"I-I didn't go down." He stuttered in surprise, standing up from the dusty, red velvet chair. Zack's eyes looking about the room quickly, taking it all in in seconds.
It seemed to be an old bedroom. White lace curtains swung a little as a gentle breeze swept through the broken window. Bugs had eaten parts of the once lovely piece away, and time had faded it to a dull, grimy, yellow. The bed's quilt looked brown now, but Zack assumed that it had once been the same red color as red chair next to it. It appeared mice had gotten to that piece of furniture.
"Where did he go?" He asked the Shinra guard. The man wasn't Cloud. He was to tall, his voice to rough, and his movements to mechanical like for him to ever be Cloud. Wisps of red hair fell form under the cover of the guard mask. Another thing that could never make this man Cloud. It was the same guard he had run into only minutes before.
"He-He came into this room, Sir. And he went through-through the wall!" The man pointed behind Zack. Brushing raven hair from his eyes Zack sighed.
'Idiot. He couldn't have walked through the friggen wall.'
"Its probably a secret entrance. Where's Cloud?" Zack asked, rushing to the wall that the man pointed at. Zack skimmed the wall with to quick eyes, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
"I-He came here before me, Sir, and he told me to get something from downstairs. When I came back up, he was gone."
Zack swore. "The idiot. Ugh!" Bright green eyes full of annoyance, Zack kicked out at the bookshelf next to the rounded wall the guard had pointed out. Novels tumbled from their places to pile up on the floor.
His eyes widened. On the 4th shelf up, the books remaining hadn't even moved. Suddenly something dawned on him: This place was the mirror image of Ivy's home. That meant- he grinned and grabbed at the books.
"you idiot, they didn't go through the friggen wall!" He exclaimed, finding a small indent quickly with his bare fingers. He pressed down on it, causing the stone wall to vibrate and move aside. The man behind him gasped, and Zack half wanted to hit him, half wanted to shove him down the spiral stairway before him.
Green light poured like fog from the hidden stairway, moths and other strange creatures fluttering neat its source to create blurred shadows at Zack's feet.
"Stay here." He snapped at the young guard, squinting into the tunnel. The guard gulped loudly behind him, but nodded. Almost timidly, Zack took a step inside.
The stairs were rotting away underneath him, making his heart jump. He peered around them, down , down , down. The stairs disappeared before he could clearly make out their ending point. The green light shone bright on the upper stairs, but after one or two turns the light no longer could reach.
Zack shook his head, almost backing up. He opened his mouth to say they needed to find another way down, when he remembered Cloud. Down in that mess with the general. Gritting his teeth he shook his head.
If he doesn't kill you Cloud I swear I will.
He took another step, the creak of the stair making him shiver.
This is mad. I can face bullets flying no problem, but a stair no older then the one in Ivy's home entry scares me senseless!
But this stairway was probably built first. And it was probably used the least, and probably not taken care of or even bothered with.
Didn't matter. Cloud was down there.
He found himself walking and driven into walking only because of Cloud. SOLDIER's were supposed to be tough- Seems they didn't count on ever getting Zack Flame as a member.
His soft brown boots made small crunching noises with each step, and the stair either shivered or groaned with every movement. In no time, though, he was plunged into the darkness. His hand kept itself glued to the gritty wall, letting that be his guide down.
Unexpectedly, the stairs ceased to creek. The felt more solid under him now. Turning his head, squinting in the dark, he made out a pale light escaping from under some object. Opening his eyes fully he could see a thin beam of yellow glow climbing up the side of the object as well.
A door? Aha! Then I must have reached the bottom.
With that thought releasing the fear of toppling to his death in this dark hole, Zack removed his hand ( rubbing it on his leg to be rid of the dirt and any other thing that might have clung to his skin) and quickened his pace. His foot coughed on a slight rise, and he stumbled in the dark. Not being able to see to determine where the ground was, he fall forward and connected with something solid. He groaned- not only from the pain but the thought of the noise he was making. Someone, or something, must have heard that. His hand reached for a blade that wasn't there. Swearing at his stupidity he waited for something to make a sound.
Nothing did. It took him a good two minutes to gain the courage, or stupidity, to push himself up and dust himself off.
Well…lets try this again Flame.
He took a cautious step, and immediately realized he had been lying on a ramp. There was a slight decline in the level he stood on. Mentally he again cursed his stupidity.
It seems to be never ending. He though bitterly, making towards the door.
His eyes widened. Going from no light to a purple glow wasn't what caused it though, after he has finally shoved open the door. It was what lay beyond the door.
Skeletons. Corpses. Rotting things. Chains. The ground looks squishy in places, but the rest was hard cement. He took a step back, shaking his head.
"what the hell…" He whispered, eyes looking about slowly. Boxes were piled against one wall. What appeared to be a human skeleton was reaching for something nearby. The walls dripped with moisture and slime. Sacks stomach knotted and he felt the room spin. He'd never seen anything so disgusting in his life. Bodies littering the ground after war was better then skulls hidden in the basement.
"Friends keep their mouths shut about the bodies in your basement. Best friends help you bury them." Guess these people didn't have any best friends. of course, Shinra owns this place, so its only typical Shinra I guess…But I never…-
His thoughts were cut off suddenly by the sound of a voice from down the hall.
"-Ck?"
Zack blinked, squinting. His eyes suddenly widened. There, hidden in the shadows near a door as the far end of this tunnel, was Cloud. He was standing upright, trembling, gun at the ready.
Zack's stomach seemed to relax and his focused returned- Cloud and the General were down here.
"Cloud, what are you doing?" He asked, racing for the boy, careful to avoided any…surprises hidden down here.
"I- The general came down here. I know he could take care of himself- but it's the guards duty on this trip to protect the SOLDIER members. So-so I followed."
Zack sighed, shaking his head. He was relieved Cloud was alright-
"Oh Cloud." He whispered, smiling. Little Cloud, remembering his duty. "little blond runt, you should have gotten me first."
Cloud smiled wearily.
"I-I know. You- But the general…"
Cloud glanced at the door. Zack frowned, and silently pulled it open. He flinched at the suddenly rush of light.
"A-a lab?" He whispered.
It was very much a lab. A table in the center of this odd shaped, semi circular, room for experiments. Test tubes were set up, glowing a pale green, against the wall on his right. Vials and concoctions in them were set on custom made shelving units on a wall directly in front of him. Book shelves and large, thick, novels and journals were taking up all wall space on his left.
And in the center of all this was the silver haired Sephiroth, holding a leather bound journal in his grasp.
"Seph?" Zack asked, frowning. The look on the generals face was indescribable. Somewhere between contemplating and anguish.
"...an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum." Zack heard him whisper as he read, the well built young man turning from the specimen table to carry on down a hallway. Zack glanced at Cloud, who was standing at his elbow, then started to follow.
"Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova…"
"Zack, wasn't Jenova-?" Cloud started to whisper, bed Zack's hand clamped over his mouth. The black haired man nodded, his small ponytail bouncing a little.
"Yes, Cloud."
"X Year, X Month, X Day- Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient …"
Zack blinked, frowning. Ancient. Ancient…An- !!- Aeris! Aeris was an Ancient!
He glanced over at Cloud, feeling the young man tug on his sleeve. Confusion was written into his expression. It must have been Zack's own expression of surprised that caused it. He shrugged at the little boy, ears still straining to hear Sephiroth as he moved farther away.
"X Year, X Month, X Day- Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor I approved for use…" There was a pause in his reading, and Zack was positive, though the back of the man was towards him, confusion was written on his face. "My mother's name is Jenova... Jenova Project... Is this just a coincidence? Professor Gast... Why didn't you tell me anything? ...Why did you die?"
