A/N: The newest chapter is uploaded! And guess what readers, some new characters take the stage and make their first appearance. This chapter has some comic relief in it, just so you know. I also wish to say thank you to all those who have Reviewed, Favorited, Alerted, or just checked this out. Thank you all! I hope everyone likes the newest chapter of Beyond The Sands Of Time!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy 7 characters from either the games, the short anime, or the movie. I do, however, proudly own Silvia and Shadow and all ideas pretaining to them except for anything pretaining directly to Deepground.
Chapter 6: I Didn't Do It, I Swear!
Last night Silvia did not sleep that well. She was relived Tseng had sent her a message on her PHS saying 'Meet at Rufus's office tomorrow at 10:30 am.' That meant she got to sleep in this morning. It was a big relief for the teen after her somewhat sleepless night.
Sighing, Silvia and Shadow entered the Shinra Building and made their way to the elevators. But apparently, Lady Luck was not on Silvia's side today. The secretary from the other day that had given Silvia her I.D looked up and started to call out to her. Completely confused Silvia stopped and watched the secretary walk around the desk and start to make her way over to her.
"Uh, Silvia. That woman…is she waving a piece of paper around with, 'I love Zack' written on it?" Shadow asked softly.
Blue-gray eyes widened and she began to back away slowly toward the elevators. "I think we should take our leave, Shadow."
The wolf creature nodded in response. Both turned to sprint toward the elevator, but the second streak of bad luck to happen to the Ex-Tsviet seemed to speed toward her. Silvia and Shadow only had enough time to brace themselves, before what looked like a board like contraption that Silvia had seen the WRO troops use to attack Deepground with two teenagers seating on it slammed into them. The two teenagers, who were apparently SOLDIER's due to their uniforms, Silvia, Shadow and the strange object flew and rolled across the floor a few times before coming to a complete stop.
"Ow." Was all Silvia said as she carefully picked herself up from the floor and sat with her legs crossed and peering around at the damage. She was happy to see nothing was broken. Shadow though seemed to be in a very foul mood as he stood up on all fours and started to growl. Peering around, she noticed all the Shinra employees were staring at her and the others lying sprawled on the floor. Then again, it wasn't everyday someone saw a speeding what ever it was barrel through the floor and plow people over.
Movement from the corner of her eye brought her attention to the two young men picking themselves up off the floor. Both were groaning and rubbing their heads and backsides. If it had happened on any other day Silvia would have laughed at them. Sadly, she was not in the mood.
Standing up, the Ex-Tsviet walked over to the two teens on the floor. Shadow just followed her but quietly slid into her shadow muttering to himself.
But, before she could chew them out the elevator doors opened and a man emerged. She sighed when he seemed to peer around the lobby as if looking for something. However, as soon as his eyes landed on the spiky, black haired teen who tried to hide behind Silvia, he scowled and started to walk over to them.
The man wore a standard black uniform of a SOLDIER 1st from what Tseng had told Silvia. His straight black hair was pulled back from his face but his bangs flowed down the side of face framing his features. His eyes held the usual glow of mako always seen in SOLDIER's. Silvia was surprised to see how well built the man was. He reminded her of Azul. He stopped in front of Silvia and glared at the young man trying to use her as a shield.
"Zackary Fair, what did I say about playing pranks on others and running around forgetting your honor as a SOLDIER?" The man asked sternly, folding his arms across his broad chest.
Silvia heard the young man behind her whimper slightly at he man's harsh tone. He wore the standard uniform of a SOLLDIER 3rd from what she had seen.
"I didn't mean to Angeal, honestly!" The young man, now known as Zack, spoke up.
Silvia almost gasped. These were the two Tseng had told her about on her first day. The one he hopped she didn't copy with the hug-tackling thing. If the black haired teen using her as a shield was Zack and Zack had just called the man Angeal then Angeal was definitely one of the SOLDIER 1sts.
Angeal eyed his student. "I apparently you do not know about what Honor really is."
With a helpless look at Zack, the Ex-Tsviet gently pried herself away from him and began to walk away. Suddenly, a large, heavy hand dropped onto her shoulder. "Young lady, I believe this concerns you as well."
"Wait? What? What do I have to do with this?" Silvia asked motioning around the room to the 'strange object'.
Wait? Wasn't there another teen sitting next to Zack a second ago before Angeal appeared. Carefully looking around, Silvia tried to find the other teen. The other teen was gone. She couldn't see him anywhere. 'That little brat left and now I am getting dragged into who knew what.' Silvia thought to herself.
"I got a report saying there were two teens terrorizing the floors and causing havoc through the Shinra Building in Zack's whatever-the-is over there. This means, you are the other teen involved in this incident, and you will be punished as well for this behavior." Angeal stated.
Before Silvia could protest anymore, Angeal laid his other hand on Zack's shoulder and started to steer them toward the elevator.
"But, sir! I had nothing to do with this! I only just got here and your student ran me over!" She protested vehemently.
Angeal, however, didn't hear her. The black haired first had begun talking about 'pride', 'honor' and 'Dreams'. Zack seemed just as defeated as her. But she could see the teen was putting slightly. He almost reminded her of a kicked puppy. She still tried to tell the first that she had nothing to do with Zack's 'cart' but the man was too busy explaining about SOLDIER Honor. The girl could hear Shadow chuckling and laughing softly from her shadow, which just made her scowl. Could this day get any worse?
XxXxXxXxX
"What is the meaning of this, Rufus!" Hojo demanded angrily. The oily haired scientist paced angrily around the board room.
Rufus rolled his eyes at the scientist's behavior. His father had called this board meeting last night after Hojo had barged into the President Shinra's office the day before and demanded his 'experiment' back. Rufus had scowled when his father had called him and told him about the out burst. The two had decided to hold this board meeting to remedy the situation. Besides Hojo, the President and himself, Tseng, Lazard and Hollander had also been asked to the meeting as well.
"Professor, if you will sit down we will explain the situation." President Shinra replied airily.
With a huff, Hojo sat down in his assigned seat and waited for him to continue. Rufus wanted to push the dirty little man off the nearest cliff. To bad his father was under Hojo's thumb.
Acting as if Hojo hadn't interrupted, President Shinra continued," It came to our attention a few days ago, that you, Hojo, were going to dispose of one of your failed experiments. My son discussed the issue with me and he set a proposal in front of me. HE wanted to save the experiment and assign her as his bodyguard due to the skills she possesses. I was most displeased when I found out what skills this young woman truly possessed and you were willing to get rid of such a valuable asset to the company."
"Valuable? She is a failure, and as a failure she was to be disposed of. Not saved and used as your son's bodyguard." Hojo replied evenly.
"But, from this results and the info you kept on the girl, she seems like a fine addition to the company. I see nothing that would label her a failure." Hollander, a rather pudgy scientist added. He wore one of his usual Hawaiian shirts and sandals.
Lazard looked up from the file that had been given to him. As the director of SOLDIER and the fact the girl in question would be taking part in certain SOLDIER missions, he had also been asked to the meeting. "I must agree with Hollanders assessment. I believe she would make an excellent addition to SOLDIER and the Turks. She has skills pertaining to both."
The Vice-President of Shinra couldn't help but allow a smug smile to appear. "Tseng, what have you to say about this?" He asked, trying to sound genially curious.
Both Tseng and Rufus had talked intensively about Silvia last night. The girl had promise, and Rufus truly believed she could be a great asset. It appeared the others completely agreed as well. All that is, except Hojo.
"Silviana Lark shows great promise. She is efficient in many different forms of combat. Hand-to-hand, material, and even weaponry, she has no problem with any of these. She also seems to exhibit the usually signs of a SOLDIER that has been exposed to mako injections. I would even go so far to say that she has had injections on levels of a SOLDIER 1st. Silvia also can use her stealth to deal with situations and has many abilities a Turk possesses." Tseng answered calmly.
President Shinra nodded in confirmation. "I have decided on the manner. Silviana Lark shall remain a part of this company. Hojo, you are not to go near Silviana from this day forth. She is now under Rufus's jurisdiction. Hollander, from this day forward, every mako injection the Silviana needs administrated shall be done by you and any other medical attention she needs. This is final Hojo. End of discussion."
"Fine. You can keep my failed experiment." Hojo responded. The scientist began to mutter under his breath as he took his leave from the room.
Rufus watched him leave. He couldn't believe Hojo had given up without a fight. It wasn't like the scientist to give up so easily. He just hoped he stuck to his promise to not touch Silvia again or try and take her back to Deepground.
"Hollander," Rufus called across the room to the other scientist. Rufus noticed Hollander jumped slightly. "From now on I want you and no one else to attend to any medical needs Silvia needs as I said a few minutes ago. Also, any details about her shall only be kept between yourself, and those still in the room. Hojo is not to ever get those reports. Understand?"
"I understand, Vice President." Hollander replied, before he too, left the room.
The Vice President watched his father slowly pull himself up from his seat and all but waddle out of the room. It disgusted the blond teen to be related by blood to the man. The president of Shinra only did anything for his own gain. He was still a little surprised he took his sons view on Silviana. He just hoped his father stuck by his word.
Lazard cleared his throat to get the young Shinra's attention. Rufus looked up, slightly amused at the SOLDIER director. "Rufus, Silviana has some very interesting abilities. She shows great promise to be a SOLDIER if she ever chose to be."
"I know Lazard, but I felt it was better to have her hired as my personal Bodyguard. However, why don't we come to an agreement? Silviana can be labeled as both a SOLDIER and Turk for the time being. If she decides she wants to be one over the other, then we leave that to her to decide." Rufus explained.
Tseng, Rufus and Lazard stood from their chairs and began to make their way out of the room. Rufus watched the SOLDIER director from the corner of his eye while they walked to the elevators. He could never quite read the man. Like Rufus, he could easily hide his emotions behind a mask.
"I agree. It is her decision. I will hand you missions I believe would be best for someone of her skills when I cannot spare the SOLDIER's for." Lazard finally spoke up before entering one of the elevators.
Rufus nodded, showing he agreed as well. The young V.P watched as the doors closed and the man vanished back toward his office. Turning, Rufus looked over at Tseng and both began to walk toward Rufus's office.
"Have you talked to Veld about Silviana?" He asked.
Tseng nodded. "It would appear Veld does not mind the arrangement. He has seen the report I filed on her for the Turk records."
"Good." Rufus answered. Both men continued on their way to the office in silence. Not to long after, they finally arrived. However, they were not prepared for the scene that awaited them when the finally entered.
Angeal, SOLDIER 1st class stood in front of a couch and was giving his customary Honor speech. Sitting on the couch he was facing sat Zackary Fair, SOLDIER 3rd class and Silvia sat next to him with a rebellious look on her face. Tseng and Rufus were completely confused at the seen before them. What had Silvia done to warrant the 'Honor' speech from Angeal? And why was Zack here as well? Both teens on the couch turned to them upon hearing their entrance and Rufus almost smirked seeing the beaten puppy look Zack was throwing at them.
"Can I help you, Angeal?" Rufus asked coolly. Tseng watched the scene in front of him with a calm, collected air.
XxXxXxXxX
Silvia glared angrily at the two men. Tseng looked professional, as always. But she could clearly see a gleam of curiosity in his eyes. This was the second time in three days Tseng had found Silvia in a strange situation. If Reno ever found about this, he would laugh at her for days and bring it up all the time.
"Rufus, I found these two in the entrance floor and I believe these two have been riding around whatever they used to crash into innocent people." Angeal answered. He eyed the two tens on the couch sternly.
"I didn't do it! I swear! I just got here when I got ran over by him and his friend!" Silvia shouted pointing accusingly at Zack sitting next to her.
Rufus eyed the three in his office. Silvia looked positively livid, Zack looked like a kicked puppy and Angeal looked stern as ever. Silvia could clearly see he was trying not to laugh at them.
"I see. Silvia, what have you to say for yourself?" Tseng spoke up for his position against the wall.
"All I did was sleep in this morning because you said I wasn't needed till 10:30 am. I woke up and began my walk here. But I didn't sleep well last night so I was in an irritable mood. I almost got attacked by this chick waving a paper saying, 'I love Zack', and so I tried to run away. But, as I turned to run, Zack here, and another SOLDIER in the same uniform riding on that stupid thing crashed into me." Silvia turned to glare at Zack sitting next to her. Under her glare Zack grabbed a couch cushion and used it as a shield between himself and the Ex-Tsviet. "I was going to ask him what he and his friend were doing when Lieutenant Angeal showed up and said I was one of the culprits. Thats when I noticed the other teen was gone."
Rufus covered his moth to smother a laugh. Angeal looked a little embarrassed when he heard Silvia's story.
"What's this with the girl waving a, 'I love Zack' sign at you Silvia?" Tseng answered. Rufus almost laughed out loud but hid it behind a cough at the last second. Rufus was impressed by his Turk's tactics of changing the conversation around. All the men in the room eyed the young girl, whose face had paled. Zack stared at her with wide eyes as a happy grin split across his face. Angeal seemed to have taken the change of subject happily and was also eyeing Silvia.
Silvia opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She tried again. "Tseng! Why? Why in all of the Goddess's green Gaia would you say that for! That was entirely Reno and Rude's fault for leaving me in the first place!"
"Are you a Zack fan or something? I didn't even know there was a Zack Fan Club." Angeal mused aloud.
Giving up on proving her case, Silvia threw her hands up in defeat. "Weren't we talking about Zack and his 'Disappearing friend' who terrorized the building?"
Angeal chuckled. "Yes we were. Don't worry, I will find out who was Zack's accomplice."
"You're in my Fan Club! I have a Fan Club!" Zack asked enthusiastically. The boy was now jumping up and down in his seat and was slowly moving closer and closer to Silvia. Now it was Silvia's turn to hold a pillow up between the two of them as a shield.
Taking pity on the girl, Angeal began to drag Zack out of Rufus's office. Zack kept spouting out questions about the Fan Club and Silvia kept shouting out that there wasn't a 'Zack Fan Club'. As soon as Angeal exited the room Rufus burst into laughter. Silvia glared full-heartedly at her employer. She jumped though when a second source of laughter echoed out of her Shadow, and, within seconds, Shadow materialized on the office floor laughing along with Rufus. Tseng watched amused as Silvia turned her back on them.
"Why does everyone think I made a Zack Fan Club?" He heard the girl mutter.
XxXxXxXxX
"Come on, Angeal! I was just having some fun! I promise to never do it again!" Zack whinnied as Angeal dragged him down the hallways through the SOLDIER floor.
Zack really did remind him of a puppy Angeal thought to himself. He chuckled softly at the comparison. But Zack had caused a lot of damage with is little stunt. So, no matter how much 'the puppy' whinnied he needed to be punished.
"Zack, you are to go to the training room and do 200 crunches and 300 squats for your punishment." Angeal told Zack.
Zack began to whine even more but Angeal ignored him. Soon after, Zack made his way off the SOLDIER floor and started to make his way to the training room. Angeal clearly heard his student mutter," That girl, Silvia got out of a punishment. Then again, she seemed like a nice person. Maybe we could be friends!" The SOLDIER 1st class watched his student walk off, a look of amusement written clearly across his face. The extra bounce to Zack's step after his muttered commentary was very amusing. He was glad he had taken on Zack as his student. The kid had promise, even if he was overly excited and full of energy.
With a sigh, Angeal made his way to his intended destination before he had been called to deal with Zack and his 'accomplice'. He still didn't know who it was just yet. He finally reached his destination and knocked on the door. A masculine, smooth voice answered, "Come in."
Opening the door, the lieutenant entered the office and smiled when he noticed both his friends waiting for him. Sephiroth sat in his chair behind his desk. A stack of papers sat in the corner of his desk. The General nodded his head in welcome. Across the office lounging on a couch against the wall, sat a man dressed all in red. Genesis Rhapsodos, the red commander, looked up at his childhood friend as he entered.
Angeal took a seat in the only available chair that sat in front of the General's desk. Both the lenient and the commander looked toward Sephiroth expectantly.
Clearing his throat, Sephiroth began, "I asked you here because Genesis and myself met a very interesting individual the other day."
Angeal peered closely at his childhood friend, Genesis. "You did as well? How?"
Genesis smirked. "Yes. She seems….different. But, I don't see anything worth my time."
"A young woman came to my office and dropped off some paperwork for me to complete. She seemed like just any other Shinra employee. But I noticed something peculiar to her. When she entered she did not seem scared, intimidated nor did she have the star struck look in her eyes most people do when they enter my office." Sephiroth explained, ignoring his friend's remark.
"What's so special about that?" Genesis scuffed.
Angeal rolled his eyes. His red-haired friend turned his attention back to his book. The lieutenant motioned for Sephiroth to continue.
"As I was saying, the girl just looked like she didn't really know how to interact with me. She seemed unsure of herself. But, after she gave me the folder with the papers and turned to leave, she turned back around and offered to help me finish the paper work. I was a little surprised by her offer. She explained to me that Tseng and Rufus gave her the go ahead to have the rest of the day off after she dropped off the last Folder, which was me. She also said she didn't have anything better to do anyway. So I accepted."
Angeal's eyes widen in understanding. "That was why you came to my office last night so early. You never show up so the three of us can get our dinner and eat together so early! She helped you finish ahead of schedule."
"So? Big deal. A brat helped you finish your paperwork." Genesis said airily. But Angeal noticed his friend had pulled his nose out of his book to listen.
"Something you failed to help me with since you were also in my office." The General responded coolly. "But, one thing was very interesting about the encounter. About half-way through the paperwork my office door opened and a wolf entered. I was about to grab Masamune but all it did was walk over and lay down next to the girl's chair."
"I find that….strange." Genesis said. "Where would a young girl get a pet wolf that followed her around like a puppy?"
Sephiroth eyed his commander. "I do not know. All I have to go on is her name. A Miss Silvia Lark."
Angeal looked at him in shock. Then he burst into peels of laughter. Sephiroth and Genesis eyed Angeal questioningly as they watched their friend laugh.
"What is so funny?" Genesis questioned.
Angeal finally managed to stop laughing after a few minutes. He wiped a tear from his eyes as he answered. "I actually just got done talking to the girl a few minutes ago. She was framed and got blamed for being involved with Zack's little fiasco earlier. I got a little carried away and dragged her and Zack to Lazard's office. But, as soon as I entered, he pointed back out the door and told me to take it to Rufus. So I did. It turned out to be a misunderstanding and the actual accomplice escaped. It was a quite an interesting encounter."
Sephiroth smirked slightly. "The one thing that intrigued me about her was the girl didn't look at me star struck or scared. It seemed she looked at me like she looked underneath all the titles and saw the man underneath." Sephiroth frowned slightly.
"Kind of like how we all became friends." Angeal answered with a laugh.
Angeal peered at his childhood friend from the corner of his eye. Genesis may be able to fool Sephiroth, but the auburn haired SOLDIER was a little intrigued as well. Maybe not as much as Sephiroth, but Angeal could tell the girl intrigued him. Angeal had to admit it as well. It was kind of interesting. Where exactly had the girl gotten mako eyes? Why was she a Turk instead of a SOLDIER?
A/N: I hope everyone liked Zack's entrance. Poor Silvia and Shadow! I will reveal later what Zack used to run them over with. XD Also, if anyone can guess who the mystery third class Soldier that was ZAck's accomplice, you will get a cookie! Here's a hint: The accompice makes his appearance in the Videogame Crisis Core. Please Review and Read everyone!