"Are you ready?" Sephiroth asked as he equipped a few more materia in his armor. Summons: Ifrit, Bahamut, and Shiva. All mastered.


"Are you ready?" Sephiroth asked as he equipped a few more materia in his armor. Summons: Ifrit, Bahamut, and Shiva. All mastered. Plus a variety of highly destructive magic, aerial, and blade materia, also mastered. Seal and Curaga, as well. "You don't have to come."

In the dingy light of their rented hotel room, Zack nodded. They'd discussed this many times now. No matter how their mission turned out, they'd be on the run after tonight, hunted by their former friends and comrades. Just like Angeal and Genesis.

Before his enlightenment about Shin-Ra's activities, Zack had never even considered deserting from the company. He'd been so naïve, desiring to be a "hero" and believing SOLDIER and Shin-Ra the best course to achieve that goal. What a blind fool he'd been.

"I told you before that my...friend begged me to let you go alone," Zack said, uttering a little huff of laughter. He felt it bore repeating. Like Sephiroth, he kitted himself out with his most powerful materia, particularly summons. Odin and Phoenix should do quite a bit of damage.

"Your friend was looking out for your best interests."

"You both know I have to see this through."

Even though they were in another ramshackle hotel room in the slums, both avoided referring to Cissnei by name. They'd made a habit of not specifically identifying anyone or anything critical. Best to avoid dropping any information in case they were in a place where they could be overheard. It was second nature now. Cissnei's contact with Zack could have been a death sentence for her, and neither Sephiroth nor Zack wished to accidentally condemn her if she had somehow managed to avoid detection.

Sephiroth only nodded and finished organizing his materia. He secured his infamous blade, the Masamune, at his side. From under the filthy bed, he pulled out a long, heavy object smothered in thick fabric and presented it to Zack. "You should use this."

Curious, Zack unwrapped it, and inhaled sharply at the bright gleam of tempered steel. "His...weapon?" he breathed, knowing he dare not say aloud the name of the Buster Sword or its missing owner.

"He'd want you to use it."

Zack had been practicing with such heavy, unwieldy weapons ever since coming under Angeal's tutelage. Sephiroth knew he could handle Angeal's prized possession. "I will do it—and him—honor," Zack said formally. He held up the Buster Sword and pressed his forehead to the flat of the blade as he'd seen Angeal do countless times. After silently confirming his honor as a SOLDIER, he slung it behind his back, affixing it to the mount on his harness.

They both had arrived at the inn wearing civilian clothing, but now they wore their standard SOLDIER uniforms. That ensured the slum dwellers wouldn't trouble them; in fact, most of the locals would go out of their way to avoid them. Both were First Class, and once they returned to the Tower, no one would question their movements inside its corridors. Not at first. Once they got into Hojo's deepest lairs, things would get trickier.

"Memorize the floorplans, our primary ingress and egress routes, and all secondary routes," Sephiroth had ordered two days ago as he and Zack reviewed their plans over and over again. There could be no mistakes. "Getting in won't be a problem. We'll be going straight to the facility. Getting out again will be where things get difficult. You may have to carry Angeal," he had added. "We don't know what physical state he will be in. I'll cover your retreat. Do not wait for me." And his eyes had glowed with a dark, mad fire that Zack dreaded to see.

Now that they were preparing to leave for their assault on Hojo's stronghold, that burning, almost insane rage had come back into Sephiroth's eyes. Zack wouldn't try to calm him, though. Hojo and his minions deserved everything that was coming their way. He understood why Cissnei had deemed Sephiroth capable of mounting the assault alone.

But he also knew she didn't believe any of them would make it out alive.

Sephiroth said, "Remember, if we get separated, follow the retreat plan. Do not attempt any communications or to set any markers, no matter how subtle and inconspicuous."

"All right," said Zack. They'd discussed this before, but going over details never hurt. Both had left their PHSs back in their private quarters. The Turks could track the devices, but leaving them behind, along with their self-imposed restrictions about even setting markers, meant the two SOLDIERs had no way to communicate at all.

"Follow the plan. Do not wait for me. We will meet at Rally Point Alpha. If I do not arrive there within twenty-four hours, or if you determine your position is compromised, move on to Rally Point Beta."

He sounded confident. Zack wasn't so sure. He had been in the military long enough to know that even the best plans didn't survive contact with the enemy. Desperate plans didn't ever go well.

Sephiroth picked up one of the keycards and turned it in his hands before tucking it away in his black uniform; Zack took the other. Cissnei's notes promised they both had master access to everything in Shin-Ra headquarters. If either didn't, if they failed to open even a single door, Sephiroth and Zack would abort their mission and vanish into the wilderness.

Zack hoped they worked. He and Sephiroth wouldn't get another chance to retrieve Angeal. This was it.

"Time to go," Sephiroth said. "Remember, we are only there for one person. No matter what other horrors we witness, no matter how pathetic the victims we encounter, we won't have time for them. We cannot help anyone but him. Perhaps in the future, but not today. Stay focused on the mission. No distractions."

"Right," said Zack. "No distractions." He forced his trademark grin and tossed off a jaunty salute. "Let's do this."

Sephiroth snorted at the false bravado then turned and swept out of the tiny room. Zack followed him into the artificially lit gloom that passed for late afternoon beneath the Plate.