A/N: This chapter is one big flashback to the incident that happened after Zack, Kunsel, and Zen were promoted to Third Class SOLDIER members. There's a reason for this flashback as you'll soon find out. ;)
Chapter 21
On that day, about one year ago…
Third Class SOLDIER Zack couldn't believe what he was seeing. Right there on the video screen in front of him was the image of a Third Class SOLDIER. Killing a Shin-Ra employee. In broad daylight.
"Play it again," he orders after the video clip blacks out.
Cicero rewinds and replays the video for the third time. Zack furrows his brows deeply as he struggles to come to terms what he was seeing in the video. The navy blue uniform, the tied-back long black hair, the horse-cutter sword… it was undeniable that the culprit could be anyone other than Zen.
But that face, thought Zack. It looks so… sinister. That can't be her. There's no way.
"Sir Zack?" spoke up the blonde Turk.
"I want to see her," demands Zack.
"Visiting hours are almost ov—" began Amira, stepping forward.
Cicero cuts her off by extending his arm in front of the female Turk. "I'll take you to the prison hold."
Zack nods in response as Amira looks on indignantly. The blonde Turk leads Zack out of the conference room they were in to the specialized SOLDIER prison hold in the basement levels of the Shin-Ra headquarters, which requires the elevators to get to.
As the elevator sent the two speeding downwards, Zack replays the events that had led up to this point in his mind. A month had already passed since he, Kunsel, and Zen were promoted to Third Class SOLDIER status. The three of them did not anticipate being involved in a series of murders that started happening a few days ago. Three Shin-Ra employees were mercilessly killed and all evidence pointed to an insider. It wasn't until a video feed was captured yesterday that they finally had a suspect to go on.
No one had expected it to be Zen, except for Amira who already was distrustful of the girl due to her only Wutai connection. Yet, even in the face of such damning evidence, Zack still refuses to believe that his friend could be capable of such attacks. It was not in her nature to engage in fights with unarmed opponents and he knew it.
The elevator stops with a ding and Zack and Cicero step into a long metallic hallway of prison cells. Each cell was only big enough to hold a foldout cot, a sink, and a toilet, just like your typical jail cell. Except the ones built for SOLDIER members came with extra security such as electric bars and reinforced concrete walls. Zack can hear the buzzing of the electric bars coming from the very few occupied cells.
He and Cicero stop in front of one cell where two infantrymen stood guard. Inside the cell, a figure sat solemnly on one side of the cot in the dimly lit room. The person turns and eagerly gets up as soon as Zack came into view.
"Zen…" he exclaims sadly. "What have you done?"
"I didn't do anything," the Third Class SOLDIER member asserts firmly. She approaches the bars but is careful not to touch them as she had done so earlier and received quite the shock of her life.
"Have you seen the video feed?" wonders Zack.
"Yes, and it's not me, regardless what they think," exclaims Zen, motioning to Cicero with her Mako eyes.
Zack continues to look at her sadly. It was obvious he wasn't sure what to think despite what he feels in his heart.
"It's not me, Porcupine!" Zen was starting to get frustrated. "You know I wouldn't attack an unarmed person, especially in cold blood like that. C'mon!"
"The murderer looks just like you," says Zack matter-of-factly.
"You act like I'm the only one with long hair," counters Zen, referring to a particular First Class SOLDIER they both knew very well.
"His hair isn't black," affirms Zack. "Nor is it tied back."
"And I got the design of my sword from a book," continues Zen. "You may not see a lot of people with big swords like mine around, but Promise certainly isn't one of a kind."
"The evidence is pretty solid, Dame Zen," intervenes Cicero. "It's unlikely the murderer is anyone but you."
"Which is exactly the point!" exclaims the sixteen-year-old, irritated. "I'm being framed!"
"By who?" wonders Zack.
"How should I know?" Zen throws up her hands in the air and rolls her eyes. "I wouldn't be here if I knew. Obviously it's someone who hates and stalks me, which explains why they've been able to mimic my personality and appearance so accurately."
Her heart sinks as she looks into the still sad expression on Zack's face.
"You don't believe me," she concludes despondently.
"Zen, it's not—" began the young man.
"I thought we were friends, Porcupine," Zen averts her eyes, unable to look at Zack anymore. "At least Kunsel believes in me."
Zack creases his eyes and stands up straight with hands rolled into fists.
"Let her out," he orders the guards.
"But Sir Za—" began Cicero.
"I'll keep an eye on her," asserts Zack, turning to the older man with determination in his eyes.
"The company will not allow that and you know it," articulates the Turk. "It's well known that the three of you are very close. They're not going to be likely to let you supervise Dame Zen. If anything, you'll be seen just as guilty on association alone."
"Porcupine, don't do this," exclaims Zen worriedly. "It's bad enough I'm getting this sort of attention. I don't want to jeopardize your chances of becoming First Class."
"All for one and one for all, remember?" reiterates Zack, turning to smile at his friend. "We're in this together and we'll get out of it together."
"Well we won't be having any of that."
The three of them turn to see Amira approaching them, her short brown hair never looking out of place on her meticulously cared head.
"If there's anyone who's going to supervise this girl, it'll be me," she asserts firmly. Turning towards Zen, she adds. "And if anything happens, I will not hesitate to draw my weapon."
"Well, you're going to be disappointed to discover nothing will happen in my presence," affirms Zen, crossing her arms. "Because I'm innocent."
"I'll be the judge of that," Amira sneers.
She motions to the infantrymen and one of them press a button to slide open a hidden panel containing a keypad. Entering the keycode, the cell bars slide upwards, allowing the occupant within to exit the cell safely. Before Zen could even approach Zack, the other infantryman quickly shackles her left wrist with some sort of weird black bracelet.
Zack's eyes widen in surprise, but the calm demeanor on Zen's face tells him not to worry.
"A simple precaution," explains Amira, taking what seems to be a small black box from one of the infantrymen. "It's an electronic bracelet we use on criminals we monitor. If anything goes awry…"
She presses a button on the remote control and an intense shockwave flows through Zen. The young woman groans in pain as she falls to one knee.
"…That will be the result," finishes Amira rather coldly.
Zack was horrified by the spectacle. It was undeniably painful for him to see one of his best friends be treated like some sort of dangerous animal.
"Don't… worry… Porcupine…" Zen groans as she slowly gets up on her feet. She looks at him and manages a grin "I'll be okay. You'll see."
The next day, Zack heads over to the training room as usual. Both Kunsel and Angeal were off on separate missions and with Zen on lockdown, there wasn't much he could do to avoid going alone. It was near the end of the afternoon when he got to the SOLDIER floor of the Shin-Ra building. Stepping out of the elevator, he could easily see the sun sinking into the horizon through the panel windows that lined the lounge area of the floor.
Almost as soon as Zack lays a hand on the door, the intruder alarm sounded throughout the building. He remembers Zen was going to check out the exhibit hall and heads for the stairwell toward the lower floors. Bursting through the door of the 35th floor, he was greeted with the shocking sight of a slashed up body.
Trying hard not to throw up, the Third Class SOLDIER operative slowly walks around the corpse, trying to identify the victim. Judging from the outfit and high heels, it was a female Turk and the hairstyle determined that it was no other than Turk Amira herself.
Zack's stomach sinks deeply as he stuggles to find his footing. Amira had been escorting Zen ever since she was put on lockdown, making sure she knew exactly what the young woman was doing, eating, and even sleeping. He could tell it was pretty nerve-wracking for Zen, but she assures him that she would be able to put up with it if it meant proving her innocence. But with Amira's body here and Zen nowhere in sight, it was starting to look very likely she really was the murderer.
He hears some noise in the distance and dashes towards its source, navigating through hallways until he ended up in one of the many utilidors that run under the Shin-Ra building. The noises have stopped and Zack struggles to hear where the culprit could've gone in the steel-lined corridors.
The sudden sound of footsteps causes Zack to turn around and come face to face with none other than a surprised Zen.
"I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaims breathlessly. "The imposter jumped us quickly. I didn't have time to draw my sword because he had turned the lights off and when the emergency lights came on…"
Zen looks down despondently. However, Zack was more than happy to know what had happened. This meant that Zen really was innocent and not the true murderer.
"It's okay, Zen," assures Zack, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go find that killer and put an end to all of this."
Nodding, Zen walks alongside Zack as the two of them traverse down a path.
"Maybe after all of this, we can go get something to eat afterwards," suggests Zack.
"Sure thing, Zack," responds Zen.
Zack's eyebrows raise upon hearing the reply.
"What did you call me?" he asks nonchalantly.
"Zack," says Zen. "Unless you changed your name last we met."
"Right…" says Zack.
In one swift move, he draws his SOLDIER-issued sword and attacks Zen. The Third Class operative quickly jumps out of the way in confusion.
"Zack! What the heck…?"
"The real Zen doesn't call me by my real name," exclaims Zack, holding his sword ready with both hands. "Also, you're not wearing the monitoring bracelet."
A sinister smile crosses the imposter's face. Zack was struck dumbfounded as the person's voice went from feminine to masculine in the span of a few seconds.
"I guess I didn't do enough research on the bitch," admits the imposter. He glares at Zack with bloodthirsty eyes. "But this can be our little secret."
Before Zack could think, the imposter swings his horse-cutter sword down upon the Third Class' head. Zack just barely blocks the attack with his sword, leaping back to gain some distance. The imposter swiftly lays a series of slashes on him, putting him on the defensive. Zack could only block the attacks as the killer left him little time to counter. In a matter of minutes, the imposter had him on the floor, ready to deliver the final blow.
"Die, Shin-Ra scum!" cackles the imposter.
Zack closes his eyes and awaits his fate, only to hear the sound of metal clashing against metal. He opens his eyes to see the blade of a second horse-cutter sword blocking the imposter's. Standing over him was the real Zen, the monitoring bracelet still clasped onto her left wrist.
Almost immediately, the crazed look on the imposter's face melted away into a serious one. Zen slashes him back wit her sword and moves in front of Zack to defend him.
"Well, well, well," sneers the imposter. "If it isn't the traitor herself."
"Why did you kill those innocent Shin-Ra employees when I'm the one you're after?" demands the female fighter.
"Innocent?" spat the imposter. "Anyone who dares to work for Shin-Ra is lower than dirt. How dare you betray your homeland?"
"I did not betray Wutai," asserts Zen, gripping Promise's handle more firmly with both hands. "Wutai betrayed me."
In the blink of an eye, Zen was at the imposter's position, lashing out with her sword. The imposter counters quickly and the two engage in a blindingly fast fight. Even with Mako enhancements, Zack's eyes could barely keep up with the speed of the two warriors.
The next thing he knew, the imposter was on the floor, battered and bruised. Zen stood over him with sword still in hand, but the desire to finish him off was missing from her eyes.
"What are you waiting for?" coughs the imposter. "Kill me."
"Hate begets hate, as it is with war," responds Zen. "I'm not here to kill. I'm here to bring peace to both Wutai and Shin-Ra."
"Heh," scoffs the imposter. "If you think you can make Shin-Ra peaceful, you're dreaming an impossible dream. The company is filled with nothing but lowly bastards."
"Then it's time for it to change," says Zen, placing her sword on her back. "Senseless killing gets us nowhere."
She turns to walk over to where Zack still lays. She reaches out a hand to help him up.
"You okay?" she asks him with a smile.
"I'll live," chuckles Zack, grabbing her hand with his.
As soon as he got up to his feet, his eyes widen in horror as the imposter runs up with his sword at the ready. Reacting fast, Zen pushes Zack out of the way and pivots around to deliver a punch squarely onto the imposter's throat. The man gurgles his last breath as he falls to the floor dead on arrival.
Zack's eyes and mouth remain gaping wide open, unsure of what to make of what he had just seen. Zen sighs disappointedly, putting a hand over her eyes and hanging her head.
"I didn't want to resort to that," she says solemnly. "I'm sorry."
"Zen…" exclaims Zack. He turns to look at the corpse near them, which looked morbidly identical to his friend.
"He's a rival who trained in the same martial arts style Teacher taught me," Zen explains, knowing full well what Zack was wondering.
"Why did he call you a traitor?" asks Zack. "Did you really…?"
Zen shakes her head. "All a misunderstanding."
Her fists clench tightly as she continues to avert her gaze from Zack.
"Towards the beginning of the war between Wutai and Shin-Ra, Teacher vehemently opposed declaring war," she began. "Lord Godot didn't like that he was trying to disrupt the then militant nation so he exiled Teacher from Wutai. My family moved with him because they also did not accept Godot's desire to fight. We've been living in Hoku Village ever since."
"Do you think he's responsible for your family's death?" wonders Zack.
"No, the monster attack was not directed," answers Zen. "My family wasn't accepting of me training in the martial arts. But I was determined to learn it in order to protect them. Heh, ironic isn't it?"
Zack lays a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You saved me."
A reluctant smile cracks across Zen's face and she turns to face him. "I guess that's progress."
"It's something at least," affirms Zack.
"Well, I guess we should go report our findings," suggests Zen with a sigh. "I chased the guy down here because I knew there'd be cameras around every corner. I'm sure there's a few that's got him red-handed. It's a shame what happened to Turk Amira, though."
"To be honest, I was so sure you were the killer when I discovered her body," Zack admits sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, it wasn't like you were a big fan of hers and all."
"Yeah, she really didn't like me until the very end," utters Zen. "When the imposter got her, she fell on the remote control for my bracelet. Bastard got a head start because I was getting shocked like no tomorrow."
She raises her left hand where the electronic bracelet was sparking sporadically from a broken section.
"I had no choice," she pouts. "I smashed it against the wall before I took off. Guess Shin-Ra doesn't make things like they say they do."
Zack couldn't help but laugh at her predicament. "You just have the worst luck, don't you?"
"I'm just awesome like that," Zen notes sarcastically.
The two of them began walking to the nearest elevator, leaving the imposter's body behind for the Turks to take care of.
"Hey, Porcupine," Zen speaks up when they got close to the elevator.
"Yeah?" responds Zack.
"I've always wanted to know what it's like to have a brother," she says to him. "Thanks. For making my dream come true."
Back at the present…
Zack sits up on his bed with a start, nearly knocking the entire report onto the floor. He scrambles to grab his cell phone and presses a number to speed dial. Upon hearing a voice on the other end, he excitedly began talking.
"Kunsel! I know where Zen is! Meet me at the helipad in half an hour. We're going to the Ancient Forest."
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that little flashback. Now all of you nitpicky people know why we don't see Amira anymore.
Will Zack and Kunsel find Zen? Tune in to the next chapter to find out!