Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.
AN: w00t! Chapter's up earlier than I expected. Just kinda wrote itself. Anyway, if you're not familiar with the BC characters, stay tuned for the author's note at the end.
"Talking"
Thoughts
Zack shoved open the doors to the Seventh Heaven, grin on his face.
"Honey, I'm ho-hey!" His call was cut off as Barret pushed him aside, giving him a glare before walking over the hidden elevator and going to the basement "headquarters."
"Yeesh. Didn't think I was that bad." Zack mumbled, setting the smaller sword he'd acquired during the mission on a nearby table. Barret had been considerably angry at him for "bein' so damn dramatic" when he'd flipped into their train car several minutes into the ride, scaring them half to death. Jessie patted him on the shoulder as she walked by.
"He's just glad you're alright. I think he's starting to like you guys." Seconds later, Tifa came hurtling down the stairs, looking worried. Not seeing Cloud in the little group, she turned to Jessie.
"Have any of you seen Cloud?" Zack's grin dropped.
"What?" What do you mean 'Have any of us seen Cloud?' Why isn't he still here?
"He left over half an hour ago!"
"What? Where!?" He shouldn't be out yet. Mako Poisoning is not something that you get over like that.
"Guys," Wedge interrupted, looking up the stairs towards Marlene's room. "Maybe we should take this down to HQ." It was probably a good idea. The basement was practically soundproof. When they arrived in the basement, Barret seemed surprised to see them. They usually stayed upstairs for a drink or something to eat after doing a job of some kind. As the elevator brought the last of them down, Zack stepped off and turned to Tifa.
"Alright, so what happened? Why is Cloud gone?"
"Well, I was trying to convince old man Dalan that we weren't going to open up just so he could have a drink, and Sukueni showed up." At this, Wedge cut in.
"Sukueni?"
Zack seemed to recognize the name. "He was a Turk, wasn't he?" He'd been one of the Turks after Cloud and him when they were on the run. Zack had only met him once or twice before.
Apparently, Barret wasn't pleased with this. "A Turk? The hell's a Turk doin' here!?"
Ignoring Barret's outburst, Tifa continued. "He said some things about how Shinra was looking for you two, and how they were watching people you knew." At this, she could see Zack putting the pieces together in his head. His guilty and worried expression was more than enough to tell her that he understood where she was going with the story.
"Cloud heard him, and we thought he was trying to warn us about something. I wanted to wait for the rest of you to get back, but Cloud didn't think we'd have the time."
"He went to look for Aerith, didn't he?" Tifa nodded at Zack's question, watching his shoulders slump. If something's happened to him, it's my fault. I knew I should've just made sure she was okay myself. Taking pity on the man, Tifa tried to calm him down.
"Hey, it's not your fault. Maybe he just wanted to stick around until one of us could get there." They both knew that wasn't very likely. If Shinra was hunting someone from SOLDIER, they wouldn't just be using a few normal soldiers.
"I have to go find him." If Cloud got hurt…As he turned to get back on the elevator, Tifa grabbed his shoulder.
"I'm going with you."
"I don't think that's-" He cut off at Tifa's look. That definitely wasn't the look of someone about to take no for an answer. She turned to Barret with an apologetic expression.
"Go on. Avalanche can wait." She nodded at him in thanks, and stepped on the small elevator with Zack.
"Alright," the ex-SOLDIER began. "We should check the church first. If Cloud was looking for her, that'd be the first place to start."
It didn't take them even half as long as Cloud to get to the church. Having been there countless times, getting lost or needing directions weren't issues for Zack, and Tifa did surprisingly well at keeping up with him for someone who hadn't been in SOLDIER. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the church, he was both relieved and disappointed. There weren't any signs of a struggle.
On one hand, that meant there was a chance that Cloud and Aerith were fine. On the other, they could have simply been confronted somewhere else, taken by surprise, or the ones after them simply could have covered their tracks. It wouldn't be hard, especially for a company that could destroy an entire town and get away without anyone being suspicious at all.
Hearing rapid, light footsteps behind them, Tifa and Zack swerved to see a teenage boy speeding to a stop right in front of them, gasping like he'd just run a marathon.
"Zack. Knew it. Was you." He wheezed out, leaning over and placing his hands on his knees. Zack recognized him easily, even though he was several years older than when Zack had last seen him. The young teen had stolen his wallet on the day he'd met Aerith, and had taken a liking to the SOLDIER during the two years he'd been dating her.
"Hey, breathe kid. We're looking for Aerith? Have ya seen her around?" The boy nodded vigorously, and took a few seconds to catch his breath.
"Some guys in a black helicopter came and took her away. Then some more came out carrying this blond guy in a uniform like yours." As his breathing returned to normal, he looked up at Zack. "I saw you running this way, and thought I should tell you. Where've you been?"
"Had some trouble with Shinra. I just got back to Midgar yesterday."
The boy seemed to take notice of Tifa, and frowned. "Who's she?"
"A friend. We came here to find Aerith and that blond man. You said someone took them?"
"Yeah, looked like they were from Shinra." He grabbed Zack's arm. "You're gonna bring Aerith back, right? I mean, she's not gonna get hurt?"
Not a chance in hell. "I promise I'll bring her back safe. You don't need to worry." Her and Cloud both. If it's the last thing I do.
The teen grinned up at the former SOLDIER. "Alright. Then I won't."
"Now," Zack turned to look up towards the plate, in the direction of Shinra's headquarters. "How are we gonna get them back?" I expect security to be pretty tight, between Avalanche attacking and me n' Cloud being back in town.
Tifa seemed to be thinking along similar lines. "Well, we can't just charge in. How was security when you guys went?"
Right, can't give specifics with the kid here. "We had some trouble on the train. Security identification checks caught the cards."
"So," Tifa crossed her arms, expression thoughtful. "We'll have to find another way to even get up to the plate. We should probably see Jessie and Biggs about it."
"Hey." They both looked over at the boy. "If you guys need to get up to the plate, I might have an idea." They both gave him a nod, and he continued.
"There's this girl I know, right? And she's got this uncle who's a pretty powerful guy here in the slums. I mean, he's like some kinda Don or something, so he's got connections and stuff. He might be able to pull a few strings or somethin' for ya."
Well that sounds familiar. Where've I heard that before? "Sounds good to me." He turned back to Tifa. "What about you Tifa?"
"It's a start."
"I'll go with the kid here"
"And I'll go see Barret and the others. Meet back here in an hour?"
Zack turned to the boy. "That okay with you, kid?"
"Sure." If it meant making sure Aerith was safe, he'd help them out however he could.
"Alright team," Zack grinned at his companions. "Looks like we might have ourselves a plan."
Luxiere walked into the medical facility on the fiftieth floor of Shinra's headquarters, and made a beeline for Professor Rayleigh's office. Normally he liked seeing Professor Rayleigh, like most of those in SOLDIER did. She was certainly easier to connect with than Professor Hojo, anyway.
Today was different. If it had just been him, he wouldn't have been so concerned. But it wasn't just him. He'd seen over a dozen of his fellow SOLDIERS on the way up. And while SOLDIERS certainly needed medical attention from time to time, after all they weren't invulnerable, there were almost never more than three or four to see the SOLDIER medical specialists at a time. To see so many of his fellow SOLDIERS having the same problem he was felt a bit unnerving.
He entered Professor Rayleigh's office just in time to see Kunsel donning the traditional SOLDIER helmets that almost all of them wore, as Professor Rayleigh began writing something on the clipboard sitting on a nearby counter. Despite his concern over the possible medical problems they could all be suffering from, he couldn't help but be disappointed. He was pretty certain that nobody in the SOLDIER department besides the professors who handled their medical care had actually seen the SOLDIER Second Class' face.
"Kunsel, did y-"
"Did I suddenly feel nauseous, nearly drop a five thousand gil prototype potion that I was delivering to the professor here, and just barely catch the newbie I was showing around the SOLDIER floor when he basically passed out? Yes, thank you for asking."
"…Alright. I'm definitely not the only one then." He looked towards Professor Rayleigh. "Any idea what's going on doc?"
The middle-aged woman sighed and leaned back, pulling away her small eyeglasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Neither of them needed her to continue to figure out what that meant.
"I don't have a clue. I've examined thirteen SOLDIERS from the Third and Second Classes in the last hour, and none of them are showing anything out of the ordinary that would cause these symptoms."
Luxiere leaned against the counter, while Kunsel began stretching out. "I don't suppose the Spook knows anything about this." If there was anyone in Shinra that would have an idea of what was happening, it would be Professor Hojo Tomo.
"If he does," She frowned. "Then he's not filling anyone else in on it."
Kunsel finished his stretching, and looked to Luxiere. "So where's the blond kid? Report said his name was Cloud, right?"
"Yeah. We dropped him off over in the cells with that Aerith woman. I wonder what the higher ups are after 'em for."
Kunsel shrugged. "Don't look at me. All I got were names and pictures. But that girl…I know her. She was-" He glanced over at Rayleigh, who had turned back to her clipboard. "Well, she was a friend of a friend. I'm not sure what Shinra would want with her. She seemed nice enough from the few times I actually saw her."
Before Luxiere could say anything, his phone rang, and he heard Kunsel's do the same. Flipping the phone out, he turned around and lowered his voice.
"Luxiere here." A pause as he listened.
"Yeah, but I-" He frowned for a moment, and sighed. "Alright, I'm on my way." He turned back to Kunsel. "You get the same message?"
"All First, Second, and A-Level Thirds are to report to the briefing room immediately? What's up with that? They aren't even letting all of us check in with the doctors?" His voice was incredulous.
"You know how it is."
"Yeah. No respect for the lapdogs, right?" They shared a half-hearted laugh for a moment. "Don't suppose you got any extra info on the job, eh mister First Class SOLDIER?"
"I can't say that we're all getting the same assignment, but there've been some rumored sightings of the Crescent Unit in the Snow Village area. The last patrol they sent in didn't report back, so they're sending some of us in."
"There's no way they'd be calling so many of us in just for that though."
"That's all I've got man, sorry."
"Hey Professor," Kunsel turned towards Rayleigh. "My checkup finished yet?"
"I don't have anything else. You're free to go."
"C'mon Lux, let's get moving."
As he left the room, Luxiere couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Hojo didn't know what was going on, it must've been something bad.
As his mind began to clear, Cloud felt a warm feeling spread through his body. Slowly opening his eyes, he could make out the outline of a feminine figure looking down at him, a bright light shining behind her. The image became clearer as his vision began to focus, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"An angel?" Am I dead?
The brunette giggled, shoulders trembling with amusement as she shook her head.
"Nope. I'm Aerith." She kneeled down next to him.
Aerith? Zack and Aerith. Wait! He shot up from his position on the bed, glancing at the surprised woman.
"Aerith Gainsborough?" She tilted her head at him, confused.
"Yes. Have we met before?"
"…No. We've never met." How should I tell her about Zack?
"Are you sure? You seem awfully familiar."
"I've heard a lot about you from a friend."
"A friend?" Though she was still strangely cheery for being in what Cloud assumed was a Shinra prison, she seemed a little hesitant, glancing at his uniform before continuing. "I don't suppose he might have been a SOLDIER?"
"Yeah. His name was Zack." Aerith nodded.
"Is he alright?"
"Yeah." She looked down, almost sad. "He really misses you."
She looked up, surprised, and almost a hopeful. "He does? Why hasn't he called? Or answered my letters? His mission couldn't have lasted five years, could it?"
"…He couldn't really help it. We went to a place called Nibelheim, with Sephiroth."
"I remember Zack talking about that. He seemed really excited about working with him."
I think we were all excited to work with the SOLDIER hero. "Something happened. Sephiroth…" He stopped, gathering his thoughts. "He just snapped. I'm not really sure what caused it. Zack might be the only one who does. He's the only one who talked to him. Sephiroth…He destroyed the entire town. Killed everyone and burned it to the ground."
He paused for a second at Aerith's shocked gasp, and continued the story. "We all tried to stop him. The villagers, me, Zack…It was pointless. The only reason we even slowed him down was by stabbing him in the back."
When he paused again, Aerith voiced another question. "So was that where he was? Did they send him after Sephiroth?"
He shook his head slightly. "No. Sephiroth was dead by then. We lucked out and got a good shot in. But by the time it was over, well…Neither of us were in any condition to fight. Then Hojo came."
"No…" The word was almost a whisper. She must have been the subject of one of Hojo's experiments before. She clearly knew what the man was capable of.
"After that, we were pretty much out of action. Zack just got us out around a year ago, and we've been making our way back here since." They were silent for several minutes, and Cloud took the time to watch the variety of emotions that seemed to cross the young woman's features. There was relief and some happiness, certainly, but also a tinge of guilt.
For doubting him? Or maybe she was angry? Four years is a long time to go without getting so much as a word.
After a short time, he finally noticed something different. "I feel…Different. Stronger."
"You were really sick when they brought you in here. You kept mumbling about something."
Well that's a little embarrassing. "What was it?"
"It was hard to tell. You were pretty quiet." She glanced up for a moment, bringing her hand to her chin in thought. "The only thing I really caught was something about a union. Any idea what it means?"
Union? "I can't think of anything." Pushing the thought aside, he moved on. "So why do I feel stronger? If I was so sick, shouldn't I be tired?" I've been wiped out so much lately. Did I just sleep it off?
"I fixed the problem."
"Huh?" She healed me? "How? Do you have materia or something?"
She giggled at him again, smile returning in full force. "Nope. I don't like to use materia. It's bad for the planet."
"I…See." Strange girl. Her cheery attitude was contagious, and he returned her smile, albeit not as enthusiastically. I see why Zack likes her.
Seconds later, the door to their cell slid open, and both of them turned to see the new arrival.
AN: Heh. Love to hear reviews, as always. Anyway, as I said, if you're not too familiar with the characters from BC, I now have the basic profiles for the BC Turks, BC Avalanche leaders, and some other BC-only characters such as Professor Rayleigh in the "FFVII Fic Extras" section of my forum.