story beforehand.
"Well in that case," the bartender turned away and quickly made up a drink "This one's on the house," Serah looked at the colorful liquid in the glass and cautiously sipped it with the bartender intently watching. The drink was a mixture of soda and several fruit juices which tasted amazing.
"Wow, that's delicious," Serah commented with a smile. The bartender returned the smile and left to deal with other customers.
Serah stealthily examined every person that came and went, looking for Snow. Occasionally she chatted with the bartender, who was the Lebreau that owned the the bar, and every now and again pretended to have a text-message conversation with someone. The truth was she was sending messages in code to Tseng, updating him about her progress, or actually talking with Cissnei.
Five hours after Serah arrived in the bar, Snow appeared. Serah gave a quick look to make sure it was him and saw that he was accompanied by three other men, one was the same height and width as him, one was slim and fashionably dressed, the last was small and dressed in mechanic overalls. The pink haired Turk quickly started to think of how she could initiate contact with him without blowing her cover.
"Hey, Lebreau!" Snow called out "A round of drinks on me!" the three men around Snow cheered loudly and went to a corner booth while Snow walked up to the counter. He glanced down at Serah and smiled "Hi," Snow said loudly before turning back to grab the drinks from Lebreau.
As Snow walked towards his friends Serah turned to the man sitting next to her. When no one was looking Serah took out twenty gil and slid it over to the man, who gave her a confused look.
"There's twenty gil. Trip me when I stand up," Serah whispered. The man gave her a confused look before shrugging and grabbing the gil.
Serah waited until Snow stood up and started bring the glasses back to the bar. The pink haired girl started to stand, turning towards the man she paid, and was glad when her foot stopped moving and she began to fall. Even though she knew it was going to happen, it did not stop her knee from crashing into the floor and exploding with minor pain. Snow dropped the glasses on a table and ran over to Serah, Lebreau was looking over the counter and the man turned to look either because he was not expecting the sound or he thought he actually hurt Serah.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Snow asked quickly looking at Serah rubbing her knee.
"I'm fine, just a bump. My foot must have gotten tangled in my purse strap," Serah said, grimacing at how sore her knee was becoming.
"Do you need help?" Snow asked, the worried look in his eyes made Serah's heart melt.
"It would be appreciated. Serah, by the way."
"Snow," he said as he helped Serah to her feet "Live near here?"
"Not really, just heard this place had good drinks," Serah sort of lied. She grabbed her phone and looked at the time "Oh, crap. I have a bus to catch. Nice to meet you Snow," Serah quickly grabbed her purse and walked out of the bar.
Objective one, complete Serah said to herself.
Over the next week and a half, Serah arranged more 'chance' meetings with Snow until he finally asked her to hang out with him and NORA. Serah sent Tseng all the information she had about the NORA members Yuj, Gadot, Maqui, and Lebreau, and updated Tseng whenever possible. After a month of spending time with Snow and NORA, Serah was asked to join NORA, the No Obligation, Rules, or Authority vigilante group. Three months after joining NORA, Serah had no information about Avalanche to forward to Tseng but one night Snow asked Serah to take a walk with him. Hoping for finally being able to learn something worth her boss's time, Serah quickly agreed.
Snow and Serah made small talk for half an hour while they walked around the quiet streets of Sector Seven. They stopped to rest their feet and look at the stars for a while. Serah couldn't help but focus on the Shinra building, the white and gray monument to modern life. The place she spent some of the best years of her life, where she knew Claire had spent the best years of her life. More than anything, Serah wanted Claire to wake up and see life in those currently comatose ice blue eyes. Serah wanted her big sister back and felt a tear roll down her cheek as she thought about how the possibility of Claire waking up had long since drained to almost impossible.
Serah wiped away the tear when she heard Snow approaching her. The pink haired girl turned to him and saw he was hiding something in the pocket of his trench coat. She quickly reevaluated the night and knew instantly what Snow was about to say.
"Serah, I know we've only known each other a few months but I also know there is no one else like you out there," Serah was paralyzed in shock with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. This was not supposed to happen, this was not part of the plan "Serah Farron," Snow dropped to one knee and pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing a necklace with an abstract form made of silver and glass "Will you marry me?"
Every part of Serah's mind was screaming at her to say no. She was supposed to earn his trust, not marry him. Getting married was never and never shall be a part of any mission. Her mind was throwing reason after reason to say no at her but she could not form the word. Then something else came forward, a message from something Turks are accused of not having, her heart. Serah's heart was telling her that there was no one else like Snow. He was the kindest person she knew, always looking out for his friends and always looking for the bright side of things. He risked his life to catch criminals and help people simply because he wanted to protect them.
Before Serah could say anything however, the sky lit up as if the sun were rising. A thunderous explosion roared through the night air, making Serah and Snow slap their hands over their ears. The biggest fireball Serah had ever seen was rising from where the top of Mako Reactor One had been not a moment ago. Avalanche had struck.
Final Fantasy 7 begins.
As before, let me know if there is anything I need to change/edit/touch-up. I feel like there is a part or two I could make better.
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