Lights and Shadows

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Disclaimer: FFVII and all its characters belong to Square Enix Co. Ltd, not me. Wow, if you haven't gotten this by now, you're a sad, sad individual.

Italics - mental conversations

' ' - thoughts

" " - normal conversation

Author's Note: I am attempting as much within my power to follow the Before Crisis storyline as much as possible so if anyone know anything please send it to me. I will be greatly appreciative. Cloud appears in this chapter, but I am horrid at characterizing him so please forgive me.

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Chapter Seven: Reopened Scars and Demons

Hojo paced around in the area of the lab in which he kept his specimens. The tanks and cages were mostly empty say for a few modified monsters. Most of his assistants stayed well away from the raging scientist. Ever since he came back from a conversation with Shinra, he had been irate.

Only one brave soul dared to enter the same room as the madman. She was an upcoming scientist who had helped in the investigation with the Ravens, AVALANCHE's main weapon against Shin-Ra. Her name was Rayleigh and she appeared as any other overworked scientist in the labs. She approached Hojo quietly with several folders pressed against her chest. When Hojo wasn't engaging in some genetic alteration or human experimentation he wasn't a pleasant person to approach.

Rayleigh cleared her throat to gain the attention of her fellow scientist and mentor. Hojo looked over in her direction for a brief moment. He stopped pacing and stood with a slightly slumped posture and his hands resting behind his back. "Professor Hojo, I hate to interrupt, but what is bothering you?"

Hojo adjusted his glasses. "Just that this company doesn't have any consideration for my science department's opinion anymore."

Rayleigh placed the folders on the desk closest to her and decided to inquire more. No one needed the head scientist letting his rage out on any unsuspecting assistant. "May I inquire as to what the President told you?"

"That babbling idiot is dispatching J-1 to Kalm or rather what remains of it. He gets a slight scare from Fuhito's sad excuse for SOLDIER imitations and decides that he needs to pull his thump card." Hojo seemed to be ranting at nothing in particular, but thinking aloud to himself. "The man just doesn't comprehend the delicate timing needed to get the full extent of J-1's powers. Sending such a valuable specimen on such a mission is asinine."

Rayleigh sighed. Hojo always felt very possessive of Specimen J-1, otherwise known to the public as Sephiroth. The specimen was Hojo's pet project that no one really knew the details of. She had only been told that he was a special project in division with the SOLDIER project. Hojo took special pride in Sephiroth and absolutely hated it when Heidegger or the President used him in a way that displeased him.

"Is there anything you wish me to do about it, Professor?" she asked.

"Yes, adjust my schedule to accommodate an appointment with the general as soon as he returns."

Rayleigh bowed slightly before exiting the room, leaving the folders discarded on the desk. When the door clicked shut, Hojo walked over to the folders. He picked them and flipped through the files he requested. One folder contained recent information regarding J-1 and the other contained data on the First Class SOLDIER Zachary Donovan. Hojo smirked with an unnatural glee in his eyes.

"We'll see who has the last act, Shinra, just you wait. Soon your little company will matter very little." Hojo stared down at the mug shot of Sephiroth and laughed.

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Sephiroth woke up slightly alarmed. He hadn't recalled falling asleep, but the constant motion of the military truck must have eased him into the realm of dreams. He allowed his eyes to roam around seeing that Zachary wasn't too far away and that two grunt troopers accompanied them. Zachary was engaged in a conversation with the one with chocobo colored hair. Sephiroth merely shook his head and crossed his arms. Masamune sat leaning against the wall beside himself.

It wasn't long after he attempted to gain a few hours rest that Shinra called him with new orders to be dispatched to Kalm. Not that he minded much, the missions were a lot more appreciated than the paperwork waiting back in his office. Peace times were what made many soldier restless, without the heat of battle they wasn't much one could do. With the rebel group becoming more active by the day, things were bound to get interesting.

Sephiroth's eyes shifted to the conversation Zachary was having with the grunt. The boy was barely a preteen and already in the military. He was hunched over and looked rather sickly at the moment. "What's wrong with him?"

Zachary turned and gave another one of his smile that he never seemed to be in short supply of. "He's suffering from motion sickness, though, he says he'll be okay when the truck stops moving."

Sephiroth nodded and went back to contemplating to himself. That didn't last long as Zachary entered his line of vision. The boy apparently grew restless when he sat still longer than five seconds at a time. Sephiroth swore the boy had some form of ADHD or other hyperactive disorder. Zachary took it upon himself to seat himself beside Sephiroth. The two troopers with them stared slightly as if to say: Zack's going to get his ass kicked because he sat beside the general. Zachary leaned over and looked up at his superior with a bemused look on his face which only meant one thing: that he had the urge to talk.

"So tell me how does it feel to know that you're going to be able to exert your skill and not sit in the office?" Zack inquired.

Sephiroth sighed. He had long since given up on the silent treatment with the raven haired man. He would admit to himself that talking with him was more pleasant than what he once thought. "It'll be nice for a change, but keep your focus on this mission."

"Of course, but it wouldn't kill you to try to over look that for once," Zack commented, interweaving his hands behind his head. "I mean at least we do get some exercise besides training."

Sephiroth nodded. "I don't foresee this being much of a problem, more of a set back." Zachary nodded solemnly as he probably hit a sore spot with the younger man. "What is it?"

"Nothing really. I just had to deal with a similar ordeal while you were in Wutai. Its nothing really it's just they have been using humans in experimentations."

Sephiroth scuffed. That only meant AVALANCHE was no different than Shin-Ra in some aspects. He wouldn't tell Zachary that, though. It was better if some things were left unsaid. "Yes, I've been briefed on the situation with Fuhito and his squad of Ravens."

Zachary gave a melancholy smile. There was something underlying that he wasn't telling him. Then, Sephiroth recalled a report he had received that two SOLDIERs assigned to Zachary were killed on a routine mission in the slums. Zachary looked to the floor. "So that is what they're called. I guess it fits seeing as they aren't human anymore."

The truck suddenly lurched as it came to a stop at the entrance of the remains of Kalm. Not to long ago it had been demolished when orders were construed. Now all that was left were a few buildings that the surviving inhabitants erected for shelter. The people gathered in the streets looked slightly rougher than the citizens who inhabited the slums of Midgar. All were covered in dirt and their clothing left much to be desired. They stared at them with a mixture of relief and pure hatred. They did blame Shin-Ra for the deaths of the innocent and the destruction of their village.

"Some welcome party," Zack commented, scratching behind his head. "So I guess we look for Tseng, he should know where we need to begin." Sephiroth already began to walk off in some direction. He really didn't want to squander what time they had here. Time was precious. "Hey wait up." Zack motioned the two MPs to follow him. He knew that Sephiroth would leave them behind if they lagged too much.

Sephiroth walked briskly to a destination his instincts pulled him towards. He didn't need to look, his senses told him Tseng's location and mood. Behind him he could hear the shuffle of boots as the others followed him. He wanted this over with as quickly as possible. He approached the Turk very silently. Tseng appeared deep in thought, but turned his attention to the newly arrived.

"Have there been any changes since the last report was sent in?" Sephiroth asked.

Tseng shook his head very slightly. "No, but we believe that they Ravens aren't too far into the plains, waiting to attack."

Zack sighed, finally catching up to Sephiroth. He tilted his head slightly and listened in on the conversation. He didn't want to be a hindrance by asking moronic questions later. Everything just seemed to be a mess since the Ravens entered the town, not that the town being destroyed hadn't been enough. They had relocated themselves into the forests hoping to strike again. Kalm was a vital point between the mountains and Midgar. Without even the scraps of what was left of it, Midgar could come into a crisis situation. It was a strategic military point for a barrier and a lookout point. If the Ravens were to capture it for the rebel group it could spell an all out revolution within the population and rioters would fill the city streets. Either way this mission was important and if they failed all of Midgar's innocents would have to pay the cost in more blood. Shinra had dispatched a small squad to fool the enemy into thinking that they weren't so worried about the matter.

'But even they know if Shinra sends the general out to personally take care of it... he must be worried.' Zack thought to himself. He looked over his shoulder seeing that Cloud seemed to be feeling better after letting himself relieve his stomach behind a bush. 'I feel sorry for the guy, but that has to be an interesting sight for these villagers to see.' He snickered lightly despite himself.

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Zack was covered in layers of caked mud and bloodstains. He was crawling against the very shaky walls of the building. Inside the children and remaining villagers screamed and cried in bouts of sheer terror. The streets were damp from the storm currently brewing in the skies. Everything was dark but for the few patches of light that decorated the mud and bodies. During the middle of the night the Ravens and a few of AVALANCHE's own men surfaced and launched a surprise attack on the village.

Zack had been roused from his pleasant dreaming to the sounds of dying cries and gunshots firing. Already many of his men littered the ground. Nameless faces that he would soon have to file KIA forms for. He held the Buster Sword wearily in his hand. Time had crept by and he had no idea how long he had been fighting soaked and weary from lack of sleep. Though he carried no major injuries, the constant fighting was slowly taking its toll. He could only hope his other men were fairing better than he. He had long since lost track of the others and at the moment everything silenced to a dull roar.

He leaned against the wall. He didn't want to fight anymore he was so tired and the aching from his muscles' protests at his movement didn't help either. This silence wouldn't last much longer he could hear them growling in the distance awaiting another attack. He felt like the participant in a horror film he would watch with Aerith, but there was no stop button or reset action. He let out a large intake of breath before standing up and raising his sword in his weary hands. He was Zack and he could pull this off. The people of Kalm depended upon this victory, and he couldn't let Sephiroth down.

Why the last part was a concern on his mind at a time like this was beyond him at the moment. He half smiled to himself. He did rely on others to draw his strength and will from knowing he had to protect them and save them a trouble he could have accomplished on his own. But he had to reel his mind back into reality as the rustling of bushes signified the next wave of Ravens into the town.

Whoever said they weren't human was very accurate in their assumption. These once human being growled and snarled with bestial intents. Their sole purpose was engraved into their being, which was to kill. The Ravens sought out their intended target with deadly accuracy and hunted them down until the target or Raven was rendered lifeless. They weren't human, they were killing engrossed monsters.

Zack felt his blade slice through another one of the creatures as the onslaught continued on. Blood decorated his body in a gory victor's trophy. His blade marked with rivets of their warm blood as the rain washed it to intermix with the mud and gunpowder. These men once had a family just as Zack had, but he was doing them a service in his mind. No one should have been allowed to live in such a state so all the bloodshed he dealt out was for mercy killing in his mind.

He wasn't left much time to think further on the subject as another Raven rushed towards the house of the villagers. He ran after it on impulse, he wasn't going to let another innocent victim be claimed by these monsters. When he caught he saw that the creature's intended target was different than he once thought. It was heading straight for Sephiroth, who looked as if were obliviously to the Raven heading towards him.

Something inside of Zack snapped and he dashed faster than anyone thought possible to wrestle the Raven to the ground before it could lay a blow on Sephiroth. He hit the mud hard on his way down and it splashed all over his form. The creature snarled and snorted his warm breath into the cold air creating a light mist. He could smell its breath, but he tousled with it trying to gain the upper hand and heave the thing off of him. In a spurt of energy the creature was tossed to the side and he brandished his sword once to cleave the beast in two as it leapt forward once more. Blood gushed from it as the sounds of its death trolls entered the air.

Zack barely found himself winded as he looked up. He couldn't remember ever getting into frenzy such as that before. Never before had he killed some so strong so quickly. He caught the glimpse of his general and instantly knew why he could find such strength in himself. He had the urge to protect the man before him. But why so urgent? Sephiroth could easily have defended himself.

'It was as if I felt feelings towards him….. no, he is just a friend, that is all,' Zack found the courage in himself to glance upwards to see the man in question fend off another Raven. The way Sephiroth moved in battle was that of a posed actor executing an eloquent dance of death. The way he moved memorized Zack, and he found himself staring. 'How can he possibly remain that beautiful even covered in so much mud and blood…' Zack's eyes widened at his thoughts and gasped slightly. He closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't be true. It was beyond his rational reasoning for a human being. Besides he didn't like men like that…

His ears picked up the sound of a growl. He turned his head realizing too late that one of the last of the Ravens had lounged straight at him. He wouldn't have time to defend himself; there was no avoiding the attack coming towards him. He readied himself for pain that never came. He was only aware of the dying screams of some beast. Cautiously, he cracked open a single eye to stare into the depths of two glowing green cat pupils. He couldn't help but to feel relief, but he also found himself admiring the man before him, though not as a swordsman.

"Are you all right, Zachary…?" the question sounded nonchalant, but Zack could sense the underlying care behind it.

Zack nodded almost dumbfounded, and swallowed the lump that had accumulated inside his throat. "I'm fine, but excuse my language; you look like shit, Seph."

Sephiroth smirked in response, knowing that Zack was all right if he could still joke around.

Zack sighed and looked off to the side. The battle was over by the sounds of it. 'But why did I just lie to him….? He looks beautiful… Oh listen to yourself, Zachary… you act as if you ….' Then the realization dawned on him. All this time he had befriended, all the time he spent around the man. He attempted so badly to be his friend and close companion, but in the process Zack found himself falling in love with deadly beauty in front of himself.