Sephiroth plunged his hands into his hair. Reports had been rolling in all week detailing heavy casualties on every Soldier mission that had been assigned. Every single cursed one. Nothing went smoothly, not even simple missions to deal with small monster infestations. He flipped through the folders on his desk. A pack of Kalm fangs took out a pair of Thirds. Monster attacks stemming from a closed coal mine ended with three Seconds dead. Searching for ingredients to manufacture Phoenix Down left six Thirds dead and cost a Second his eyesight. They still weren't sure he was going to recover at all.
It made no sense to Sephiroth. His men were some of the best trained warriors in the world. None of those missions should have resulted in casualties. The reports did not match up either. All the bodies were recovered and appeared to have been killed by a bladed weapon, or multiple bladed weapons, depending on who you asked.
He had tried to suspend all missions until the situation could be taken care of. President Shinra had refused, stating that such a move would make the company appear weak. Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis had tried to argue that the continued losses from Soldier would actually weaken the company, but their words fell on deaf, stupid ears.
Sephiroth flipped through the folders looking for Angeal's latest mission report. It was supposed to have been on his desk first thing that morning. His second-in-command had taken a squad of Seconds to Mideel on a report of rebels who may have been the cause of Soldier's troubles. Both he and Angeal were sure that it was a trap, but they were equally sure that things could not continue the way they were.
The door to his office slammed into the wall. Sephiroth looked up, ready to scorch whoever dared to disturb him. He did not expect to see Genesis his typically pale skin completely without color and eyes wide with fear. Sephiroth was on his feet and striding toward the door before Genesis could make a sound. Only one thing would put his other second in a state like that.
Sephiroth could only draw comfort from the fact that Angeal must still be alive. Genesis would have been inconsolable if Angeal were dead.
The infirmary was swamped, but people gave way before the Silver General. He paused in the waiting room, looking for a sign of where he would find Angeal. A nurse pointed him in the right direction as she rushed into another room with an armful of supplies.
Angeal's bed was the only one in the room. His face was swollen and covered with bruises. If not for his size and dark hair, he would have nearly been unrecognizable. His arms had been set above the blankets and Sephiroth could see a number of nasty cuts and scratches that had probably been far worse when the battle ended.
Zack sat in a chair beside Angeal's bed, letting a doctor poke and prod at him. He looked bone weary, covered in scrapes and scratches, but nothing that looked too bad. Zack waved the man off when he saw Sephiroth and Genesis in the doorway. The doctor forced a glowing green drink into his hand before slipping out past the two Soldiers. Zack made no move to rise or come to attention and that alone spoke volumes about his state of mind. He grimaced and sucked back the ether watching his hand as it glowed red briefly.
"It was an ambush, just like you and Angeal thought it would be, sir." Zack shook his head, looking up at Sephiroth in bewilderment, "And not at all like you thought either."
Genesis stepped further into the room, coming to stand on the opposite side of the bed so he could get a better look at Angeal, "What happened?"
"We arrived at the appointed area, about six miles outside of Mideel. Angeal ordered me to come at a much slower pace, kind of a rear guard. I didn't realize there was a fight until I caught the end of-" Zack swallowed hard, tears prickling at his eyes as he looked down at Angeal, "Sorry. This is not going to be my best report ever."
Sephiroth shook his head, dismissively, "Just tell it."
"Right." Zack nodded, looking pointedly away from his mentor's comatose body, "It looks like they might have been setting up camp for the night. I came across the first bodies in the middle of the half constructed tents. They were all killed by sword strike, each by a blade of differing size."
"That points toward the rebel group theory." Genesis murmured, "A band of fighters with blades from wherever they could scrounge them."
"That's what I thought too, at first." Zack shook his head, eyes still staring at a point on the wall vacantly as he recalled the battlefield, "I followed the destruction and the bodies, hoping to find Angeal alive."
"That was a mistake." Sephiroth said, tone both reprimanding and kind at once somehow.
"I know." Zack gave him a wry smile, "Trust me, I should be very, very dead right now. I came on the very end of the fight. You know how sometimes you three spar and then suddenly you're airborne? You jump off walls and each other… well Angeal did that. They had moved through the trees to that old village that had to be abandoned when mako bubbled up through town. Angeal bounced off the wall between two buildings and got up on the roof.
Genesis and Sephiroth shared a look. That technique was essentially useless unless your opponent could keep up.
"I think he was trying to get away from the guy-"
Genesis's head snapped toward Zack in surprise, "Guy? As in one?"
"Just one." Zack agreed, jaw clenching in anger, "He wasn't anything special looking. If I'd have passed him on the street, I'd never have known… he stands about as tall as my shoulder, maybe a little bit more. Not overly muscular, but strong. He's real fair skinned with hair that's as blonde as a chocobo chick's. You can tell by how he moves that he's a fighter, but he was doing things that I've only seen in exhibitions between the three of you.
"Angeal boosted off the roof as I came into the town. Like I said, I think he did it to get some distance from the guy. He looked about ready for a limit break and Angeal was trying to get too far away for it to do any real damage. It was like the guy was counting on it. As soon as Angeal was off the roof, this guy whipped his blade around. It glowed blue, kind of like Genesis's rapier when he uses it to channel materia, and then it sprung apart into other blades."
Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up as he repeated Zack's words, "The sword split into other swords?"
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it." Zack glanced at Angeal again and then away as quickly, "The blades circled Angeal, just hanging there a second. The guy pushed off the ground and flew at the first sword, he grabbed it and slashed at Angeal and then went for the next one. It was too quick to keep track of. He would grab a sword and attack and then grab another and attack. Angeal tried to block or move, but the guy was too fast.
"The longest blade had been waiting above Angeal. The guy grabbed it and came down in a heavy chop. Angeal was just barely able to twist aside, so the strike cut him but didn't kill him. He hit the ground hard." Zack jumped up out of his chair and started to pace, "The guy came down behind him, all of his swords dropping and sticking into the ground. He was getting ready to finish Angeal, so I screamed at him."
"Zack!" Genesis hissed, "Are you-"
Zack glared at Genesis, heated enough to stop him mid-sentence, " Angeal would have died! Hell, we both should be dead. That's the weird part! As soon as the guy set eyes on me, he went stiff. He said I wasn't supposed to be there and that he had already said he wouldn't kill me. He turned his back on Angeal and started gathering up those swords… they slotted together! It was one sword that could be broken into other swords.
"He told me to go home… like I was a kid or a dog or something." Zack seethed, "Said I could have my mentor back for now since the deal had been broken. I lost my head, I admit it. I grabbed up Angeal's sword and went after the guy."
Sephiroth watched him trace his fingers over a newly cured scar on his chin, "It was like fighting myself… or Angeal. He knew my moves, anticipated them. He locked us up, got in my face, and told me to go home. I told him to die in a fire… he didn't like that. He unlocked a smaller blade and gave me this to remember him by."
"He let you leave?" Sephiroth asked.
"He forced me to." Zack said, voice a barely controlled growl of rage, "Broke fingers on both hands with the hilt of that smaller sword. By the time I got the fingers set and healed, he was gone. I managed to get Angeal stabilized, but now he won't wake up. Everyone else is dead. Fuck! I just want to kill that little bastard!"
"Zack, calm down!" Genesis pointed at Angeal, "For his sake, if nothing else. They say coma patients can hear and understand you. Is this really what you want him to hear right now?"
Zack rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, "You guys don't understand. It gets worse."
"How could it possibly get worse?" Genesis asked.
"When we were locked up, I got a good look at his eyes behind his sun glasses. They were mako eyes… Soldier eyes." Zack looked up at the two of them, "Where the fuck else do you get eyes like that?"
"Stop talking." Sephiroth said, the quiet command leaving no room for argument.
Zack's mouth dropped open. He did not continue his rant, but it was clear from the stubborn set of his jaw that he wanted to. His eyes flashed with hurt and betrayal, but his mouth remained closed.
Genesis hurried over to him, reaching out and squeezing his arms under the edge of his pauldrens. His grip was too tight for it to be a comforting gesture, "Don't look so stricken, Zack. We know you didn't mean that."
"Of course he didn't." Sephiroth agreed smoothly, "Considering the stress of the day, it is unsurprising."
They both looked at Zack, tense as they waited to see what he would say. Sephiroth's face was carefully empty, revealing nothing. Genesis glared at Zack, hoping that he was half as smart as Angeal had always led them to believe.
Zack let his gaze drop from his two superiors with a groan, "You're right. I… didn't mean that. Sorry."
It was barely convincing. Zack still sounded too angry, but he was going along with their prompting. That was the more important part. Genesis squeezed his arms briefly in approval before letting him go.
Sephiroth glanced at Genesis, "I believe it is time."
"Past time." Genesis replied, "It's abundantly clear that Angeal intends to keep him and I'd say rescuing the man proves Zack's worth."
Sephiroth turned his gaze back to Zack, "Since Angeal is indisposed, I will be recommending you for First Class. You may choose to wait a few days to see if Angeal improves before your enhancements if you like."
"Angeal said he didn't think I would be ready for months yet… maybe longer." Zack ran his hands through his hair as he looked up at Sephiroth, "You serious?"
"Practically always." Genesis said, nudging Sephiroth teasingly, "In normal times, you probably would still remain a Second under Angeal's training a while longer."
Sephiroth crossed his arms, "These are not normal times, but you are more than capable."
Despite the strangeness of the situation, Zack felt pride. Sephiroth was not free with compliments. He would never have said something like that to spare a subordinate's feelings, regardless of what was going on.
"I only hope that Angeal will forgive me for taking a moment that should rightfully be his." Sephiroth murmured, gaze on Angeal's unmoving form.
"Things will be much more difficult once he's up and about again. Ripples form on the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest. We should let him enjoy his… sleep while he can." Genesis gave Zack a tired smile, "I think we could all use a break for the evening. Let's take the soon-to-be first out for a celebratory meal, hm?"
It was too casual, the way Sephiroth inclined his head toward the door and Genesis smiled at him. Zack could almost pretend that Genesis and Sephiroth were keeping an eye on him while Angeal was on a mission. That had never done that before, even in the early days of Angeal's mentoring. If someone were observing them, though, the scene would look perfectly normal. The realization hit him like a bucket of cold water. Sephiroth and Genesis suspected they were being watched.
Zack spun to face Angeal, trying to find the easy calm that Sephiroth and Genesis wore like armor. He patted Angeal's ankle over the blankets, "Don't think this gets you out of celebrating with me, 'Geal. I'm not even gonna wait, that way you have to feed a First Class appetite instead of a Second. Serves you right for almost getting…"
He trailed off, not able to finish the thought, even as a joke. He headed for the door, knowing that Sephiroth and Genesis would be right behind him. Hopefully he could get some answered once they were out of the Shinra Building.