Final Fantasy VII: Another Side

By:

Mystwalker

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: Hmm, I can't think of a way to respond to any of your reviews without somehow spoiling my plans, so...thank you very much to JazzQueen, Gohan Roxas, Riku Uzumaki, DJ Meltdown of Ground Xero, Irish-Brigid, ryuukoshi, Furionknight, Roza Anne, Erilin-chan, and Blinded in a bolthole for reviewing!

XxXxX

File 017: A New Age

The wind blew in from the ocean, brushing over the two of them. Kunsel stared at the girl in front of him. No matter which way he looked at it, she really did look like a child, no older than ten years old. But the eyes that stared back at him from that face were older, much older than her appearance could suggest. She was watching him too, her eyes blank, her face impassive. Shelke was dressed in her Deepground uniform, her hands within easy reach of her sabers. They remained where they were, though, attached to her back. He wondered what had happened to her, to turn a child like this into a SOLDIER.

He turned towards her fully, resting the small of his back against the railing.

"I should be the one saying that to you," he said.

He hadn't been sure about it when he had first caught a glimpse of her in the city, but now he was certain. Deepground was here. But of course, with security swarming the city in preparation for Rufus Shinra's parade, that wasn't unexpected. The real question was, if Deepground was here, where was Genesis? Shelke stared at him for a moment, considering his words. He wondered what was going on in that head of hers.

"Hm," she finally said. What that meant, he couldn't guess.

"You aren't going to attack me?" he asked. "I'm unarmed."

Her eyes passed over him, as though she had already considered it. "I have received no orders to do so," she said. "Besides, as you are dressed as a civilian, the attack would cause a scene. I have been instructed to maintain control of this sector, and to preserve order."

"In preparation for the march?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss such things with you."

The way she spoke, it was almost as though she were a machine instead of a human being. The Deepground SOLDIERs all had their quirks, probably born from whatever experiments had shaped them in the facility underneath Shinra. It still made him shudder some times, to think about how narrowly he and Zack might have escaped getting sent to Deepground instead of going through the regular program.

Although in fairness, he had never been in any particular danger of that.

"You said that this sector is under your jurisdiction," he said, deciding to try a new tack. "Does that mean that there are others of you out here?"

Shelke said nothing, continuing to watch him. He was unnerved by how little emotion passed over her face. He knew how to read people, he had always considered himself somewhat good at it. But with Shelke, there didn't seem to be anything there at all. It was as though she were an empty shell. As though...

As though she were transparent.

A flicker of recognition passed in front of her eyes, and she stepped forward, towards him. "I have been warned about you," she said. "That you would try to gain information from me. Kunsel Harringer. You are not like the others."

He tracked her with his eyes as she came to stand beside him, facing outward towards the sea. Kunsel turned just slightly to the left, keeping her within his field of vision. "I don't understand what you mean," he said, keeping his voice cool.

"The Kalm firebombing. 1997. Your home was within the blast radius. Of all the people inside of it, none survived." Kunsel fell silent, stony-faced. "Exactly two weeks from the firebombing, at age thirteen, you entered the infantry. You were assigned to the same training cohort as then Infantryman Zack Fair. Less than one year later, you, Zack Fair, and three others from your unit were recommended to the SOLDIER program for acts of valor on the battlefield. The recommender was Angeal Hewley."

His mind went back to those days in the war, to the defense of the Hong Guo Bridge that had won them all admittance into SOLDIER. It had been Zack's foolhardy plan. To this day, he had no idea how Zack had managed to get all of them to go along with it. But he had, and it had worked, and a move that should have cost them all their careers had instead caught the eye of the Shinra company, and had made Angeal take notice of Zack for the first time. He still remembered that day, Zack standing triumphant on the bridge after the cannon blast, brown eyes shining as Essai and Sebastian rallied behind him, soot in their hair and on their face and everywhere. They'd been boys before then, fresh-faced new recruits with the oldest of them not more than fourteen. After that day, everything changed. Even though he still felt like he had done nothing that day, nothing but provide cover fire from a distance as Zack and the other three charged the troops, he still recalled it as one of his proudest moments.

"...I'm not sure how that's relevant," he said.

Shelke turned her head towards him, meeting his eyes. "And yet...before that day occurred, before you joined the infantry, you were already in Midgar."

Kunsel stared at her, the silence growing more pronounced. Shelke didn't seem bothered by it. She kept her eyes on the sea. At length, he relented.

"You've read my file," he said.

"I am obliged to consider all possibilities when facing unknown opponents of great strength."

"What happened before the bombing isn't important," said Kunsel. "It isn't relevant to anything I'm doing now."

"Does it pain you to remember it?" asked Shelke, cutting him short. She took a step forward, her eyes remaining fixed on the ocean. He said nothing, waiting for her to speak. She didn't for a time, keeping her eyes on the water. When she finally did speak, it sounded as though she had been considering her words for a very long time. "...I do not understand the concept of pain. You were not physically harmed by the events of the bombing, therefore it should not have affected you. It is, as you say, irrelevant. However, Nero has said that employing it against an opponent unsettles them, and that it is a good strategy. I do not understand."

"Nero is a monster," he said vehemently, surprised at how angry his voice actually sounded.

"Yes," Shelke's eyes flickered towards him, reading something in his expression that he couldn't see. "He spoke of hatred as well."

He fell silent, clenching his fists and taking a slow breath to calm himself. From what he had already heard of Nero, it would probably not be in his best interests to give him an emotional foothold of any sort. Shelke watched him, her expression showing only a slight amount of confusion at his reaction.

"You are an irrational creature," she said, quietly, turning away from him. "You are all irrational."

"Who did this to you, Shelke?" he asked.

"I am as I have always been," she replied calmly. "I do not see why I would need to be otherwise."

Kunsel stared at her, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. Her attention was past him. Elsewhere. Seeing that any future conversation would be pointless, he turned away. "If you ever want to leave Shinra," he said as he turned. "We can help you with that. You know where you can find me."

She didn't respond. He didn't wait for one, turning around and walking back down the street. He half-expected her to attack him while his back was turned, but she stuck to her earlier reasoning, giving him no acknowledgment at all as he slipped back into the crowd.

XxXxX

Sephiroth set the clean dishes aside, drying his hands off on a moderately clean towel. The cottage's sole occupant hadn't yet returned from the day's work, and there was no sign of any of their number. The house was still as the grave, with the only sound coming from outside in the streets. There was nothing from upstairs. If Cissnei was moving around, she was doing so quietly.

He set the dish rag aside, picking up Masamune from where it lay against the wall and carrying it in his hand as he made his way back upstairs. It made Yuffie suspicious when he carried it around with him, but he didn't like being without the sword in sight. He reached the top of the stairs, pushing open the door to the small bedroom with his free hand and stepping inside.

There, he paused. Cissnei had gotten up from bed, and was standing with his back to him, facing a small, cracked mirror. She was shirtless, dressed in the black pants that she had been wearing when Nero had shot her and a bra, although enough that anything indecent was appropriately covered. The fingers of one of her hands lay just at the edge of the patch of bandages over her chest, on the left side. His eyes immediately snapped up to her face, and he took a step away from the door as she turned her head towards him, making to close it.

"...Should I turn around?" he asked uncertainly, propping Masamune up against the bed's end table.

She quirked an eyebrow. "That depends," she said, folding her arms. "Were you blindfolded when you dressed this?" She gestured at the wound. His eyes moved over it for the briefest moment, before he returned them back to her face.

"The situation is hardly the same..." he said.

"Maybe not," she said, looking back at the mirror. "But honestly, I've worn less on some missions. We're both professionals. I trust you."

"You give me a lot of undue trust."

She looked over her shoulder at him, a sly smirk spreading over her face. "Why, Sephiroth," she remarked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were flirting with me."

He didn't know what to say to that. Mostly because he didn't know what he should say. Instead, he focused on keeping his eyes somewhere else. She smiled at him, then turned her eyes back towards the mirror, tracing the edge of the bandages with one finger. The smile on her face faded, her expression growing pensive as she studied the wound. He looked away from the mirror, instead studying the corner of the room. He could still see her out of the corner of his eye, but not fully.

"You really shouldn't be out of bed," he commented, changing the subject.

"I felt a lot better," she said softly. He saw her shift, pulling away from the mirror, and drew his eyes back to her face. Her own eyes were serious, her mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown. "...This was a kill shot, Sephiroth. I shouldn't be alive."

"Yes." He saw no reason to lie.

"What saved me?" she asked.

"Your vest absorbed some of the impact. And the bullet just barely missed your heart. By a fraction of an inch."

She took the information in stride—he heard nothing but a deep breath come from her direction. Cissnei turned away from him, looking back at the mirror. "So...what you're saying is, I got lucky."

"Yes."

He heard her sigh, shaking her head. When he looked over at her again, she was smiling faintly, one hand on the mirror. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Something amuses you?" he asked.

"The other Turks used to joke that I was born under a lucky star," she said, trailing her fingers down the glass. "I never really believed them until now. I guess my vest is destroyed?"

"Mm," he said with a nod. "You'll have to get a new one."

"That won't be a problem," she said. "I know the Junon black market. What happened to Nero?"

"He left," said Sephiroth. "After you were shot. He announced that he had delivered his message."

"I see..." She gave the mirror one last look, then turned towards him, her eyes hard. "I want in, Sephiroth."

"In what?"

"Don't play dumb," she said. "Rufus Shinra's parade is tomorrow. I want in."

He frowned at her, his expression growing serious. "You're still injured," he said. "You're not field ready."

"I know my limits," replied Cissnei. "And I want to see this through to the end. You're not going back out there without me."

He hesitated briefly. The sound of the door opening downstairs put a halt to the conversation, and he quickly stepped forward, the current issue forgotten as he scooped up her shirt from the bed with one hand, tossing it to her. She caught it, quickly shrugging into it.

"We're back!" came Zack's voice from downstairs. He heard the sound of booted feet coming up the steps. "Seph! You in here?"

He spared a glance at Cissnei as the door burst open, but she was already fully-dressed, standing in front of the mirror and taking on a relaxed stance. Zack's eyes moved from Sephiroth to her, and he stared at her in surprise for a moment.

"Hey, Ciss, you're up!" he said. "Uh...should you be out of bed?"

"No," replied Sephiroth flatly.

"Yes," countered Cissnei, smiling at Zack. He shot her a look, and she responded by feigning innocence, tilting her head in the other direction.

"Cissnei's awake?" asked a voice from the stairwell. Aerith appeared behind Zack, looking over his shoulder.

"Hi, Aerith," said Cissnei, greeting her with a smile as well. "Sorry to make you worry."

Sephiroth listened, but he couldn't make out the sounds of anyone else entering the house. "Is it just the two of you?" he asked.

"For tonight, it is," replied Zack, looking back at him. He raised his arms over his head, locking his fingers together behind his neck. "Cloud and the others found another place to stay for the night. They said it was so we wouldn't be so crowded. Kunsel'll be joining us, but he's still on his way back, so we asked him to get dinner too. He should be here in about ten."

"Dinner sounds great," said Cissnei. "I'll help set up downstairs."

Zack seemed obviously uncomfortable with the prospect. He glanced at Sephiroth, his expression questioning. Sephiroth stared back at him, not saying a word. He folded his arms. Zack's brow rose, and he turned back towards Cissnei. "Um...I'm not sure that's a good idea. Why don't you wait up here and we'll bring you something?"

"I'm not helpless, Zack," said Cissnei, frowning at him. "I can do small things."

"Well, alright, if you're sure," said Zack, turning away. "Come on, Aerith."

Aerith nodded, following him down the steps. Sephiroth watched them go, then looked up as Cissnei began walking towards the door as well, passing him.

"If you were one of my soldiers, I wouldn't let you back in the field," he said in a low voice, glancing at her.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, pausing directly in front of him. "Well, lucky for you, I'm not," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I'm an independent agent." She didn't wait for a response, continuing to walk.

XxXxX

The streets of Junon glittered below the Shinra building, shining with light from the many street lamps and signs that dotted the vicinity. He stood in front of a pair of large glass windows, looking down at the sight. From up here, he could see the people of the city scurrying around like ants below them. They continued with their daily lives, working, always working, and always moving, blissfully unaware of the events about to take place. They would learn. Soon enough, they would learn.

"Are you enjoying the view, Weiss?"

Weiss looked up at the sight of a reflection in the glass, that of a figure standing against the wall behind him. In the faint reflection from the window, he could see the barest hint of crimson, of a leather coat that fell almost all the way to the floor.

"It's a shame," continued Genesis. "So much preparation for a simple parade. And one that I won't be able to see."

He turned his head slightly, facing the man. "You're leaving." It wasn't, quite, a question.

Genesis met his eyes. "It's about time we ended this game, don't you think, brother? The lady may be content to chase after her wayward stray, but I would like to begin."

"How long?"

"Not much longer now," was the reply.

He heard the sound of Genesis straightening up, turning towards the door. Weiss turned away, facing the window again. He felt an undercurrent of excitement run through him. Things were starting soon. He could continue to play lapdog to Shinra until then.

"Send word, when we're ready to begin," he said.

Genesis smirked. "Hm," he said as he walked away, his footfalls sounding down the corridor.. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises...nothing shall forestall my return."

XxXxX

Cissnei sat at the foot of her bed, one eye squeezed shut as she peered down the inside of her gun. She drew her face away and raised the wire brush in her hand, scrubbing the inside of the barrel. "I see," she said as she worked. "So that's what happened with Yuffie Kisaragi."

"Mm," said Aerith from where she was sitting on her bedroll on the floor. Zack, Kunsel and Sephiroth had taken the downstairs, leaving the two of them up here. She hadn't heard much out of them since dinner. "I was a little worried about that at first, but things seem to have calmed down."

"Glad to hear that," said Cissnei, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled ruefully. "Although I can already guess that she won't like me much, if she's as temperamental as they say."

"She's not that bad," said Aerith, smiling slightly. "Um...although, there was something else..."

Something in Aerith's tone made Cissnei look up. She frowned. "Go on?" she prompted.

"Well...it's probably nothing," said Aerith. "But today on the street, while we were waiting for Zack, we ran into this man..."

TO BE CONTINUED