A/N: So sorry for the sudden hiatus! My muse, Zack, ran off and went on vacation. Since I needed him in order to continue this fic, I hunted him down all over the world. I managed to corner him in an alley before tying him down with Internet cables and dragging his weeping butt back home.
So that's why I've been stuck trying to write up this chapter.
Zack: H-help me… T_T
AznTigress: Shut up or I'll make you solve another Professor Layton puzzle.
Zack: So… mean… :(
Chapter 28
"We're friends now, aren't we?"
Zen bumps Zack's forearm with her own, a wide grin bright on her happy face. In her red tank top and blue jeans, she nonchalantly turns toward the driver and then back to Zack. Suddenly, her hazel eyes widen in shock and she leaps for Zack, knocking him down. In the blink of an eye, she was in her dark red Second Class uniform with blue Mako eyes blazing. Explosions could be heard behind them, but Zack found he couldn't move at all. His whole body was limp and helpless despite his efforts.
"C'mon, we gotta go," says Zen, easily picking Zack up and off the truck they were in.
Zack could hear gunfire behind them, but Zen didn't seem to worry about the noise as she dragged him along. After a few minutes, she gets them both behind a large rock formation and gently sets Zack down.
"Doesn't look like we can run anymore," sighs Zen, putting a hand on Zack's shoulder.
"Zen…" Zack manages to murmur.
"Don't worry, I can take them," Zen winks, putting a thumb up. "I am a member of SOLDIER, after all. You stay put and focus on recovering."
With that, she stands up with Promise in hand and begins to walk away. Zack meekly stretches his arm towards her, anxiety and fear overtaking him as the thought of losing her overtakes his mind. He hears the sound of swords clashing and guns blazing behind the rock formation soon after she was out of his sight. Suddenly, he was able to move his body somewhat and struggles to get behind the rock formation to see how his friend was holding up.
Turning the corner, his own Mako eyes widen as he spots Zen covered in cuts and bruises, blood dripping down both arms as she struggles to stay on her feet. Standing before her was none other than Angeal, Buster Sword's handle held tightly in one hand. Even in the face of such an adversary Zen remains steadfast, gripping the handle of Promise fiercely.
Zack shakes his head and screams out hoarsely as Angeal comes at Zen, pointing the edge of Buster Sword right at her.
"Angeal…! No…! Don't do it…!"
In a split second, the Buster Sword's blade ran cleanly through Zen's body despite her efforts to counter back with Promise. Tears flood Zack's eyes as Angeal roughly pulls his sword out of the woman's body, looking on spitefully as it collapses onto the ground.
"ZEN!" Zack cries out as he crawls towards her fallen remains.
No…! No…!
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
Zack sits up in his bed with a start, cold sweat dripping down his upper body. Panting hard, he puts his hands on his face and felt traces of water running from his eyes.
"It was only a dream…" he murmurs somberly. "A really, really bad dream…"
His blanket still remained on the lower half of his body as he pulls his knees close to him. With a resigned sigh, he digs his face into his covered legs.
"Angeal… What the hell is going on…?"
In the coming weeks, the Wutai War gradually came to a stunning end with Shin-Ra coming out as the victor. Watching the festivities from the SOLDIER floor of the Shin-Ra headquarters, Zack couldn't help but feel empty and aloof. He had failed to become a war hero like Sephiroth, but more importantly, he lost two close friends in the process.
It's a good thing Zen isn't around to see this, Zack thought sadly, laying a hand on the cold surface of the lounge windowpane where he stood. Her hope was to end the war with peace on both sides, not help one defeat the other.
"In war, there are no victors. Only casualties."
Zack's Mako eyes perk up at the sound of the voice and turn around to see Kunsel standing behind him.
"I figured you'd be up here," said the brunette as he joins his friend near the windowpane.
"Haven't seen you in a while," notes Zack, managing a meek smile.
"I've been busy, too, you know," responds Kunsel in turn, his helmet tilting a bit on his head.
"Doing what, pray tell?" chuckles the raven-hair.
"Stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Stuff."
Zack raises an eyebrow and decides to leave it at that. If it were something that would bore him to tears, he'd rather not hear it anyhow.
"So I heard you finally got to meet the Great Sephiroth a few weeks ago," notes Kunsel.
"Yeah," responds Zack, rubbing the back of his neck. "Pretty crazy."
"So, tell me," begins Kunsel. "What's he like?"
"Really strong," asserts Zack with awe. "Took down a summon in one hit!" He pauses and crosses his arms. "Well, after I weakened it, that is."
Kunsel lets out a laugh. "Already feeling the pressure, are you?"
"Gotta set the bar high, you know," Zack laughs back. "Becoming a war hero may be too late for me, but I can still become a hero of some sort."
"True that," replies Kunsel with a smile.
Suddenly, the sound of ringing fills the air and both SOLDIER operatives check their pockets for their respective personal handsets.
"Oh, it's mine," declares Zack, flipping his phone open. "Zack here."
Kunsel looks on as the expression on his friend's face changes from curiosity to utter surprise.
"Speak of the devil," Zack exclaims into his phone. After a short exchange, he flips his phone close and puts it back into his pocket.
"Who was that?" wonders Kunsel.
"The one and only Sephiroth," answers Zack. "He wants me to head to the Director's office."
"Well, don't keep him waiting," responds Kunsel. "Can't let him know you tend to be clumsy and forgetful."
"Hey, I resent that!" counters Zack with a smile. "See ya later. We should hang out again one of these days."
"Yeah, sure," Kunsel smiles back as he watches Zack leave.
Once his friend was gone and out of site, Kunsel turns back to the windowpane looking out into the night sky. Putting his hand into his pocket, he takes out a small pure-white feather and raises it to his head. Moving his helmet back slightly, he gently places the feather on the skin of his forehead while closing his eyes. Quietly, he began to whisper a quick incantation:
At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga.
A moment later, Kunsel found himself in a white space void of any color or physical elements. As he stood still in one place, a strong breeze rushes from behind him and suddenly he was standing in a grassy field. He could sense someone behind him, but didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"Feels like it's been forever," he began. "Zen."
Two wings flutter his sides in response and then settle down on the person's back behind him.
"You rang?" calls Zen, a hint of humor in her voice.
Kunsel chuckles in response.
"How's it going… Cetra-man?" continues Zen with a smirk.
Kunsel shrugs. "As good as it can get, I guess."
"Well that doesn't sound very good," notes Zen, crossing her arms. "I'm surprised you're able to actually summon me again. You should've told me about your powers back when I was still alive." She grins widely. "We could've had a bit of fun messing around with them."
"It's not like I was born knowing how to use my powers," Kunsel argues back. "And there's a reason why I kept the truth about me a secret from even you and Zack."
"Fine, fine," Zen playfully raises her hands in defeat. She then becomes more serious as the smile disappears from her face. "So what do you want from me? I highly doubt you would risk channeling large amounts of your magic for small talk."
"I have a bad feeling something bad is going to happen to Zack," answers Kunsel grimly. "Something I won't be able to help him with."
"I know," responds Zen affirmatively. "But don't worry, I've got you guys covered from this side."
"That's what I'm curious about," says Kunsel. "You're able to do things other deceased can't. Why?"
Zen falls quiet as she contemplates on his words. "Well, that's what you're here for, right? To find out."
Kunsel closes his yes as he could feel his connection to the young woman weakening and had no choice but to end their conversation right there. Opening his eyes once again, he found himself back in the SOLDIER lounge, standing in the same spot as he has for the past...
The SOLDIER operative looks into his phone's display screen to check the time.
"Only one second passed in this realm, just like before," notes Kunsel. He closes his eyes and falls to one knee has dizziness and exhaustion suddenly overtakes him.
As if things couldn't get worse, the intruder alarms begin to ring throughout the building.
"That's not good," pants Kunsel, struggling to not get nauseas as he brings a hand up to his mouth. He hears a dinging sound and turns toward the elevators to see them open up and reveal Genesis clones. "Yep, definitely not good."
Forcing himself to stand up, Kunsel draws his sword and prepares for the fight to come.
Meanwhile, Zack was cleaving through another set of Genesis clones and robots as he heads for the entrance to the Shin-Ra building. He had just been declared a First Class SOLDIER by Director Lazard himself. Now in the royal violet garb of a First Class operative, Zack couldn't help but feel empty than excited to get promoted. Images of Kunsel and Zen slide through his mind as he hacked through robots and Genesis clones.
They were always supporting me, he thought as he stares down at the fading bodies of the clones. Always cheering for me to become a First Class. And I cheered back for them to get to First Class as well. But was that what they truly wanted? Did they really share the same dream as me?
Zack grips his sword tighter and furrows his brows. Do I really deserve their friendship when I didn't acknowledge their dreams in return? I never even acknowledged Zen's dreams until it was too late.
He cuts through another renegade robot as he descends the stairs to the entrance of the building. And now I have to kill both Angeal and Genesis! This… this is all too much!
In a fit of anger, Zack takes down a slew of Genesis clones and malfunctioned robots that came through the entrance. When the deed was done, the SOLDIER operative was left shaking in tension.
"Zack!"
In that instant, Zack straightens himself up as he turns to face the famous First Class SOLDIER approaching him. Just the sight of the older man manages to get him focused and back on track to the task at hand. The time for regret was not now when there were more important issues to attend to.
"Sephiroth!" Zack responds back. "The intruders are Genesis clones!"
"So I've seen," replies Sephiroth. "This looks to be Hollander's doing."
"Who?" Zack cocks his head to the side in curiosity.
"The technology used to make these clones was stolen from Shin-Ra's Science Department," clarifies Sephiroth. "Most likely Hollander and Genesis have been using that same technology to create these clones."
"What do you think they're planning?" wonders Zack.
"Hollander lost his position as head of the Science Department," Sephiroth continues, crossing his arms. "He developed a big grudge against Shin-Ra as a result so this is probably retaliation for that."
"That's just stupid," says Zack. "Does that mean that Genesis is helping him with his revenge?"
Sephiroth falls silent for a moment. "It's something I don't want to believe."
"Then don't believe it," responds Zack firmly.
The silver-haired man sighs. "I'll do that." He motions towards the doors. "There seems to be more clones in Sector 8. Let's head out."
Nodding in response, Zack follows Sephiroth out of the Shin-Ra headquarters and into the streets.
"Split up!" orders Sephiroth as soon as he saw that there were many Genesis clones ravaging the sector.
"Roger!" Zack shouts back and heads into the Loveless district.
Slash!
With one swipe of his sword, Kunsel brings down another Genesis clone with his SOLDIER-issue weapon. Usually he could make quick work of his enemies with his magic spells, but with most of his magic drained from channeling Zen he was left with nothing but his brute strength to fight the intruders. Not to say he wasn't much in the physical department. He didn't get promoted to Second Class for nothing.
A sudden flutter of feathers outside catches Kunsel's attention and sends him running towards the window. His Mako eyes widen as he spies something with white wings head towards one of the reactors. He quickly sticks his hand into his pocket to take out his personal handset.
"This is Second Class Kunsel," he speaks clearly into the phone. "I'm here to report that First Class Angeal has been sighted going towards Reactor 5."
Flipping his phone close the brunette stares out towards the reactor, clenching his fists.
"So it begins…"
A/N: "Speak of the devil." Oh Zack, how little you realize the eventual truth of that statement… :o
And yay, more exploration on Cetra abilities with Kunsel! :D But where did you get that feather? You graverobber!
(Oh hush on Cloud and Zack's abilities to connect with the realm of the dead. I'll touch on that later.)
By the way, personal handset is what the PHS stands for in Final Fantasy VII's menu. It's what people refer to cell phones as in their world.